Learn to Meditate

Copied from “Foundations for the Spiritually Inclined“, on the 7th of December, 2025.

Meditation is more than just a tool to “still the mind”.

What’s written below, “a meditation practice”, offers a fairly formal meditation technique. If that feels too structured and a bit too formal for you, or you struggle to find any time to meditate, reading on you may prefer the “walking meditation” instead. I would recommend reading this entire topic either way, if meditation is something you are interested in, as both methods are related.

These two techniques might complement existing meditation teachings that are already available, as well as being my unique take on the subject. My aim is that both of these methods will be accessible to anyone, in any circumstance, and be enjoyable to do as well.

A meditation practice

Your dedication in sitting on the floor, sitting on a chair, or lying down for a period of time, with your intention of meditation, is a request from you to God…

You are asking God to take away from you what is holding you back. You are asking God to help you take responsibility for your own life. When you take the time to meditate, everything you experience during that time will be perfect for you.

Restlessness,
Boredom,
Impatience,
Anxiety,
Peace,
Anger,
Desire,
Joy,
Hate,
Happiness,
Despair,
Dread,
Love,
Grief,
Guilt,
Regret,
Hope,
Sadness,
Melancholy,
Excitement,
Shame,
Fear,
Bliss,
Frustration,
Loneliness,
Ecstasy,
Visions…

These, and more, are all part of the meditative experience. If your mind begins to wander, let it, don’t try to stop your thoughts, and then when you are ready, gradually bring your attention back to the meditation once more. It is a process where in time, all of your negativity is healed and transformed, your life becomes more positive than it could have ever been, and you learn more about yourself as well.

Whether it be ten, twenty, thirty minutes, or an hour, it matters little. Your heart and intuition will guide you as to when it’s the right time to meditate, and whether it be for long periods, short periods, in the morning, during the day, or in the evening, in a lighted space, in the dark, with some gentle music or in silence, on your own, or with others.

It’s not a step-by-step process that must be followed and learned, but rather a learning experience that starts from within, where your practice grows stronger as time goes on, and your enthusiasm grows as well.

Meditation is a tool for discovery, a tool to help you unlock the secrets of your heart, mind, and Spirit, allowing you to gain insight into all the unanswered questions you might have within you, as well as all the questions you haven’t even thought of asking yet. You will feel the benefits continue into your everyday life, and you will grow as a person as well.

You may find that not using meditation as a way to help yourself grow spiritually, especially early on in your spiritual journey, in all sorts of situations negativity may surface in uncomfortable, painful, upsetting, embarrassing, or compromising ways, verbally, physically, emotionally, mentally, or during moments that could be called “everyday life”.

As a result, knowing this, you might find you reflect when something goes wrong and you say to yourself, “Oh, perhaps there’s something I should be looking at here.”

Importantly, simply by meditating you may become aware of unresolved issues in your life you that are holding you back. This might encourage you to meditate further to continue the process of discovery, gaining insights on what might be needed to bring resolution to those issues, if anything. It’s very much a learning process, both personal, and sometimes challenging as well. God will support you, and He is with you right throughout your spiritual journey.

Meditation can also be a place where energy is released, where a person might cry, shake, speak in unusual ways, or feel physical sensations as examples. Known in eastern spiritual traditions as “kriyas”, teachings and knowledge of these go back thousands of years.

If you are meditating on your own you might find yourself learning as you go along – but you can’t get it wrong – your experience will be unique and perfect for you. Your loving God will be there for you personally to support you and give you guidance that will happen in the right way for you. It is true to say that God knows you better than you know yourself, and He knows what you need so that you meet each other sooner than you might imagine, and it will be a beautiful experience.

You may also find that as you progress you become more aware of your spiritual growth and your accomplishments, giving you encouragement and a genuine sense of anticipation with what the future holds for you. Meditation then becomes something to look forward to, feel excited about, and it will become something to cherish as well.

Memories and milestones can come from those special spiritual experiences too, memories that will last a lifetime. You might even feel like keeping your own private and sacred meditation journal, something to look back on, or a way to express your feelings and then move on.

The days of having to work hard spiritually, struggling to find God and true happiness, those days are over.

Fasting, meditating three times a day, wading through scriptures, getting up before dawn to perform rituals, showing devotion to someone, wearing unusual attire to show you are on a spiritual path, attending lavish retreats, having a set-in-stone day (or time) for anything spiritual, basically anything which is unenjoyable, it’s all in the past. I can say this because I know the work others have done spiritually for this to have become possible.

Meditation and finding what works for you as far as your spiritual path goes should be enjoyable, exciting, and rewarding, complementing and enhancing your everyday life, where you find you have another way to connect with your Creator.

At the end of this book, in the appendix, you will find a link to some meditations that you might to try, which complement the guidance and instructions that I have written here.

The walking meditation

Formal meditation, as I have just described, where a person sits on the floor, on a chair, or similar for a period of time, is one of the most powerful ways to release and heal any burdens and negativity that we may have within us.

But as well as this, we may find that while living our normal everyday lives we have experiences, and gain insights and understandings that we might not have had before the fullness of God’s energy entered our life.

This is known as the “walking meditation”, although it doesn’t need to happen when we’re walking. It is a way of saying that spontaneous and informal moments of meditation can happen anywhere, anytime, with anyone, or on our own.

What happens during these moments sometimes needs an external trigger for the release or experience to take place. These “triggers” are God as He works His magic in the most interesting, remarkable, and powerful ways. These happen at just the right time, often when something unusual becomes obvious and captures our attention, even if only for a moment.

The process of walking meditation, experienced through everyday life, can sometimes make us aware that we have an imbalance that we need to consider and contemplate.

These “imbalances” can be emotional, spiritual, physical, mental, and so on, and as these are “worked through” and healed, we naturally become more positive, happier, and more optimistic within ourselves, and in time, this will become evident to everyone around us.

As I said earlier, there are no rules, and the most wonderful things can happen when we least expect them.

Tips

If you choose to meditate by lying down and you find yourself going from “deeply relaxed” to “fast asleep”, you might like to choose to meditate at a time during the day where you do not feel so tired, or sitting in a chair or sitting on the floor might be a suitable alternative.

After meditation ends, when you feel ready, open your eyes and become aware of your body and your surroundings. Sit up if you have been lying down. Stretch to loosen your body, staying seated or sitting for five or so minutes, or as long as you feel you need to. When it is time to get up and move around again, do so slowly to begin with, as the body may still be very relaxed. Stretch again if you need to.

It’s important after meditating you give yourself as much time as you need to feel alert and steady, so that when it comes time to once again perform your daily tasks (such as driving or anything which requires concentration), these can be done safely, with the clarity, focus, and attention that is required.

Finally, try not to compare your meditation experiences with others, perhaps by saying “your experience was so much better than mine”, or “I wish I had experienced that”, or wanting to become an enlightened golden dewdrop overnight.

When I was growing spiritually, I often found myself wishing my experiences could be just as good as others as they had so much to share, sometimes wondering if I was even progressing at all.

Little did I know I was changing at a very deep level, and that I needed to know very little about what was happening, it just would have confused me and sent my mind into a spin. Everything was going perfectly, so don’t be discouraged if you feel like you’re getting nowhere, and above all, try not to have any expectations.

Noticing a change

So is it possible to know how much you are progressing spiritually? I would definitely say yes, just by observing your reactions to what goes on in your life, simple things, conversations, and everyday moments that happen to you and everywhere around you.

You may become aware that you are less judgmental than before. You might feel noticeably calmer and more settled. You might find more enjoyment in life. Things that upset you in the past might not anymore. Responding positively to a situation when that never happened before – that’s real change.

You are your own best observer, and your own best witness to your own personal change, transformation, and enlightenment. Changes might take place gradually, so it might not be entirely obvious or noticeable, but positive feedback from others might come when you least expect it, to encourage you on our spiritual path and your meditation journey even more.

You may even find yourself craving your next meditation and meditation experience, it can actually become quite exciting – but there’s no need to try too hard. For example, meditating formally three times a day isn’t needed because God’s energy is working with us ceaselessly, and we are in a new spiritual time now.

In conclusion

Each of us is unique, and we all need to experience different things in different ways in order to learn, grow, and unfold. What one person may need and what they will receive will not be what another person needs or what they will receive.

“There are many paths to the same destination”

Everyone gets to the point where there is an experience of utter bliss, joy, and unconditional love, an experience that will never go away. Each step we take is sacred, beautiful, important, and just for us.

There is so much in the world in the way of spiritual teachings, techniques, and literature. As with everything that makes a spiritual path enjoyable, get a feeling for what works best for you. If you are new to meditation, what I have written here might be a good place to start.

Don’t force yourself to remember everything that’s written here, and that goes for this book in its entirety, as what you need will surface at just the right time. Read, consider, and reflect as you are inspired to do.

If even after reading this you’re still not quite sure if meditation is for you, give it a try, and try it again every now and then – even if only to see what happens. Like I say, you can’t do it wrong, and often we learn from within us, our own “inner teacher” it could be said, rather than from any written or spoken instruction from someone or something else.