This isn’t to suggest that meditation is some kind of difficult and esoteric discipline that can only be mastered by a few monks in a cave in the Himalayas. Far from it, meditation is a strategy for dealing with life’s pressures that can be learnt by everyone, in minutes.

How long will it take?

However the practise isn’t something you can try for a year and then say you have accomplished an end result. You will have gained immeasurably in ways you probably wouldn’t even realise. But really, there is no end to it once you begin – there are only levels of awareness and a gradual unfolding of knowledge. The more you do it, the more you gain. If you stop you won’t go backwards but why stop? There would have to be a limit to the human mind and spirit for there to be an end point in a meditation practise.

How do we meditate?

If you have never tried meditation before then a good way to begin is to use a common object such as candle. Make arrangements so that you will not be disturbed for ten to thirty minutes – take the phone off the hook and minimise any distractions that you can. Settle yourself about three feet away from the candle itself and get yourself into a comfortable position. The candle should be lit as the flame will be the object of your attention for this exercise.

Should I be thinking?

As you sit, breathe slowly in and out and let your breath become deep and even without any sense of being in a hurry. Gently let go of any thoughts you have about your day so far and focus on the candle flame. Let any thoughts come and go without analysing them. You shouldn’t be trying to “think” too much – this isn’t about working anything out with your brainpower- it isn’t a puzzle to be solved. Don’t be distracted by random thoughts but let them be and float away. The more you let go of these thoughts the less they will fight for your attention. The more you resist them, the stronger they will seem. Every time you are distracted, patiently refocus on the candle flame. Our purpose here is to let our awareness of the world around us diminish and our mind to become calm and poised.

Practise once per day, either early morning or evening, before you become too tired to concentrate and after several days you will find the whole thing becoming easier and easier. With time, you will notice a greater sense of awareness, not just about yourself but about everything in your world and with that comes a greater ability to deal with the trials and tribulations in our daily lives in a peaceful and effective manner.

Here are some practical ways to do this and get back to the present:

1. Practice watching your breath for a few minutes at a time. This simple exercise practise. several times a day can really help you calm and clear the mind of distractions
2. Be conscious of where you walk with every footstep. When you are walking to and from work or home, narrow your thoughts into your steps and become aware of the weight of your step, the ground beneath, your toes leaving the floor. Keep one eye on where you’re going though
3. Spend one minute concentrating on any thought or object to the exclusion of all else. This is a great one for the desk or travelling home, just shut your eyes and let go of the days hassles.
4. Stand outside in nature and simply watch the world around you without judgement. Let go of your critical self just for a little bit (give it a lunch break) and look at everything with a fresh and forgiving eye. Too much overly critical thought uses up a lot of mental energy leaving you drained.
5. Several times a day ask yourself where you are? “Am I here? ” is a fine way to determine whether you are in the present moment or whether you are dreaming of the future or thinking about the past.

Trying some of these simple exercises can release us from unhelpful and negative thought patterns and allow the energy and power of being in the moment to return.

Indeed, what could be better than awaking every day and knowing exactly what you had to do without question? Imagine being so sure of what you need to do and not because someone is telling you to do it, or because it is part of your job, but knowing this is what you must do because it comes from a place of complete certainty deep inside you? This is possible, believe it or not, even if you have no way of seeing how that way of life could come about any time soon! The secret to achieving certainty like this is finding a strong purpose in life.

Clues to our purpose often lie in what you enjoyed when you were younger and more carefree. Think back to what you wanted to be when you were younger, there are always signs there. Did you like animals or looking after people or children? Did you enjoy sports, messing about with building blocks or playing Doctor? The information is always there somewhere. You need to remember the times when you felt that great excitement about something you were doing, something you felt you wanted to do all the time. Was it something that was fun to do, something that grabbed you and gave you those butterflies in the stomach? It may not have been in your childhood. It could have been much later. Did it feel like “yes, I really love this” or “this feels so good?” Whatever it was and whenever it was that you had these feelings, you were very likely close to expressing the essence of your ‘purpose’ in life.

Those moments of ‘joyful excitement’ are great indicators, like the needle of a compass, indicating a direction for us to follow and a potential source of true and lasting contentment. But, without this excitement and this passion, you can get led in the wrong direction and down dead ends. That’s why it is so hard to sustain motivation for targets, goals and jobs that we don’t have our heart in. They’re just wrong for us.

Trying to think of a purpose in life for the sake of it will not work. It has to come from inside us, from our intuition and we have to feel it in our stomachs! It comes back to having that excited feeling. You could say that someone who is constantly flitting from one unsatisfying career or scheme to the next isn’t really listening to themselves… yet.

If inspiration is particularly hard to find then meditation is a very good tool for finding out which way your path lays. Start by asking yourself what it is that would give you the most satisfaction and feeling of fulfilment. You may already have an idea but pushed it aside thinking it was a pipedream or way beyond reach. Well this idea will start to rear its head in strange ways giving you clues and signs. It will try and get your attention. This is the deeper wisdom inside you trying to guide you into the right path, as it always does if we listen closely enough. Mediation and quiet contemplation will enable you to raise the volume on this interior guiding voice.

You may get the call to action. This is when you are inspired to try something new. This is really a call to take up the quest for a better life and better existence. If you ignore the call or refuse it two things can happen. The voice will fade as this opportunity’s presence is taken over by other events. Don’t forget that synchronicity plays an important part in the arrangement of all the elements that make up this possibility for you. They will exist for a time but then will have to re-arrange themselves back in the harmony of the universe. Then you will have to wait for the next opportunity. There will be others. Don’t despair. There will always be others. The door is never closed because you failed to take action but it might become ‘temporarily jammed.’ If you refuse the call, you may consign yourself to a further period of frustration and dissatisfaction but the universe is a forgiving place…always.

The other possibility is that the call will become so loud and in your face that you will be forced by circumstance to jump in and ‘go with the flow.’ This is dramatic and feels like you are in a bit of a roller coaster – just hang on. It may seem like you are being thrown into the deep end , that you don’t have the experience, don’t feel safe etc. you are being pulled out of your comfort zone but this is probably the best thing that could happen to you. There is sometimes a period of upheaval, perhaps, emotional, and spiritual but it will always be for the best in the long run.

Finding certainty and true purpose is one of the most important goals for us as human beings. Only then do we begin to express ourselves at the highest level or reach our highest potential, creating harmony and peace in our own lives and our relationships as well as finding our greatest success.

Have you ever sat down on a summer’s day and watched the clouds in a clear, blue sky roll by? Maybe you have become entranced by a stream flowing along or cascading down over rocks and stones?

Or, we can be just sitting in a coffee shop looking out of the window watching people go by, not really analysing or thinking too much about anything but at the same time completely absorbed in the activity around us.

Without realising it we have been experiencing an altered state of mind. Some people call this meditating.

At moments like these, our critical thought, our brain chatter, has receded temporarily into the background and our attention has narrowed itself to a particular scene or object or thought. Our anxiety or stress level drops and for a short time we let go of those frustrations, issues and problems that may be troubling us. If we are aware enough of our own internal state we may also recognise a feeling of peacefulness or contentment in our bodies.

This focused attention of mind creates a ‘gap’ in our awareness where inspiration, often described as ‘the still, small voice‘, can sneak in and present itself. Inspiration can come in many forms, sometimes as a picture, a memory or a sound. Or, our attention may be drawn to some sign or activity in our field of view, providing a solution to a problem you’re facing in your life, ideas for improving your lot or just thoughts which lift your spirit in subtle ways. Sometimes we are even presented with the beginnings of a practical plan of action.

Now we didn’t decide on this and it just happened more or less by accident but this ‘gap time’ can be deliberately cultivated and enjoyed on a regular basis.

This is the aim and practice of meditation. Peace and quiet certainly help with the achievement of this state but it can be practised almost anywhere. Best of all you can start immediately. You don’t need mountain tops, bells, uniforms or gurus. Only a willingness to try and an openness to the experience.

It allows us to tune in, more and more, to our own creativity and intuition and our ability to solve the problems that we face. Through meditation we are opening up the doors to our own deep-seated guidance system and powerful unconscious wisdom.