A 12-Step Method for Meditation
By James K. Weber, M.D.

1. Start by going to a quiet place; ask family & friends that you not be interrupted.Turn off all electronics; disconnect the phone jack.

2. Find a comfortable (but not overly so) meditative posture. Sitting cross-legged is the norm, but supine or standing, or even while pacing back and forth in an enclosed, obstacle-free space are all acceptable.

3. Eyes should be closed or half-open without focusing on anything if seated, supine, or standing; eyes need to be more open if pacing.

4. Start with three or more deep slow inhalations and an audible sigh out. Make each breath longer than the one before.

5. Stay focused on the breath and make it slow, full, continuous, and satisfying.

6. Remain in the present; past & future have no place in meditation.

7. Create a motivating intention that works for you; mine is: “May this meditation promote in me good qualities which will be of benefit to myself... and also of benefit to others.”

8. Reflect on this intention statement for a few cycles of breath and then let it go, clearing the mind of extraneous thought processes; treat thoughts with kind acknowledgment of their validity but ask them to recur at a later time; keep returning to the breath.

9. Direct your consciousness inward to that deep place of perfect harmony, contentment, infinite potential, and absolute health of body and mind. Take your time deepening your level of consciousness until you get there.

10. Remain in this place of private bliss for a time and then slowly return to an interaction with the outer world.

11. Silently express gratitude for your many blessings and your fabulous life. Cultivate gratitude, even for the interactions and events that seem to have been a disappointment, as there may be more to learn from apparent adversity than from “easy sailing”.

12. Meditate daily; there is no such thing as being “too busy” to take time for yourself-- to give yourself back to yourself-- to uncover the real you.