Stress Reducing Meditation

Stress and tension are increasingly being recognised as the source of many
of our problems, including ill health.

Most stress and tension comes from the mind. Just by doing this simple
breathing meditation for ten or fifteen minutes a day, you can reduce stress
and its harmful effects.

Sit comfortably and turn your attention to your breathing

Breathe naturally, preferably through the nostrils, without attempting to
control your breath

Try to become aware of the sensation of the breath as it enters and leaves
the nostrils

This sensation is your object of meditation - try to concentrate on it to
the exclusion of everything else

At first your mind will probably be very busy, and you might even feel that
the meditation is making it busier; but in reality you are just becoming
more aware of how busy your mind actually is

There will be a great temptation to follow the different thoughts as they
arise, but you should resist this and remain focused single-pointedly on the
sensation of the breath

If you discover that your mind has wandered and is following your thoughts
return it to the breath immediately

Repeat this as many times as necessary until the mind settles on the breath

Eventually you will experience a calm, spacious feeling in the mind

Stay with this feeling for as long as you wish
Breathing meditation is only a preliminary stage of meditation, but
nevertheless it can be quite powerful.

We can see from this practice that it is possible to experience inner peace
and contentment just by controlling our mind, without having to depend at
all upon external conditions.

When the turbulence of distracting thoughts subsides and our mind becomes
still, a deep happiness and contentment naturally arises from within.

This feeling of contentment and well-being helps us to cope with the
business and difficulties of daily life.

If we practise this meditation regularly, problems become easier to deal
with, we naturally feel warm and well-disposed towards other people, and our
relationships with others gradually improve.