Happiness Through Humanism: meditation for beginners

Stress happens. But you can minimize its impact on you by choosing how you respond.

April is Stress Awareness month. And yes, this is apparently a government recognized thing: http://www.foh.hhs.gov/calendar/april.html According to Federal Occupational Health – “Stress happens. Sometimes it's unavoidable, at times it's unbearable. That's why taking time for yourself is a necessity.”

They go on to say, “While you can't avoid stress, you can minimize it by changing how you choose to respond to it. The ultimate reward for your efforts is a healthy, balanced life, with time for work, relationships, relaxation, and fun.”

I agree, which is why I practice meditation, as a Humanist. It’s why I encourage others to meditate as well. And yes, meditation is one of the ways the government says you can relax and recharge. And if they endorse it, well, it has to be good.

What meditation does for me is it helps me learn how to calm my mind. That’s what meditation is about, learning how to consciously choose your response, even when that response is hard wired into our nervous system like stress is.

What Humanist meditation isn't is a spiritual practice. I don’t become one with the universe. Nothing supernatural happens. I just relax, consciously and become more present and that feels good and that’s reason enough to practice it.

If you want to learn more about Humanist meditation, Humanist Learning Systems offers, free guided meditations by Rick Heller of the Humanist Mindfulness Group at: https://humanistlearning.com/humanist-meditations/

And if you want to learn more about the science of meditation and what exactly happens in your brain when you meditation, consider taking Humanist Meditation: Answers for Skeptics also taught by Rick:
https://humanistlearning.com/meditation101/

Curious about meditation? New to it? Rick Heller of the Humanist Mindfulness group, answers questions about meditation for beginners.

Questions:

Where's the best place to meditate (Outside? Inside? In a chair? On the floor?)
Should it be dark? Light?
How do you stop thinking about things that are stressing you out?
How should you best position your body, and why?
How long should you meditate for in the beginning?
Is there a time of day that's best meditation for some reason?
Any other tips you can give about where, how and why we should meditate.

Answers:

For a beginner who is not participating in a group, the best place to start may be:

1. In a quiet room, especially one where they will not overhear conversations. More advanced meditators can meditate in a noisy environment, but it’s always hard to meditate when someone is having a loud conversation nearby.

2. For a beginner, a chair is probably easier than a mat on the floor. If a chair, it should not be a “comfy” chair that you sink in to. Better is a chair or bench with perhaps a little padding that lets you sit up fairly straight. You do want to sit up straight, but not in so rigid a manner that it makes you tense. Ideally, you want to feel relaxed and energetic.

3. In our group, we often dim the lights before meditating.

4. You don’t actively try to stop thinking. Rather, you focus on something like the breath, and by paying attention to the breath coming in and out of your nostrils, you naturally pay less attention to your thoughts.

5. For a beginner, we find that 20 minutes works well, but longer leads to restlessness and can be counterproductive.

6. Many people meditate shorting after getting up in the morning and before going to bed. It’s fine to meditate in the middle of the day, but if often does not fit into people’s schedules.

7. After you’ve done a bit of meditation, you learn that you can keep some of the calm meditative mindset with you as you go about your day—while walking, shopping at the supermarket, raking leaves, etc.

Hope that helps