You will likely want more information on ways of meditating, and a good place
to start is with books and tapes by respected meditation experts. There are
hundreds of books and tapes to choose from, and you may have access to classes
in meditation offered by local organizations as well. You will probably want
to try a few approaches to see which is most effective for you.
You may well find, however, that the times you need inner calm most tend to
be times when you don't have the option of going off for ten or twenty minutes
to meditate. That doesn't mean you don't have access to calmness and clarity
of mind. Meditation will help you to have a better handle on your mind and emotions
at all times during the day, but there's also something else you can do: at
any point during the day, you can take a brief pause to calm your mind and refocus
your awareness.
If, for instance, there's a noise that you hear every so often – perhaps
a co-worker's phone – pause for five seconds when you hear it. Stop, smile
slightly, breathe calmly and evenly, and be aware of your breath. If you start
to think about something, just set it aside and think, "Thinking... thinking...
thinking." Try choosing a noise that irritates you, so that instead of
simply fuming, you make the noise your signal for a pause to refresh your outlook.
You can even stop and think, "Irritation... irritation... irritation..."
as you watch the irritation appear and fade away.
This also works if you find your mind wandering from your work, or if you
get angry or upset. Just pause, inhale, exhale, and think "wandering"
or "angry" or "upset." Don't fight the thoughts or feelings;
just recognize them, and be aware of yourself having them. And then continue
what you were doing.
And any time you think about meditating and find yourself putting it off to
do something else first, pause for five seconds and think, "procrastinating...
procrastinating... procrastinating..."