Anyone practice meditation? I'm exploring meditation as a way to keep everything under control. I always feel like I have a lot to do, and this stressed me out. Lauren, my wellness coach, has been having me meditate for 5-10 minutes a day, and I really like it. I like guided meditation more than anything, though, because I'm able to focus on the speaker's voice and don't have to worry about my thoughts wandering.

I'd love to hear some tips. Better yet, I'd love to find some mp3s of short guided meditations.

(I'm not into spiritual stuff, though -- I just do this to relax.)

Hi JD,

I've also begun meditating, on a small scale, and not as consistently as I'd like. One of my goals this year is actually to start meditating several times a week, but I've put that goal off until later as I concentrate on other goals right now.

When I do meditate, I find it very relaxing and peaceful. I'm not a new-ager by any means, but I am a fan of simplicity, and find that meditating keeps me calm and seems to melt away the stress.

Other things I like to do that have similar effects: reading, running early in the morning, and working outside. Somehow my mind gets lost in these things, and that kind of focus really relaxes me.

I have a blogger friend, Nneka, over at http://www.balancedlifecenter.com/blog/ who is much more experienced at meditating. I'd give her blog a read for more on the topic.

What a small world bloggers have, really! Nneka is a friend of mine and Kimbers from a business and real estate forums we all met on!

I should meditate. I suppose my version of that is working out (aka trainer kicks my ass) and baths (calm and troubles down the drain).

That's pretty cool! Nice to meet you ... now I can tell people years later that we met on the Get Rich Slowly forum. :)

While I think that guided meditations are great, I think that they are a great gateway drug to the real thing - sitting meditation while focusing on the breath.
There are a million different schools and techniques and you can really get unicorn and fluffy bunny about it, but I think a great starting point is Clark Strand's "The Wooden Bowl".
He's a former zen monk, and his book basically teaches the technique of breath counting.
Breathe in, breathe out - One.
Breathe in, breathe out - Two.
Up to four, then back to one.

It's a great arrow to have in your quiver, along with guided meditations, subliminal tapes, self improvement audiobooks - whatever works for you.

- Bill

One alternative to meditation that achieves many of the same things is Alexander Technique. I took weekly lessons for five years after I suffered a severe repetitive strain injury from computer use. It's billed as a discipline to help you regain proper posture, but it's really more of a whole-body-awareness program and it changed my life in many ways. One of the things my teacher had me do during every lesson was to lie quietly on my back for 15-20 minutes and follow the standard Alexander directions (which start with freeing up the neck, the source of much of our tension since our heads weigh as much as a bowling ball...when your head isn't balanced the neck muscles have to do a lot of work all the time). That was very meditative.

Alexander Technique isn't something you can really learn on your own, though; you need a teacher. In that sense it's not as frugal as meditating. But I highly recommend it for anyone who has to sit at a desk all day or who's having back or shoulder problems, or even if you just want to get reacquainted with your body.

I did a lot of Buddhist meditation when I was in my 20s and helped run a mediation center for a while. The last many years though, I hardly do at all. I'm doing it a little again. Among other things, I spent a lot less money when I meditated, and not just because I had less. My favorite book on the topic is "Mindfulness in Plain English" which is extremely practical and not religious (despite being written by a monk).

While I don't meditate so much now, those skills still help me do things like control my temper, go to sleep after a stressful day, and appreciate quiet moments. So it's worth getting into even if not a whole lifestyle adjustment.