What would be a good way to start meditating? Nothing too intense - just to dip a toe in.
https://thebuddhistcentre.com/text/mindfulness-breathing
The meditation has four progressive stages leading to a highly enjoyable level of concentration. To start with five minutes per stage is a good period of practice.
1. In the first stage you use counting to stay focused on the breath. After the out-breath you count one, then you breathe in and out and count two, and so on up to ten, and then you start again at one.
2. In the second stage you subtly shift where you breathe, counting before the in-breath, anticipating the breath that is coming, but still counting from one to ten, and then starting again at one.
3. In the third stage you drop the counting and just watch the breath as it comes in and goes out.
4. In the final stage the focus of concentration narrows and sharpens, so you pay attention to the subtle sensation on the tip of the nose where the breath first enters and last leaves the body.
After completing the first 10 guided sessions, I read most of "Mindfulness in Plain English" by Henepola Gunaratana. It was good for a deeper dive into Vipassana meditation in particular and did a good job of keeping the more religious overtones to a minimum. I definitely recommend it.
It was the book I started with, and I just wanted to second this. As a lifelong skeptic by nature, finding a book that introduced meditation without the "woo" made all the difference.
For more of the same, look up the podcasts by Gil Fronsdal and Audiodharma. Like with Mindfulness in Plain English, it comes from a Buddhist starting point but he goes to the same length to keep the religious parts out of it.
Just you, in your home, for 5 minutes every day.
[1] http://www.eckankar.org/Video/play.php?name=Miracles+in+Your...
(I am no way affiliated with this company)
So it works for a particular type of meditation, if you're relaxed in a particular way, if the battery level and contacts are good, if the initial calibration went well. It's great for starting/restarting a meditation habit but I would say one outgrows it fairly quickly.
Edit: the following pay-what-you-want course really helped me; it even improved my Muse scores! I have no affiliation.
Step 2: Don't get distracted. If you get distracted, go to step 1.
Expect to get distracted a lot, like your mind wandering continuously. The key here is to observe that happening, and gently bring yourself back to your breath. Don't let it frustrate or discourage you. Watching yourself become distracted and gently bringing yourself back is part of the process of meditating, not some sign that you're failing at it. The noticing of the distraction is in itself mindfulness.
As Jon Kabat-Zinn suggests, you need to approach this with non-judgmental moment-to-moment awareness.
I happen to own more Audible credits than I can spend. If anyone wants to listen to the audio book, email me and I can give away around 20 copies. Contact info is in my HN profile.
[1] http://www.audible.com/pd/Self-Development/10-Happier-Audiob...
I highly recommend it.
Also, I think meditation is very practical, so just try to sit 5 minutes, forcing thoughts to go away. That's it.
A common example is to compare the mind to the surface of some body of water: it starts rough and active and you'd like it to be still. However, any mental action you take in attempt to still it (as opposed to allowing it to settle on its own) is akin to using your hands to 'settle' the water's surface; you just disturb it more.