I enjoyed this recent post from Dan Benjamin, introducing meditation:

http://hivelogic.com/articles/an-introduction-to-mindfulness...

In particular, this line:

"One final thing to keep in mind; you absolutely do not have to be a Buddhist to meditate in this way, and this practice won’t turn you into one, either."

Which isn't to knock Buddhism in the slightest, but just a reminder that it's possible and useful to consider the practice of meditation as a separate thing from the Buddhism, or mysticism, or whatever-else-ism that it's often packaged up with in popular consciousness, and which might put off some people from trying it.