Meditation, for me, is time dedicated to being present and aware of my oneness with God/Spirit/Consciousness. About 15% of the time I am able to drop into this zone and just buzz along. I come out of there in another world and everything hums along. The other 85% of the time I struggle with letting go of my plans, dreams, arguments, and task lists. This morning I was in the 85% category.

I usually have a few tricks to sink into a meditative state. First, I focus on my breath. This is the simplest thing I can do to reel my attention in. As I breathe in, I feel the air in my nostrils, down the airways, filling my lungs. As I breathe out, I feel my lungs relax and the air is pressed out my nose. I just watch it for sometime until it evaporates and I fall like a leaf in a soft place. My mind is clear and I am in IT.

When focusing on my breath does not work, I think an affirmation. I repeat the affirmation like a mantra. If my mind is really noisy, I say it out loud. I slow the pace of the affirmation and lower the volume from speaking, to a whisper, to a thought. As the pace and volume of the affirmation slows and lowers, so to does my mind. Eventually, the words are not thought, just felt. Soon after, I find myself in a meditative state, present, and at one with all.

Another technique I use to still my mind is to watch my thoughts. I imagine that I am lying on the ground looking up at them like clouds passing by. In the beginning I find myself sticking with a particular cloud as it passes. When I notice that I am drifting with a particular cloud, I remind myself to continue to watch the clouds pass by. After sometime I close my eyes in my imagination so that I can’t see the clouds passing. Soon after, I fall into the meditation.

Do you have any special ways to still your mind during prayer, meditation or throughout the day? I’d love to hear about them in the comments.