Two Simple Meditation Techniques to Soothe Your Mind

I started meditation 15 years ago, and it’s my go-to for reducing stress. More scientific studies support this practice as a legitimate tool for our health. Meditation helps lower blood pressure, improves attention span, reduces anxiety, and may aid with age-related memory loss (1).

Every person we see has an endless internal dialogue playing in their mind. Sometimes the mental chatter is pleasing to us, and sometimes not. Meditation is excellent at taming negative self-talk. To quote one of my favorite modern-day philosophers, Naval Ravikant, “The peace that we seek is not peace of mind, it’s peace from mind” (2). We do a host of activities to get away from our internal dialogue when it’s unpleasant. But I argue that meditation is the best way to shift our internal conversation in a positive direction. Using distractions or drugs won’t change the conversation we have with ourselves. 

To dive in, let’s look at two meditation techniques I enjoy using. Meditation doesn’t need to take a long time, just aim for 15 to 20 minutes.

Meditation Technique #1: The Focal Point

The focal point represents a common understanding of meditation: close your eyes and use something as your point of concentration. Concentrate on a steady sound or rhythm, for example:

• The continuous sound of rainfall.
• The rhythm of your breathing.

Next, there are no strict rules for choosing your focal point. Just do these two things:

1. Focus on the sound or rhythm with your eyes closed in a comfortable position. Use headphones if you need to block external noises.
2. Practice in a distraction-free environment.

You may experience a hailstorm of thoughts when you start, but it is expected! Weather the storm. Next, bring your attention to the focal point as best you can. For this example, I will use the sound of rain. You can visualize the rain and listen for nuance in the recording. After a brief bout of focusing on the rain, your thoughts will return. When the thoughts occur, go back to the focal point as often as possible.

I enjoy calling this the “dance of meditation” because it’s very back-and-forth. Our thoughts will continue to rise like bubbles to the surface but keep refocusing. In due course, your mental chatter will be less chaotic, and you will experience relaxation.

Meditation Technique #2: The Spectator

This time there’s no “dance,” no focal point. This technique is deliberately more self-reflective than the former, though reflection can be had in either one. I still recommend using headphones to drown out noises in your environment. This technique goes as follows:

1. Begin by imagining yourself as an observer to the thoughts flowing through your mind. An analogy is an image of you standing on a riverbank and watching your thoughts float downstream.
2. Do your best not to judge your thoughts or have an adverse emotional reaction. If you judge them, give yourself a break, be easy on yourself. 

This technique is self-therapy for your inner dialogue. This act of reflection benefits us. I often receive ideas for challenges I face while I practice this. When I keep a notepad near me, I write the ideas on paper, and I recommend you do too.

Final Thoughts

When you have time, practice meditation. Even better, schedule it for the mornings. Sometimes the chaos later in the day makes putting in the time more difficult. The more you practice, the better your meditation sessions will be.