It's Meditation Month, Part 2

     This month we're focusing on different meditation techniques in case you are ever in need of a new one to keep things fresh.  I gleaned several from re-reading Lawrence LeShan's How to Meditate: A Guide to Self-Discovery.

     A good one to have in one's repertoire is the old stand-by, Breath Counting.  Several variations on this technique exist, of course.  One is to count one's breath from one to ten and then start over, and repeat.  However, I find that there are days when I am so scattered or upset that even concentrating to the count of five is really tough for me.  A variation I use on those days is to count to four and repeat that.  If that is too difficult, I might add another variation so I have to focus a bit more.  In this, I count "one" on the inhalation, then think "and" on the exhalation, "two" on the next inhalation, "and" on the next exhalation, and so on up to four, then repeat.  Some people like to focus on the sensation of breathing itself, perhaps focusing on the difference in temperature of the breath in the tip of the nose between the inhalation and exhalation.  I find Breath Counting, whichever variation is used, to help calm me down even when I can't go off by myself.

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