What if we didn't call it meditation?

One of the most effective ways of connecting with the deepest part of who we are, our true self, is to meditate. Mediation is also an excellent tool for reducing stress and for improving overall health and well-being.  Most of us know this, or at least have heard it, so a simple question comes to mind — if meditation can be very helpful, why don’t more of us meditate?
 
“I can’t do it,” a friend said to me.  “I have bought CDs, downloaded podcasts, and read dozens articles over the years, but nothing has helped me learn to meditate. I just can’t do it.”  She shook her head and looked down at the floor, the frustration in her voice unmistakably clear.  Like a number of my friends and acquaintances, the young woman sitting across from me, successful in so many aspects of her life, was frustrated by this thing she believed she could not do.  She continued, “How can people say it’s simple?  It’s impossible to sit still and quiet my mind.  What is a quiet mind anyway?” This is an excellent question, of course, and one that I asked myself frequently when I started to practice mediation.  
 
There are many, many sources of information about how to meditate.  I am a student of mediation and it has taken me countless attempts and much humility to develop a technique that works for me.  I have learned a great deal from my teacher and from various other people over the years, but perhaps the most helpful tip was to call the practice something other than meditation.  This helped a lot because I found the descriptions of mind-clearing and mediation techniques difficult to believe and nearly impossible to do.  In the words of my friend – what is a quiet mind anyway?
 
So now I think of the practice as “silent stillness.”  I don’t worry about whether my mind is quiet or not – I am patient with myself and allow my over-active mind the freedom to clear itself or not.  My focus is on modeling the stillness of one on my favorite creatures (and the symbol for Awakening Your True Self), the heron.  I have reframed “meditation” as “practicing heron-like stillness.”  
 
Having agreed that we will not call it meditation, here are a few suggestions for when you can find just five minutes (ideally a few more) to put yourself first….
 
– Set a timer for 5 minutes (or more if you can) so you won’t be distracted wondering how many minutes you have left!  If you use a timer on your cell-phone, I suggest that you set it to a non-jarring sound.
 
– Sit in a comfortable position anywhere – in your room, office, or car (as long as you are not waiting for a traffic light to change from red to green).
 
– Close your eyes.
 
– Take three deep, deep breaths, slowly drawing air in though your nose, holding the air in your lungs for a few moments, and then exhaling very, very slowly through your mouth.  (I like to think of it as breathing in air so deeply that it reaches my toes, even though I know that’s not how it works!)
 
– Continue to breathe deeply, trying to focus only on the flow of air in and out of your body.  Don’t worry if thoughts flow through your mind, simply smile and continue breathing slowly and deeply.  
 
– Smile and breathe until your timer sounds.
 
– Open your eyes, turn off the timer, and say “Well done!”  
 
– Congratulations!  You now have successfully meditated.