If you’ve read any kind of personal-improvement literature in your life, you’ve no doubt been told to meditate on many occasions. The benefits are many; improved concentration, better health, and an increased ability to deal with stress, are just some of these. So, it sounded good in theory, but the idea of meditation may have conjured up visions of sitting in the lotus position while singing “OHM”, which seemed really hard and maybe just a little bit weird.

Aside from the already mentioned benefits, meditation is the least complicated and easiest way there is to raise your vibration. When you meditate, you stop thinking, and therefore, stop thinking those thoughts that are limiting you. This allows your vibration to rise naturally. In terms of the Law of Attraction, the higher your vibration and the less limiting thoughts you have, the more rapidly and easily you’ll manifest what you want.

But meditation doesn’t have to be hard or cause you discomfort. In fact, when done correctly, it should be the exact opposite of those – effortless and really pleasant.

There are many ways to meditate. You can sit in the lotus position, if you’re that flexible. Most of us aren’t. And you can sing or hum mantras, if you like. But many of us in the West don’t really relate to these mantras, which can actually be distracting and cause your mind to become more active. You might become self-conscious about the sounds you’re making, wonder why you’re doing this in the first place, and become nervous about someone walking in, videotaping your “Ohm” moment, and posting it on Youtube.  None of those thoughts are very relaxing. If you’ve had some trouble meditating up to this point, here’s an easy, simple and completely non-embarrassing way to do it:

1. Find a comfortable position. There’s no right or wrong here; whatever is comfortable for you will work. You can sit in a chair, on the floor, or even lie down. As long as you don’t fall asleep, you’re doing fine.
2. Close your eyes and breathe deeply. Focus on breathing into your stomach instead of your chest. Take long slow breaths in and out through your nose.
3. Start counting your breaths. No one will hear you, you’re doing this in your head. Breathe in, breathe out. That’s one. Breathe in, breathe out. That’s two, and so on.
4. If you find your mind wandering, and it probably will, don’t worry. Just gently bring your focus back to your counting.
5. At some point, a calmness will come over you. You’ll just feel relaxed. You might need to count to 100 or even further to achieve this, but it will happen if you just continue to focus on the counting. This calmness is the meditative state you’re after. Don’t fight it, just let it happen. Bask in it. Enjoy it.

More useful tips to get you started:

• Meditation is a great way to begin your day. However, if that’s not convenient, you can meditate in the morning, evening or any time of day. Doing it with regularity is much more important than what time of day you choose.
• If you do fall asleep, don’t beat up on yourself. Naps are actually a great way to raise your vibration, as well. Meditation is more beneficial in the long run, however.
• Don’t judge how many breaths it takes you to achieve the meditative state. Some days it will be more, some less. Don’t be surprised if the number decreases as you gain practice, and then suddenly rises again. This happens. It doesn’t matter. It’s not a contest. Just breathe and focus and know you’re doing it right.
• If you miss a day, don’t worry. It’s ideal is to meditate every day, but do the best you can. The goal is to make this a regular part of your life. If three times a week is the best you can do for now, do that.
• Once you’ve gotten some practice achieving the meditative state and know what it feels like, you can start to have some fun with it. You’re in a state of high vibration. If you think good-feeling thoughts now, you can amplify them. Think of something that you’d like to have, something that makes you feel good. Then, let your thoughts unfold naturally. Stay relaxed. If you keep the high vibration, you’ll begin to imagine possibilities and scenarios you’ve never seen before. Let your imagination run wild. Keep playing as long as it feels good. Should some bad-feeling thoughts creep in, go back to focusing on your breathing. This is not the time to bring in your “issues”. Use this method only to think of things that already make you feel good and take them to the next level.

That’s it. That’s meditation. Do this for 20 minutes a day (including the counting) and you’ll reap all the benefits I mentioned. Remember to take it easy and have fun with it.  It really is as simple as that.