How to Meditate (part 1)

So after all of that 2012 talk you must be freaking out, right?

Good.

Just kidding!

But just in case you are (and even if you're not), now is a great time to talk about meditation.

Don't disappear on me just yet. If your first urge is to just stop reading, I hear you. As a Catholic kid, meditation brought up very particular unfamiliar images in my mind: Buddhists, weird yoga positions, karma and dharma and all kinds of things I knew nothing about. Narrow-minded Brittany was pretty wary and uninterested in meditation.

But meditation is entry #5,163 of things that I dissed and turned out to be totally wrong.

Here's the simplest way I can explain what meditation actually is:
Meditation is an attempt to calm the mind. The goal is to become aware of your own inner chatter and improve yourself mentally and/or spiritually.

Another way I've heard it explained (for those looking to use it in a spiritual sense):
Prayer is speaking.
Meditation is listening.

Meditation has been known to reduce stress and actually has a physical effect on the body. Heart rate, metabolism, blood pressure, and brain chemistry are just some of the areas effected!

You don't have to sit cross-legged while meditating or contort your body in any way. In fact, a relaxing body position will allow you to meditate better because it will allow you to focus on your mind instead.

The best way to start meditating is to simply close your eyes, lay your arms out at your sides palms up, and be still for one minute. Sounds pretty lame, right? Oh, don't be so sure. A lot of (internal) things can happen in one minute of silence. Work your way up to 2, 5, 10, 15, 20 minutes.

I think I'll stop this lesson here. Baby steps.