A Meditation Schedule Plan
As so many people have asked for it: a practical schedule for every beginner who wants to master Meditating in a period of six weeks. Once you have decided to begin Meditating it is good to make a few agreements with yourself. Most people stop Meditating in their initial stage. This means that it is important that in this initial stage you do not allow yourself to get discouraged and to stop. Tell yourself that you will give Meditating a fair chance for a certain period of time (for example 6 weeks or 100 days) and to Meditate every day at least for 15 minutes or longer. If you make firm agreements with yourself you have a much better chance that you will succeed in achieving your goals. If you Meditate for fifty days and enjoy doing it and you decide to skip it for one day you will often discover that after that one day it becomes easier to skip your Meditating once again and before you know it….finished. In our view the best thing to do for beginners is to start with one of our concentration Meditations. Meditation is a technique that you can use for a lifetime. When you practise enough you will see that your relaxation and your awareness become more acute and intense and in the course of time they will reach ever deeper levels. This means that even the simplest Meditation technique can never get boring. Notwithstanding all this we have made a schedule for you which will enable you to explore the world of Meditation fairly thoroughly in the course of six weeks, during which time you can get experience with the relevant techniques. After six weeks you have built up a good base on which you can keep up your Meditation discipline, get acquainted with the long term advantages of Meditating, relax whenever you want to, and get a better grip on your thoughts and moods. Good luck!
When you start with Meditating it is advisable to go through the following starting procedure:
- Read our section on What is Meditating?
- Read our section on The various kinds of Meditation
- Read our section on Choosing the right posture
- Read our section on The right mental attitude
- Read our section on What to do in the case of difficulties
Before we Start Meditating
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When you start: 1) Wear comfortable clothes. 2) Look for a quiet place where you can Meditate. 3) Tell yourself how long you intend to Meditate. 4) Sit up straight on a chair or a cushion. 5) Close your eyes and put your hands on your knees or your thighs and, if possible, breathe through your nose. 6) Start with your Meditation. 7) When you are finished just take a few minutes to get back to ordinary life. We wish you a lot of pleasure and success with your Meditations!
Try to do a concentration Meditation for at least 5 to 15 minutes every day. Choose your own time and location and stick to them for the rest of the week to create a fixed pattern. We advise you to start with the count your breaths Meditation. If you prefer the candle Meditation or a mantra Meditation, that is fine. In the first few days pay special attention to sitting comfortably so that you avoid aches and stiffness in your back or joints. During the first two weeks you should do the bodyscan Meditation at least once or twice. Read our section on the right mental attitude. Also try to be more attentive and aware in your daily life. Experiment with the count your breaths Meditation when you are standing in a queue or your get stuck in a traffic jam, when you sitting in a train or taking a walk. If you like you can get yourself a Meditation diary. If once in a while you have to skip one day, that is no disaster. In such a case you just continue your series of sessions the following day.
You are doing well, we are already in the third week. Try to make your Meditations a little longer: 15 to 20 minutes. If everything is fine, try to Meditate twice a day. If you Meditate with the help of a CD or audio cassettes, you are now advanced enough to try to Meditate without them. Now and then you should do the bodyscan Meditation. Experiment with counting. Do not count all the breathings in and breathings out, but choose to count only the breathings in or the breathings out. If you are doing well then you should one day try out the follow your breath Meditation. If you like it and you do it well, you can do this Meditation more frequently if you like. If once in a while you experience some trouble with your Meditating, you can always go back to the basic Meditation techniques. You should start paying more attention to your Meditation posture. Try to sit not only comfortably but also in a posture that causes you to stay as awake and as alert as possible during your exercises. Read our section on postures once in a while. Try to observe your own thoughts just as acutely in your daily life as during your Meditations. Ask yourself if you judge, if you do not accept certain things and see how you react to certain thoughts. If you like you can try out the count your breaths while you walk Meditation. Do short Meditations when you are standing in a queue or when your car is in a traffic jam, when you are sitting in the train or taking a walk. Keep a Meditation diary and evaluate your entries. Do not be too fanatical or too goal-oriented.
You have been Meditating now for three weeks. Do you or the people around you see any changes yet? Now and then you should alternate the basic Meditations with Meditations for more advanced students. You could Meditate on your breathing in the morning and on your mind in the evening or the other way round. Try the count your thoughts Meditation once in a while. Instead of the body scan you might try the steer your breath Meditation for a change. By alternating Meditations they give you more fun and you do not get fixed on certain topics. If you prefer to stick to your ordinary Meditations, that is fine too. Your basis is very important and you are not in a hurry. If you like you could try out a consciousness walking Meditation. You could also try an eating Meditation or try to be completely Zen when you are doing a little job in your home.
In the course of the sixth week you really become the master of your own mind. Alternate relatively short and relatively long Meditations. You get to know your body and your mind better and better and it becomes more and more easy for you to be aware of your thoughts. It is probable that during your Meditations you become more and more relaxed. In this week you could try an insight Meditation. If you like you could do visualisations or other goal-directed Meditations. Do not forget to do the bodyscan and the steer your breath Meditations once in a while.
If you are still doing what you intended to do and you enjoy Meditating every day, all we can say is: keep going! Try to Meditate every day. If you follow a schedule of your own, that is fine. Just go on and try to combine elements of your own choosing with elements of our Meditation schedule plan. If once in a while you really have not got the time to Meditate, do your best to do a short Meditation of one, two or three minutes. Do alternately Meditations focussed on your breathing, your mind and your feelings. Keep working on your basic skills and do not limit yourself to only visualising or insight Meditations. Pay attention to your posture and try to get as close as possible to the classic Meditation postures to reach deeper levels of quietness and awareness during your Meditations. If you experience problems, if you want to know more, or if you are interested in one of our courses, then surf to our website. Good luck! And: have fun!
TIP:Learning how to Meditate through this website or through books is fine, learning how to Meditate through a personal course is often better. Surf to our Courses Section for more information on our Meditation courses.
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