A Guide to Meditation

Self-Worth, Business, and Meditation

The practice of meditation is a useful tool in elevating self-worth.?It slows down your thinking so you can catch the negative language, images, and emotions that are at the root of self-worth problems.?Meditation is brain training and offers a way out of the never-ending chatter that erodes your confidence and motivation.?In business, it is hugely efficient and delivers benefits that go well beyond our initial desires of money and advancement.?

For me, meditation is a boat that floats on the surface of my busy life.?Instead of splashing in the chaotic waters of other people’s drama, I see ahead clearly what I wish to accomplish and, most days, I can navigate the rapids with ease.?However, that is not how my practice started.

Yoga Poses and Mystic Chanting

My biggest obstacles to meditation were embarrassment and contempt.?First, my mind slammed shut at the thought of meditating in yoga pants while holding a wooden Buddha. I am not a Buddhist nor do I have any desire to be.?I suffered from low self-worth, and I felt the practice could help.?Second, I believed the business world would not embrace meditation as something desirable.?I feared you finding out and laughing at me (which is another self-worth issue).?No one ever talked about it let alone attempt to educate the business community.

Finally, the road to a calm mind seemed to exclude advancement and success.?Recently, I posted a short audio program on a popular meditation-sharing app.?Many hardcore meditators reacted negatively to my statements of wealth and business success.?However, a few latched onto it quickly.?There is a small but growing group of people wanting to know how to build a calm, successful life while having financial security and a thriving career.

A Simple Guide to Business Meditation

This guide is a meditation primer based on my experience.?I have tried on a lot of robes and sandals over the years and have assembled this outline so you can discover what works for you.?In the end, the goal is to slow down your thinking so you can identify the negative thoughts that affect self-worth and stand in the way of your goals.?

Self-worth is not always evenly distributed in your psyche – you may have high self-worth as it relates to raising kids while issues of money and career may be difficult and challenging.?Each person is different, and only you know what areas you will want to elevate. Meditation gives you a tool to catch your thinking before you sabotage an opportunity.?For me, I have done more damage to my career by reacting, instead of responding.?

Getting Going

You do not have to consume any religious or spiritual philosophy.?This guide is strictly practical and intended to be an exercise in training your mind to slow down so you can improve your life. If you want to learn more regarding spiritual practices, fantastic but it is not necessary to receive the benefits of meditation.

When I started meditating, I was able to get a few days in, maybe even a week, and then I would fall off the practice. At one point, I amassed a couple of weeks of consistent meditation, with each session lasting upward of twenty minutes. However, I could never keep it up. Fixing my resolve, I would go to a retreat and commit to improving my practice. I am excellent at the forty-yard dash, but could never run the marathon.

I knew the development of a consistent meditation practice was important. Every book I read about self-improvement and the attainment of happiness suggested meditation. I wanted to slow down my thinking and train my thoughts. I considered it a high priority but had little success. It was frustrating, and it fed my limited self-worth language.

“I cannot meditate” is the repeated mantra of lower self-worth and suggests that I am broken and flawed. When I did meditate, I received the benefits and physically felt better. However, every time I got momentum, I would stop.

“Why do I quit?” I would ask myself.?Why do I avoid meditating when it pays such high dividends? The rationalization, the resistance, and the justification seemed to be in every cell of my body, telling me, “You can let meditation slide – you do not need it.”?I lacked the muscle to keep going.

Then one day, it hit me.?I decided to meditate on my terms.?Instead of following 3,000-year-old, highly customary practices, I decided to float down my river into uncharted waters.?I would make meditation work under my conditions.?Like riding a bicycle for the first time, I needed to get up on two wheels before entering the Tour de France.?Once I was rolling, I would look to others for fine-tuning.

It worked, and I am sharing my primer with you.?The following is the guide I wrote for myself and appears in my book The Bug in Our Brain. I hope it helps you find peace in a busy life.

The Act of Meditating

There are numerous forms of meditation, each with their particular stated benefits and purposes. I have outlined the basics for a starter. You will need to take action and deepen your practice by means that align with your beliefs, customs, and intentions.

My experience with meditation started with a weekly group that met on Thursday mornings. Each week, a volunteer would lead the session. This gave the leader a chance to learn a method and teach it to the group. From this foundation, I learned how to meditate and bring the practice into my life.?More importantly, I took the best of the practices and assembled them into something that worked for me.

This primer demystifies meditation and removes the cultural and religious overtones that tend to keep people away from the practice.?

1. Showing Up—The number one requirement of meditation is attempting to meditate. Showing up is the first rule of meditation. Committing to meditate every day is critical; even if it is to do one minute in the morning, you must do one minute every day. Remember, routine and repetition are your friends. Your brain’s Routine Engine will come to expect the peace of meditation every day. Once the subconscious mind is addicted to its daily break, you will parlay the winnings into all areas of your life. Showing up is the most important part of meditation.
2. Location—Find a safe, quiet spot indoors where you will not be interrupted.?For me, it is my office at home.?I started in the bathroom, on the closed toilet seat.?Yes, I know, not very elegant but it served the purpose and got me uninterrupted time to start the practice. I know many people who use the driver’s seat of their car.?It is quiet, safe and protected.?A safe, quiet space is critical. Regarding meditating outdoors, I do not suggest starting the practice outside.?You want the emotional security of a safe environment.?Sitting quietly, with your eyes closed in an outdoor setting, does not bring about the desired effect of safety.?Also, insects tend to interrupt the flow.?Start indoors, and after you have a solid discipline, you can venture into the great outdoors.
3. Groups - Meditating in a group can be amazing.?I started my practice in a group setting with like-minded individuals all trying to find a little peace in their lives. A good friend of mine started his training at the University of California, Irvine extension course on mindfulness.?A group setting was an essential part of the course and helped launch him into meditation.
4. Readings—Before I meditate, I read my Success Statement. My Success Statement is a short statement of my goals—financial, spiritual, physical, mental, and personal including relationships. Occasionally, I switch up the readings with affirmations with an understanding of what I am doing. I impress into my subconscious mind my desires. The impression period is usually ninety days; however, I have found it takes less time when you have cleared your mind of broken thinking. Pick readings that matter to you. There are a number of them in my book, “The Bug in Our Brain.” Start with The Gift section of the book for ninety days. Once you have acquired the discipline, you can branch to other readings. You can download The Gift from our website www.MotiveForLife.com. The Gift is free and does not require giving up your email or any personal information. Just download and read.
5. Music—My preference is to meditate without music. A friend of mine mentioned that our brain gets addicted to the music and requires it to get into a meditative state. That made sense to me. My goal is to identify negative thinking anywhere, under any circumstances, and music seems to be more of a distraction than a help. However, I know many meditators who like and leverage music with great benefit. Find what works for you.?There’s no right or wrong here, just try and see where it takes you.
6. Guided—I will, from time to time, follow a guided meditation to discover a block, but once discovered, I typically go back to silent meditation with a timer.?Done well, guided meditations are amazing and open doors that may appear to be shut. I have used guided meditations to help me understand my purpose and to clear my foggy vision. There are many paths to the mountaintop; find what works for you.
7. Time and Duration—I meditate once a day for twenty minutes. Most meditation practices suggest a twenty-minute session upon awakening. I have adopted this practice, and it seems to be a perfect mix for me. I get up at 5:00 a.m. every day, go to the bathroom, do what I need to do, and head to my office. There, I do my readings and meditate. Once complete, about thirty minutes, I am good to go and ready for the world.
8. Breathing—Most practices teach some form of breathing technique whereby you focus on the breath moving in and out of your body. Witnessing your breath, moving in and out, has the effect of clearing your thoughts and moving you into the present moment. This simple technique is the foundation of my meditation practice and brings me back to the present whenever I mentally wander off. Imagine your mind is a puppy. Your goal is to train the puppy to stay. You move the puppy in front of you, release it, and wait. As expected, the puppy wanders off for no apparent reason; curiosity gets the best of her. You move the puppy back and do it again. With each return, the puppy slowly learns that it must stay in front of you. Hopefully, you do this with love and kindness. Your mind works the same way. Just return to the breath and the present moment. You will train your mind to stay and not become a victim of random thinking.
9. Posture—I learned to meditate sitting on the edge of a chair or stool. I roll my hips forward to straighten my spine and lay my hands palms down on my knees. Palms up or palms down, whatever feels natural to you. There are meditation practices that encourage lying down or sitting comfortably in a chair. I do not have an opinion on any of those—just that you are consistent with the meditation practice. For me, a straight-back posture helps me maintain my focus on the breath. Again, find what works for you.
10. Clothing—I meditate in my daily clothes; however, I loosen my belt and unbutton my pants to free my waist. Loosening my pants helps my breathing by releasing my stomach to move in and out with my breath; it is also comfortable.
11. Apps—I highly recommend using a mobile phone app.?I use Insight Timer for the Android and iPhone.?It offers useful tools for both guided and timed meditations, as well as useful features for connecting with other meditators.?If you are interested, you can find my guided meditation and reading of The Gift. It is free with the app.
12. Coming Out—Once my meditation has concluded, I slowly open my eyes and stretch my body by standing up and raising my arms over my head. I bring myself to the current moment and say a set of affirmations that have become my daily practice.

I hope this guide helps you establish a meditation practice. Once you develop the routine, you will inevitably branch out and find more techniques that help you improve your practice. I have, and I know you will too.

This guide is available for download from www.MotiveForLife.com and used without charge under the terms and conditions detailed in the copyright section of the guide.

All the best.

About the Author

Robert Christiansen is the author of The Bug in Our Brain, the first personal development book uniquely focused on the core driver of success – self-worth. Robert is a successful cloud computing executive and entrepreneur, public speaker, and coach. His coaching company, Motive For Life, is dedicated to changing the world through the elevation of personal worthiness. Learn more at www.MotiveForLife.com

Robert can be reached at [email protected]