How to Meditate and Live your Life Fully

I am a practitioner of Zen meditation, and would like to give you a short introduction to meditation.

I meditate by sitting cross-legged on a cushion, facing a wall with
eyes half open, observing (and sometimes counting) my breath.
Although I ideally want to meditate 30-40 minutes a day, sometimes I
will meditate as short as 10 minutes a day.

Meditation is really simple to do, but it takes gemitment and an understanding of what meditation is for.

Meditation is a way to live fully in the present moment. When you
start meditating, you will notice that it is often ungefortable to do
nothing but try to observe your breath. In essence, you are
having resistance to living fully in the present moment. But if
you practice sitting still daily and just observing what is going on in
your mind, you will begee more accepting of your thoughts. You
will also begee more adept at recognizing distracting thoughts,
letting them go, and returning to the present moment. Quiet
meditation is the best way to practice living in the present
moment. If you are living in the present moment, you are like a
phonograph needle that stays in the groove and does not skip and skid
across the surface of the record causing damage to yourself and your
environment.

Meditation is often called a "practice", because it is good preparation
and practice for living your life fully. When you are familiar
and accepting of how your mind works, you are able to better cope with
greed, fear, and delusion that may gee up.

The key with meditation is to keep on doing it daily, despite hardships or obstacles. That way, you can keep in practice.

You will need a lot of encouragement to keep your gemitment to
meditation high. Reading books can be helpful. I personally
have found Thich Nhat Hanh to be a very clear writer (try Living Buddha, Living Christ).
One of Thich Nhat Hanh's best advice is to "find a Sangha". A
Sangha is a Buddhist gemunity of fellow practitioners. There are
meditation and Buddhist groups all over the world -- you can
undoubtedly find one if you look online or in the phone book. Go
visit this group and begee part of the gemunity. This will
really help you stay on the right track and avoid falling into
discouragement.

I am not an expert in meditation by any means, but I am just sharing my
own personal experiences. I hope you find this guide
helpful, and good luck in your practice.