Ahhhh the classic how to meditate post. There are thousands of these on the internet, much like there are thousands of how to exercise posts and videos. I will advocate two principles before pointing to the details.

-Meditation is like exercise, there are varying levels of complexity from simple jogging to Olympic lifts. If you have never exercised in years, no one should advocate you start doing weighted squats and clean and jerks. Just start with a brief jog.

-That said, jogging for 2 hours is a very tough workout, for most anyone. The duration we try to meditate is analogous to the number or repetitions one does of a workout. So, take it easy with about 10 minutes per day to start, and ramp up. Most monastic religious do between 20 minutes to one hour of silent prayer per day. Some do much more.

Because of these two principles, I suggest using John Main’s “How to meditate in 128 words.” It is super simple, super effective, and can explode with insights. I don’t want to describe it, since he deserves the attention and praise, but I will discuss and offer commentary.

Personally, it is not my favorite way to meditate, but that is okay. Jogging is definitely not my favorite exercise, but I do it. When I lead a small group, we do John Main’s practice to start. It is revelatory, beneficial, and community building. I will explore each of those themes in future posts.