Being that we are into the New Moon phase I know a lot of you are busy...
But, There is a lot of comments and some discussions about meditation(s). The best way I can think of to expain to you youngin's of why it is importain to master this before all else is this...
Balance and control of your engery.
Walking is balancing, riding a bike is balancing, not falling down when your drunk is balancing. Many things we do in our lives concerns 'phyical' balancing.
We also need 'Mental' and 'Emotional' balancing as well.
Learning to Meditate helps us be able to focus our engeries. It helps us learn how to ground ourselves when practising. Learning to meditate brings us to that spot inside of each of us where that engery is.
Emotionally being balanced isn't easy, but the mediation helps a lot. When your breathing during your mediation you're getting rid of all that yucky bagage that holds you back. You learn to trust yourself more and more.
Don't worry so much if your not getting it right away. You had to learn the alphbet before you could learn to spell, right? This is no different.
It is different for each person when they mediate, as with how and what they mediate with. The one thing we seem to all have in common is we prefer to have quiet...but, to some quiet means no sounds at all, and others (like me) like putting on a CD.
Mediation is 'YOUR' time...call it a "getting to know yourself time". If you want to burn incense, by all means do. If your comfortable in pure dark, do it. Blazing lights, or some candles, what ever makes you comfortable. I like a LOT of pillows on my bed leaning back...I never get comfortable siting on the floor.
When you first start out your brain is going to be like a messed up movie; short seconds to long seconds of your thoughts and day will be fliting across the insides of your eye lids. Let it. It's your brain flitering out stuff. Don't hold on to it, that's what a lot of people do, then they get stuck. Just let it move on and out on its own.
You may have come across a meditation in a book you like (I did). Maybe you like the words, chants or such. Try it.
Most importian is DON'T GIVE UP!!! If you go to mediated because 'this is the time you have scheduled' for it, but you feel restless, skip it and try again later. If after three minutes into it you feel that was enough, then its enough.
There are no set rules that you have to abide by. Like I said, "It's getting to know yourself time". Just don't forget to breath, you'd be supprised how many people forget that part :-)
I'll post later the devotion I like to use, try it if you like, but remmember, the importain part is to find what is comfortable to you, and NEVER GIVE UP :-)