First steps in meditation

In seeking a way into meditation, I'm looking for commonality between meditative methods from around the world. It's increasingly clear - even to rational scientists - that meditation works, and had plentiful benefits for body and mind. But neither Buddhism, nor Hinduism, nor the Western esoteric tradition, nor New Age of their own hold all the answers. 

Four commonalities are 1) emptying the mind, 2) focus on breathing, 3) distancing ego from consciousness and 4) repetition of a mantra.

So - choose your mantra. I'm using the following: Wu hsin ('no mind' in Chinese) and Ein sof (Hebrew - 'unending', 'the infinite', 'limitless') to empty the mind of quotidian clutter. One from the East, one from the West. And so - breathe in - Wu - breathe out - hsin. Breathe in - Ain - breathe out - sof. 

Feel free to devise your own mantras. Down the years, the coupling of Wu hsin and Ein sof have worked for me, though mainly as a sleep aid and more recently as something to repeat before taking a blood pressure reading.  [I believe I came across these two terms in Fritjof Capra's The Tao of Physics in 1984. I have the book here, but can't find the reference...]

Emptying the mind - abandoning the ego - should be seen in the context of your life a part of an infinite eternity; the aims of meditation should more than just calming the body down. A state of being at one with the cosmos, a unification with the continuous and the whole, an opening to fresh creative thoughts - and new energy. That, at least, is what I'm hoping for.

Your mantra needn't be an esoteric term in a foreign language. It can literally be mumbo and jumbo, as long as the words resonate with a metaphysical meaning to you. My mother used to repeat the word 'relaks' to the tune of 'Twinkle, twinkle, little star', much to the amusement of my children. The US armed forces instruct service personnel to repeat 'don't think, don't think, don't think' over and over again as they try to sleep, focusing on those words, shutting out extraneous thoughts. I like this approach too, as it suggests that clearing the mind does not necessarily have to be linked to the spiritual.

A meditative approach can certainly help with falling asleep, but my aim is broader, to awaken new thoughts, to channel the Universe - channel God, if you will. Certainly, it's part of my bedtime ritual, along with feelings of gratitude and wishes of good for those around me (also known as 'prayer'.) Gratitude should be part of our day-to-day mindset. Bringing about that 'inner hug', feelings of deep love where tears begin to well up in your eyes, is the goal.

But meditation for its own sake, to create a wakeful state of mind that is alert rather than dozing, means making it a part of the day's routine. It must be done away from the computer! There's always the temptation, when the mind's freewheeling, to latch on to a thought and think - ah yes, that's interesting - let's Google it.

A daily walk or walks get the mind into the right frame of mind, especially if you do so on your own - conversations can distract. 

One word of advice I'd have for myself today is - go to bed before 22:30. It's too easy to sit up by the computer till midnight, till 01:00 even - it's no good for body or mind.

UPDATE 10 August 2021: This is the best of what I've seen so far...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NJCUckX9s8M

This time two years ago:
Poetry in the search for eternal truths

This time three years ago:
Koszyki

This time four years ago year:
It's just an Ilyushin (central Warsaw's plane-restaurant)

This time five years ago:
Marathon stroll (31.5km) along the Vistula 

This time seven years ago:
Complaining about the lack of a river crossing between Siekierki and Góra Kalwaria! 

This time eight years ago:
S2 update (nearly ready)

This time nine years ago:
Progress on S2 bypass - photos from the air

This time 11 years ago:
Up Śnieżnica

This time 14 years ago:
July continues glum (2007 - a rainy summer)