Meditation
Posted: Mon May 25, 2026 1:03 pm
I have found that when it comes to meditation, as with most things, frequency is more important than duration. Many people will claim you have to set aside 30+ minutes a day to reap the benefits of meditation. I believe as little as 5 minutes is enough to calm my mind and dump stress. In fact, I would argue that overall, breaking my meditation up into several small sessions throughout the day has produced better results than an occasional long one. And the secret to daily meditation is to keep your sessions short, so they feel easy. Then long sessions can be thought of as bonuses.
There's also a common misconception about what meditation is. Many people imagine you have to sit in lotus position. The truth is, meditation can be done laying down, sitting on a chair, standing, or even walking. And there are many forms of meditation, depending on your goal.
Personally, I've been settling into a rotation of breathing, focused, and affirmation / mantra meditation. There's a strong overlap between focused and breathing meditation. In the former you can focus on anything-- a sound, sensation, some object, even an image in your mind.
Today for example I tried to focus on creating a tetrahedron in my mind's eye. I set my timer, laid down, and closed my eyes. I then concentrated on trying to construct the object, which kept changing form, and flashing in and out of focus. Since time allowed, I took this a step further, and contemplated on how the thing felt. Its sides were cool, hard, and metallic. It was solid, making almost no sound when I tapped on it. I then imagined it in the room with me. After 9 minutes, my timer rang, letting me know the session could be ended.
I've found daily meditation to be simple to do with the aid of my timer, which I originally got for doing the Pomodoro Technique. It used to be a source of stress, because I was trying to accomplish things within the time permitted, rigidly adhering to the Pomodoro Technique, which required me to stop once the timer rang. With meditation, I give myself permission to go further, and the timer is merely the minimum duration.
There's also a common misconception about what meditation is. Many people imagine you have to sit in lotus position. The truth is, meditation can be done laying down, sitting on a chair, standing, or even walking. And there are many forms of meditation, depending on your goal.
Personally, I've been settling into a rotation of breathing, focused, and affirmation / mantra meditation. There's a strong overlap between focused and breathing meditation. In the former you can focus on anything-- a sound, sensation, some object, even an image in your mind.
Today for example I tried to focus on creating a tetrahedron in my mind's eye. I set my timer, laid down, and closed my eyes. I then concentrated on trying to construct the object, which kept changing form, and flashing in and out of focus. Since time allowed, I took this a step further, and contemplated on how the thing felt. Its sides were cool, hard, and metallic. It was solid, making almost no sound when I tapped on it. I then imagined it in the room with me. After 9 minutes, my timer rang, letting me know the session could be ended.
I've found daily meditation to be simple to do with the aid of my timer, which I originally got for doing the Pomodoro Technique. It used to be a source of stress, because I was trying to accomplish things within the time permitted, rigidly adhering to the Pomodoro Technique, which required me to stop once the timer rang. With meditation, I give myself permission to go further, and the timer is merely the minimum duration.