“Meditation is the most extraordinary thing if you know how to do it, and you cannot possibly learn from anybody; and that’s the beauty of it. It isn’t something you learn, a technique, and therefore there is no authority. Therefore if you will learn about yourself, watch yourself, watch the way you walk, the way you talk, how you eat, what you say, the gossip, the hate, the jealousy. If you are aware of it without any choice, all that is part of meditation, and as you go, as you journey, as that movement goes, all that movement is meditation. Then that movement is endless, timeless.” – Jiddu Krishnamurti

If no one can teach you how to meditate, the ancient texts teach us the ways to reach this state of meditation.

It starts with openness, dedication and practice.

And because everybody is unique, every path will be different. A “technique” will speaks to you more than another one, giving you more beneficial outcomes.

So, here are some of the practices available to reach that plane of “existence” where Observer and Observed are no longer accurate, no more Seer nor Seen… Meditation.

“When, through the practice of yoga, the mind ceases its restlessness movements, and becomes still, the aspirant realises the Atman”. (Atman refers to the spiritual life principle/energy form of the universe, especially when regarded as immanent – as inherent, operating within – in any living being) from the Bhagavad Gita

One easy way to start is to focus on the breath, as recommended by Patanjali (cf. The 8 limbs of yoga):

PRANAYAMA: in addition to its numerous health benefits, while preparing for meditation, any breathing technique that is centering and brings a state of mindfulness helps ready the body and mind to turn the focus inward.

PRATYAHARA: translated as withdrawal of the senses, its purpose is to isolate from the distractions offered by the senses, a form of mindfulness in which sensory input such as sounds, sights, or smells are noticed as external and then allowed to pass without capturing our attention.

YOGA NIDRA: or “yogic sleep”, “consciously sleeping”is a state of consciousness between waking and sleeping, typically induced by following the voice of a facilitator. Yoga nidra is first linked to meditation in Shivaism and Buddhist tantras, while some medieval hatha yoga texts use “yoganidra” as a synonym for the deep meditative state of samadhi….

For more details on Yoga nidra: https://nakedhealingtouch.com/yoga-nidra/

DHARANA: known as concentration or focus, during this type of meditation, practitioners concentrate all of their attention on a single point of focus such as the navel or on an image in their mind.

TRATAKA: or candle gazing meditation has been part of Ayurvedic teachings for centuries. The practice starts by focusing on a candle light, for a while, before closing the eyes, inviting the light within.

DHYANA: or contemplation. The practitioners focus their whole attention on a single object, on one particular thing, to the exclusion of all others.

VOID ZEN MEDITATION: in this example of meditation, the attention is train to let go of everything and be still. As we practice, the mind will gradually learn it doesn’t have to cling to its ideas of things, to constantly be conceptualizing its life experience.

The more we meditate, the more we get used to accepting reality in its most fundamental form – as pure experience, without taking it to the next stage of conceptualizing and reacting.

SAMADHI: or meditation, is a state of meditative consciousness. In many traditions, the cultivation of Samādhi through various meditation methods is essential for the attainment of spiritual liberation, undisturbed by desire, anger, or any other ego-generated thought or emotion.