15 Meditation Tips

When I started meditating I wish I had known some things.  25 years later I figured I’d share them with you.

1.  You’re allowed to do anything that you need to.

It’s OK to move

It’s OK scratch an itch

It’s OK to adjust if you’re uncomfortable

The position you’re in can be a bonus, but it is not a necessity

This is about you, not about the technique.

2.  Consistency over time is more important than how much you meditate.

Every day for 5 minutes is better than 20 minutes twice a day every other day.

3.  Don’t let perfect be the enemy of good.

Best meditation I ever had in my life was when I was able to do is 20 minutes a day two times a day, but never let that goal keep you from meditating every day.

4.  Some days you’re going to daydream.

Don’t let that get you down.  You put your time in and it may not have been perfect, but you’ll to do it again later or tomorrow; no worries.

5.  Shutting down your thoughts completely is neither a goal nor a normal outcome of meditation.

The more important thing is how much energy you give to the thoughts and how much or how long you grasp onto them.  The less energy you give them the more easily you will relax and go deeply into your own consciousness.

6.  Comfortable is better than painful no matter what.

There’s no way for a normal person to be in pain by choice of position and still meditate.

7.  Outside noises aren’t great, but they can be overcome or even used.

For a decade of my meditating career I lived in a flight path of an airport that was probably 2 miles away.  I used the plane sounds as a reminder to go back to my focus and to let everything else go.  It’s not ideal, but it definitely does help to build up your mental muscles.

8.  At some point you fall asleep or nod off and wake up as you head drops.

It will disappoint you or scare the crap out of you depending on which happens.  Don’t worry about it.  Keep meditating if there’s still time left or get up and go about your day if there isn’t and don’t let it bother you.

10.  Instead of using alarms use a consistent sound that ends.

I need a cue to stop because time tends to get funny when you’re deep in meditation.  A minute can end up feeling like 15 or 20 minutes can feel like five and you’ll start wondering, “how long has it been?” instead of meditating, which is no good.  Also, it can be very jarring to have a sound occur while you’re deep in meditation as a signal to stop.  Great, 20 minutes of peace and now I have a bunch of adrenaline dumped in my body by a fight or flight reaction caused by a low gong noise.  So go with a consistent noise and let it fade so that silence is your signal to stop.

11.  Eyes open meditation is a valid way to meditative.

Personally I only meditate with my eyes open when a light is just perfect and then only partially open.  I simply like to meditate more with my eyes closed, but eyes open meditation can be very powerful as well.  It blurs the lines between your meditative and fully conscious states.

12.  Complete darkness, not only is it not needed it isn’t best.

You want some indirect light and if possible light levels that remain consistent during the meditation.  Partly cloudy days with the shades open can actually make meditation more difficult.  Complete darkness on the other hand, can lead to either sleep or difficult transitions back to full consciousness.

13.  The sense of smell can be used to your benefit.

I know just about nothing when it comes to aromatherapy, but I do know that a consistent smell is a wonderful way to let yourself know ‘Ahh!  I’m here again, that place where I meditate.  Especially helpful if you happen to be somewhere other than where you normally meditate and can produce that smell.

14.  Find ways to remember during the day that you meditate.

It helps you to recall that peaceful feeling from deep within the meditation and bring it into your waking life.  Meditating can be like a tool that you create in the morning and bring with you each day, to be used when needed.

15.  When I’m tired I use guided meditations.

And sometimes when you’ve created time to meditate you are exhausted in that moment.  That’s when I use a guided meditation.  It’s simply easier for me to stay awake following someone else’s voice.

I hope that these 15 pointers help you understand more quickly than I did that meditating is about you and your relationship with yourself not about some sort of perfection in technique or some sort of fight against your conscious mind.  If one person can find a little more peace a little more quickly that would be wonderful thing for me  

What is Healthy Eating in the land of Headboy and Mr. Moon

Mr. Moon is up to some do-gooderism, but it leads to confusion again.  What is healthy eating?  Bushy thinks you should eat more meat than plants to no one’s surprise, Mr. Moon seems key word driven towards his diet and one thing is for sure T. Stone’s idea isn’t for everyone, it even seems that it isn’t really for him!

The Dark side of Mr. Moon is finally visible

Headboy asks about Mr. Moon’s dark side and a strange mixed metaphor of literal and psychological interpretations ensue.  T. Stone makes Bushy and Headboy crack up at Mr. Moon’s expense and the dark side of the moon sure does becomes visible.

Check out the full set of HBMM Adventures here!

The myths we hear lead us to a place the mind will not go directly

There have been stories that we have heard since we were young.  They are about gods and monsters, heroes and villains.  As we get older we can still sense the magic they hold, but we push them away as if they have nothing to teach us about life. We judge old cultures for believing in fairy tales as if our newspapers were the truth and those stories were entertaining little ditties told by people not as sophisticated as we are. Though many have lost their meaning because they pointed to a culturally bound truth; still some point towards what it means to be human and to act humanely.  These stories aren’t true in the scientific sense, but that doesn’t mean they have no value.  Myths can point us toward what is best, and worst in humanity. They can remind us that compassion and honesty aren’t good ideas because they are right or perfect, but because they are intrinsically the best way for the world to work.

The Continuing Adventures of Headboy and Mr. Moon

Headboy is feeling a bit rundown and asks Mr. Moon if he should try some java.  Mr. Moon and Bushy come close to agreeing on something, T. Stone likes how the kid is handling the subject… mostly. The kid has his first cup o’ Joe and is a big fan.

Check out the full set of HBMM Adventures here!

Thoughts, Our Responsibility, Our Power

We are given very little, it seems, in things in life we completely control. Our hearts seem to have minds of their own, the other people in our life feel what they will seemingly affected, but in no way controlled by us.  The weather, our finances, our family, to one extent or another our health, all seem out of our control.  What we can control is our thoughts, at first that can feel like a small thing in a big world, but it turns out that it is enough to totally shape our experience of life.  So let us resolve to respect the thoughts we choose as the world makers that they are.

The first Headboy and Mr. Moon that has never been published before

As you may or may not know I had originally created the Headboy and Mr. Moon comics almost 7 years ago and up until this one they have been republications with some fine editing from Lady (thank you!!) and some graphical changes from my end. Now comes the truly exciting part for me, brand new material!  So, in this adventure Headboy tries to figure out what character from a fairy tale he would be, Bushy admits he’s grumpy and T. Stone gets flustered at Bushy knowing him a little too well.

Serendipity is luck that we make

I choose to believe that there is a reason for everything that happens.  That doesn’t mean that it is easy to understand or accept, just that in the end the purpose will be clear.  With that in mind there are connections between the events in our lives that, if we are aware enough to see them, can lead us to decisions which are in flow with the Universe whether they seem logical or not.  These moments feel and in many ways are magic.

Headboy and Mr. Moon Make it to Strip 10!

Headboy looks for answers and finds some, while T. Stone sets up Mr. Moon for failure and Bushy, as always, makes it hard on Mr. Moon to make things easy.

The seasons of life Spiral on and Autumn catches us again

The Teachers that I have read and known talk about using Death as an adviser.  If we take time to realize that there are ends and new beginning we start to be able to place things in the proper perspective in life. Autumn reminds us that there are things that pass away, that when we get close to death we more forcefully perceive life.