Congratulations! You have decided to investigate meditation and see what it can do for you. Whether you are interested in it for stress relief, to unwind or to attain higher planes of awareness, there is bound to be a technique which will appeal to you.

So what is meditation? Meditation aims to restore our internal balance through internal focus. There are many ways to do that. I have outlined a few below:

For people who like to express themselves emotionally, devotional singing is a good one. ."Kirtan" (mostly hinduism) is the conscious and repetitive singing of mantras (words of power), often done in a group and accompanied with music. The same simple verse is repeated over and over and over again. Eventually the mind gets bored with it and finally turns inwards. During a kirtan session, the different songs are punctuated with silence. This helps further deepen the introspection and facilitate the rise of awareness. There is often a buzzy feeling due to the singing which activates proper breath.

For people who are more intellectual, there is a good one called self-enquiry (buddhism, Kashmir shaivism). This consists of repeatedly asking yourself who is feeling what is being felt, or who is thinking what is being thought. For instance, you may be sitting quietly on your meditation cushion and a thought passes by, like a cloud in the sky of the mind. Just ask who is thinking this thought and wait for the answer to arise. When (and if) it does, ask the same question again. Who is thinking this thought?

For people who like a little bit more action but not too much, you can follow your breath. There are countless books and meditation classes and groups such as Vipassana as well as yoga classes you can attend but here is one breath meditation I like: as you breathe in say to yourself mentally "breathing in" and as you breathe out say to yourself mentally "breathing out". And follow your breath as it goes in and out of your nose. Notice if there is more air in the right or in the left nostril. Notice if the breath is cooler as it goes in or as it goes out. At first you may find it difficult to keep the focus on your breath with your own free will as thoughts and itchy feet, I can guarantee it, will come and disturb you. It may be worthwhile investing in a CD or attend a class with a teacher talking you through so that you can keep focusing back to the external voice when your internal chatter takes over.

Then you have the witnessing type where all you do is witness thoughts and feelings as they arise (Vipassana again). To be able to sit for one hour and do this requires and develops extremely good mental focus. You may start with short 10 minute sessions and increase slowly over months. You can expect boredom to arise, mistrust in the process, emotions of all kinds. These are all good clearing although it doesn't feel that way at the time. But if you can put up with it, witnessing is what will dissolve these disturbances. At times you may also need the help of a therapist to help deal with difficult situations which may arise from the past. Very powerful stuff.

Koans (buddhism) are also a good way stop the mind in its tracks. It consists of pondering things such as "what is the sound of one hand clapping?". The mind gets into a short circuit and you may get a satori experience, a quick glimpse into a higher reality. This is for those who are seriously interested in a meditative path or really really resonate with buddhism.

Prayer is also another form of meditation, including Christian prayer. There are different levels of prayer, from petitionary where one asks for something to connecting with oneness and allowing what is to be and being thankful for it rather than asking for something.

As you can see, there are as many ways to meditate as there are personalities. But all roads lead to Rome and at the end of the day, all meditation techniques are ways to uncover the truth of who you are. Once this has been achieved, most people relinquish their techniques and life itself becomes a meditation.