place for meditation

In this little episode in the Mindfulness series, I'm going to talk about choosing and arranging a place for meditation, in order to develop mindfulness.

Ideally, when meditating, it's great to have a place which is quiet, where there's very little sound. Silence from the outside world helps the mind become silent. However, the sounds of nature can actually be conducive to a good meditation. So, for example, the sounds of birds singing, or the sounds of the ocean. or the sounds of the wind in the trees – these sort of sounds might help. But man-made sounds, the noise of machines, and of human chatter, tends to get in the way of meditation. So if possible, find a place which is quiet, or somewhere in nature.

It's good if you can carry out your meditation without being interrupted. So somewhere private, or somewhere where you can put up a notice saying please do not disturb, is best.

If you are meditating outdoors, the nature will probably provide an adequate support for your meditation. If you've chosen an indoor location, though, you might like to augment it to help support your meditation. For example, some people like to light a candle as a recognition that they are sitting down to meditate. And when the meditation is finished, they extinguish the candle. Some people like the smell of incense: for some that helps the mind quieten.

You might like to set up a small table as a sort of altar, perhaps with one or two other objects, which might help you sink into a more meditative space. These might be natural objects: perhaps a particular stone you found on the beach, a flower perhaps. Or you might try a little statue of a Buddha or some other deity that somehow supports you. If you're meditating at home, it's very nice to make this altar, a permanent little corner of your home – a place that you can use not only for the meditation practice, but at any time when you need to reconnect with yourself.

I've mentioned that it's good if your meditation place is such that you won't get disturbed by other people. Make sure you're also not going to be disturbed by your own mobile phone. Switch it off or put it into silence and leave it in another room. If you have to use your phone as a timer, to bring you out of meditation at the end of your meditation period, then switch the phone into flight mode before you begin.

The light in the meditation space can also be important. Candle light might work for you, natural light coming in through the windows. If you use artificial light from light bulbs, you might like to make sure you have a soft, warm light, nothing too garish.

Having set up a room or a place that is going to be conducive to your meditation, you should also find a chair, a cushion, a stool, or whatever you need in order to be able to sit comfortably. I'll talk about the posture for meditation in the next episode. So have a listen to that before deciding what sort of meditation stool or chair you might want to use.

Enough for now.