An internet search into the various forms of meditation techniques can make one quite dizzy. It is overwhelming when you see all these different styles from all over the world. It is even more overwhelming when you are trying to experiment and find out which forms are right for you. Let’s learn about some of the forms of meditation and then learn how to cut to the chase and find the right technique.

One school of thought essentially breaks down meditation into two forms: Concentration and Mindfulness. Many forms also use a combination of the two.

Concentration is when you fixate your mind on a chosen object of focus.

A popular object of focus today is the breath. The meditation practitioner calmly focuses on the sensation of the breath entering or leaving the nostrils or the rise and fall of the belly while breathing through the nose. A student of Transcendental Meditation, a concentration and mindfulness technique, focuses on a silent word given by a teacher. Other objects include a visualized image and a simple concept such as love or peace. Tai Chi practitioners focus on the flowing movements of the body while doing the Tai Chi forms. Tai Chi is a moving meditation. Bhakti Yoga practitioners, such as gospel singers and Hare Krishna monks, focus on singing and chanting devotional phrases and songs.

If you practice a concentration meditation form, then you continually bring the mind back to your chosen object whenever it strays from it. You may not notice at first when you waver, but you bring it back whenever you catch it wandering off.

Mindfulness meditation is the art of being calmly present with whatever is occurring in the moment.

Your stream of thoughts is happening in the moment, and so are your resentful feelings toward the person you just had a spat with. This form of meditation does not seek to eliminate the stream of thought and emotion or even body sensation. The key to mindfulness is to take note of these experiences as they occur. Some use the word “thinking” to note that thinking is happening. Some use “anger” to note angry emotions in the moment.

A lot of meditation forms use both mindfulness and concentration.

In Transcendental Meditation, you repeat your word with each breath. The mind, like a spoiled child will try anything to get out of a disciplined and concentrated state and wander off. When it does, you note the thinking process and be patiently present with it as the sky is patient with the clouds that float through it. Then, you go right back to the object of focus, your word. In most forms of Vipassana Buddhist meditation, you focus on the breath. When thoughts come up, you go through the same exact process as in TM. Some just skip to the thought watching without an object, but this is usually considered advanced.

The two fundamental forms mentioned above form the template for a simple meditation practice. The simple meditation form is comprised of one object of focus and/or the mindfulness component. There are many forms of simple meditation from all over the globe, and the main thing that varies is the object of focus.

Objects of focus vary widely because everyone has something different that they are compatible with.

Some people find that repeating a word or phrase is more engaging and helps them work with their thoughts better than the breath, which puts some people to sleep. Others are more visual and find deep, loving absorption in a visualization of a waterfall or a deity.

The key to choosing a form of meditation is to find out what invites a state of deep, loving absorption.

If you’re devotional minded, perhaps a line of a spiritual song or a visualization of the form of God you hold most dear would work well. Obviously, an atheist may choose something more secular that he/she finds more practical. Once you find a couple objects that really seem to work, meditate on each one at a time and see which one allows you to be more present, not only with your object, but with your own flow of thoughts and emotions that run through you.

You have just learned the simple meditation form and a few possible objects to focus on. Many forms of meditation are much more elaborate than this. There are different ways in which meditation practitioners “get in the mood” and prepare themselves. In many simple meditation forms, practitioners warm up with a few deep breaths. In other forms of meditation, the warm up ritual is much more elaborate.

Hatha Yoga means the yoga of body postures. Most studio yoga practices in the west are variations of Hatha Yoga. This form of yoga was designed to prepare one for meditation – the seventh limb of Pantanjali’s 8 limb yoga system. When I took Hatha Yoga classes, I found that stretching plus the breathing exercises that followed created a wonderful inner space that made it so much easier to slip into the corpse pose at the end of class and meditate. The whole class, in terms of meditation, was a warm up for that blissful five minute meditation session.

Qigong has many forms because it is the name of a whole class of disciplines, but many of them have the same basic styles of meditation prepping. They include loosening the joints through movement and sometimes shaking, as well as generating feeling in the body through massage and even slapping. There is also a regiment of chi gathering and cultivation, often with the aid of natural settings. One major focus of Qigong is circulating subtle energy through the meridians of the body in a “microcosmic orbit” circuit. Meditation often follows and can occur simultaneously with the circulating exercise. The techniques that precede the orbit and the meditation can be thought of as warm ups.

To sum things up, when it comes time to choose a meditation technique or to find a new one, experiment with objects of focus. Try something verbal and spoken, verbal and silent, visual and kinesthetic. See which one invites that deep concentration most easily. Also take note which object is  most conducive to being present with thoughts that come up. If you’re a complete beginner, you may have to learn a couple simple techniques and become proficient with them before you experiment. The more you experiment, the closer you’ll be to finding the form of meditation that is right for you. You can also find a teacher who can help you custom tailor your technique.

Tom Von Deck is an internationally available corporate meditation trainer, speaker and author of Oceanic Mind – The Deeper Meditation Training Course. Tom specializes in making meditation a much easier and more customized process for busy people of all cultural and religious backgrounds. His website is www.DeeperMeditation.net.