One of the best practices to settle the mind is meditation. Many times people think meditation is when they make their mind go blank. On the contrary, meditation is an acknowledgement that your mind is constantly processing data. The challenge is learning how to focus on the hear and now, what is real in this moment. 

People will say, “I am bad at meditating”, or they will comment that they don’t see a difference. An analogy that can be useful is to think of meditation as practice. If you have just started practicing an instrument, you will not be “good” at it, you will be learning. When you begin to meditate, you are learning the technique of bringing your awareness to something other than the data processing or thinking. Practicing daily, even for 5 minutes, will start a rewiring.

The difference you notice will not be in the practice, as practice is supposed to be challenging. This is when Allen Iverson asks why we are talking about practice. The improvement you are seeking from meditation is subtle and it is in your daily life. Over time, you will notice that you are able to focus better. You are able to pull away from negative thoughts easier. And, you have a presence in the moment you didn’t have before. Now we are talking about gametime. Real world application of mediation. 

For people just beginning, it can be helpful to utilize guided meditations. There are a couple app recommendations in the Resources section. 

Below are a few guided meditations Dr. Sheriece has recorded as well.