6 8 MINUTE MEDITATION

WHY YOU CAN'T START TO MEDITATE.

WHY YOU STARTED AND STOPPED.
WHY 8 MINUTE MEDITATION CHANGES THAT.

Whenever people learn that I'm a meditator or have w r i t t e n a

meditation book, they invariably feel compelled to tell me one of
t w o things: "I would love to learn to meditate. But I just can't," or
"I tried to meditate but stopped."
My response to these statements is always and exactly the
same: " W h a t do you think is in the way?" Here are some of their
responses. Do any strike you as familiar?

W H Y I C A N T LEARN TO MEDITATE

It's t o o complicated.

It takes t o o much time.

I'm n o t smart enough.

I'm t o o old.

I'm t o o young.

I'm not patient.

I'm not spiritual.

I'm not special enough.

I don't have the time.

 BEGINNINGS 7

WHY I STARTED MEDITATION A N D STOPPED

I couldn't stop thinking.

It t o o k t o o long.

I w e n t on vacation and couldn't start when I returned.

It wasn't what I expected.

I didn't get enlightened.

I wasn't spiritual enough.

I wasn't special enough.

I must have bad karma.

Although these lists look long, the truth is that all these ra-
tionales for not meditating come down to t w o basic misbeliefs:

* Meditation is obscure, confusing, and hard.

• Meditation takes t o o much time to learn and actually do.

Let's see how the 8 Minute Meditation program addresses—

and eradicates—both these issues.

Meditation Is Too Nebulous, Confusing, and Hard

W i t h m o r e than 4,500+ meditation books on the market, it's

easy to see why meditation has an undeserved reputation for
being a mysterious, arcane system reserved for a brilliant select
few.
8 8 MINUTE MEDITATION

But the truth is exactly the opposite: Anyone can easily learn
to practice meditation, no matter what those convoluted books
filled w i t h Sanskrit say. This is the primary goal of 8 Minute Medi-
tation: to demystify meditation and make it effortless for you to
both learn and do.
The 8 week program is divided into three sections:

• Part I provides you with the foundations of meditation and

prepares you to immediately start your first meditation period.

• Part II is the heart of the matter: the specially designed,

step-by-step, 8-minute-a-day, 8-week meditation program.

• Part III is the "upgrade" section, offering you ways to make

your meditation practice deeper and apply it to everyday life.

Sound simple? Sure it does. Because it is.

Meditation Takes Too Much Time—to Learn and Practice

Be honest when you answer this question:

Is your life so super-busy that you don't have 8 minutes a day,
when you get up, or just before bed, that you can call your own?
Sure, everyone's life is jam-packed and hectic. But to say that
you don't have 8 minutes a day to do something you want to do
sounds a tad flimsy, doesn't it? Do you have time to watch 8 min-
utes of TV, up to the first commercial break of The Simpsons?. Well,
okay, then. You've got time to meditate the 8 Minute Meditation way.
But, you say, I'm a single mom. I'm a traveling dad. I just had a
 BEGINNINGS 9

baby! I'm busy, busy, busy. H o w in the w o r l d can I find time to

meditate? ! The answer is: The time is there. Just relax and allow
yourself to see where it is.
Single mom? H o w about meditating after the kids go to
sleep? Or before they wake up? Traveling dad? N e x t time you're
on that t w o - h o u r flight to San Antonio, close your golf magazine
and spend 8 pleasant minutes in airborne meditation. N e w par-
ent? Give baby her 5 A.M. feeding, then meditate for 8 minutes
while she dozes off.
And by the way, if you think those short, 8 minute periods won't
amount to anything, think again: No lesser light than Albert Einstein
said that the most amazing phenomenon in the universe is com-
pound interest Each 8 minute meditation period is a deposit into
your account at The First National Bank of Meditation, where it
earns a hefty interest rate. In time, those small deposits aggregate and
compound into a huge payoff: the ability to live life in peace and calm.
W h e r e else can you get a greater return on so small an in-
vestment?

THE BIRTH OF THIS B O O K : W H Y 8 M I N U T E S ,

A N D W H Y IT WORKS.

Now, you're probably asking t w o things at this point:

• " W h y 8 minutes?"

• " W h o are you, anyway, to tell me this will w o r k ? "

10 8 MINUTE MEDITATION

That's the spirit! Like the Great American Bumper Sticker

says,"Question Authority." So allow me to introduce myself w i t h -
out, as authors love to do, recounting my personal and fascinating
(to the author) spiritual journey.
I tell you my story because I want you to see that my life is
similar to yours. People like us don't sit on mountaintops, but
have challenging stress-filled lives that demand we get down in
the trenches of real life, every day. A n d if you can take medita-
tion along for the ride, it makes a huge difference.
First off, I'd like you to know that I am the author of The Best
Guide to Meditation, a very popular guidebook to meditation and
a Book of the Month Club selection. I began to practice medita-
tion in 1975, and over those decades, I have meditated for t h o u -
sands of hours, attended dozens of meditation retreats, and
studied w i t h (and count as friends) some of the foremost medi-
tation teachers in America.
I began meditating in N e w York City while attending law
school. My reason for starting was practical, not spiritual: An
alumni told me he had started meditating the year before and
found that his memory had improved—as well as his grades.
At the time, among other reams of case law, I had to commit
a six-inch-thick copy of the IRS Tax Regulations to memory. So I
figured,"What have I got to lose?" I attended a couple of nights
of basic meditation instruction and was told by the instructor to
meditate twice a day.
The first time I meditated, I experienced something I hadn't
felt much of in my life, and never, ever in law school. / felt peace.
And when something feels good, you usually keep on doing it. So
I did
 BEGINNINGS 11

I continued to meditate on a twice-daily basis. After several

months, I found myself more relaxed yet, paradoxically, more
alert, both in and o u t of class. I also experienced better concen-
tration and focus. This naturally led to better comprehension of
even the most complex materials—such as those inscrutable tax
regulations. W h a t was more astounding, I found myself actually
looking forward to my daily sparring practice w i t h them.
Then came the final tax exam, and to my (and my professor's)
utter surprise, I got an A. Whether meditation had anything to do
with it or not, it didn't matter. I knew by then that meditation was
something I was going to continue to practice. W h i c h I did,
throughout twelve years of legal practice in N e w York, as a busi-
ness affairs attorney for t w o Fortune 500 advertising agencies
and Paramount Pictures.
In 1975, I moved to Los Angeles to become more involved in
the entertainment business. I became a producer, screenwriter,
novelist, and nonfiction writer. In LA, I continued to deepen my
meditation practice, moving first to Zen and then on to Vipassana,
or Insight Meditation.
During this period, I was fortunate enough to discover sev-
eral extraordinary meditation teachers w h o enabled me to go
deeper in my practice. They included Sharon Salzberg, Joseph
Goldstein, and Shinzen Young, w h o became my primary teacher
and meditation " g o - t o " guy. The teachings, benefits, and insights I
received from these and other teachers were, and remain today,
of inestimable value. They're also what I hope to convey to you in
this book.
The impetus to w r i t e 8 Minute Meditation came to me after
someone told me for the umpteenth time that they'd "really love
12 8 MINUTE M E D I T A T I O N

to meditate, but . . . " Frankly, I was tired of hearing whatever ex-

cuse they had come up with. So I set o u t to create a failure-proof
meditation program that would eliminate any and all "buts," and
that w o u l d :

• Fit into anybody's lifestyle, no matter how busy they were.

* Start people meditating immediately—and make sure they

wouldn't stop.

• Provide simple, reliable meditation instruction that anyone

could do the first time they tried.

• Anticipate and clearly answer common questions, doubts,

and concerns.

* Enable anyone w h o wanted to go deeper into meditation

to be able to do so.

* Be supportive, encouraging, and give people the feeling that

I was w i t h them every step of the way.

8 Minute Meditation is the program I created to meet these

goals. And, more importantly, help you achieve yours.

Why 8 Minutes?

As far as I know, there is no Geneva Convention governing med-

itation time periods. Some teachers require students to meditate
for up to one hour a day. If you attend a Zen retreat, that can rise
to ten hours! On the o t h e r end of the spectrum, several medita-
 BEGINNINGS 13

tion books say three or even one minute is sufficient daily medi-
tation time.
Here's why I think 8 minutes a day is just right:

• It's n o t a long time and will not compromise, intrude on, or

throw off your lifestyle. It's the time it takes to take a shower
or prepare a tuna salad sandwich. It's also the time between
the first t w o commercial breaks of your favorite sitcom.

* Everyone, and yes that includes you, can fit 8 minutes into
his or her day. Can you wake up 8 minutes earlier? Go to bed
8 minutes later? If you're traveling, do you have 8 minutes
while waiting for your boarding call or on the plane? A f t e r
you check in at the hotel? Of course you do.

• A steady, daily, 8 minute practice is cumulative and builds

what I call "Mindfulness Muscle." More about this later. For
now, just know that it's all good.

BEGIN TO MEDITATE. RIGHT NOW.

Meditation has never been simpler than the 8 Minute Meditation

way. You won't find a single w o r d in this book that requires a spir-
itual or Webster's dictionary, an instruction you can't understand,
or a meditation technique you cannot do simply, easily, and the
first time you attempt it—like right now.
As they say in Hollywood, it's time for a "Preview of Coming
Attractions." Over the next 8 weeks, we will be getting into
14 8 MINUTE M E D I T A T I O N

things in a lot more depth. But for right now, I want you to get an
idea of how simple and easy it's going to be for you to learn to
meditate.
For the moment, don't w o r r y about doing anything but sit-
ting right where you are. All I want you to do is read the follow-
ing simple instructions and do the best you can.
Remember, this is n o t a pop quiz. Grades will not be issued.
As you'll soon learn, there's no wrong way to meditate.

TASTE MEDITATION

• Sit erect, engaged yet relaxed, as if you're listening to y o u r

favorite friend.

• Allow your eyes to close.

• Take a long, deep inhale. Hold it a moment. And just let it

• Allow your breath to settle into its o w n natural flow. D o n ' t

force anything.

• Bring your attention to where you feel your breath the

most. It could be your diaphragm, chest, or maybe under y o u r
nostrils. There's no wrong place.

• Watch your breath f r o m this place for the next five

breaths.

• Open your eyes.

 BEGINNINGS 15

CONGRATULATIONS! YOU'RE A MEDITATOR!

Well, you did it! It's easy, right? N o t some big deal or something
you aren't capable of doing. Actually, meditation is just the oppo-
site: the most natural thing in the world.
So are you ready to do something this pleasant and simple
for 8 minutes a day?
Of course you are. Just follow the 8 Minute Meditation pro-
gram game plan. In 8 weeks, you can have a meditation practice
that can last you a lifetime.
I've already said that if you're reading these words, something
has attracted you to meditation. You're about to find out what
that is.
Just turn the page.
 PART ONE
• • •

MEDITATION 101
IN A SHORT amount of time, you're going to begin Week O n e
of your 8 Minute Meditation program. But first, it's important that
you get the lay of the land. Just like your home, your meditation
practice should rest on as solid a foundation as possible. That's
what Part I is about. It's going t o :

• Define and demystify what meditation really is

• Tell you what the 8 Minute Meditation program can—and

can't—do for you

• Address and resolve some c o m m o n misconceptions about

meditation and resistances to meditation

• Answer beginning meditators' most frequently asked questions

20 8 MINUTE MEDITATION

• Provide you w i t h a set of simple, powerful "Operating In-

structions" that you will use in the next 8 minutes,8 w e e k s —
and perhaps for the rest of your life

It may be natural for you to want to skip over this part and
"cut to the chase," that is, begin to meditate. But fight off that de-
sire. This stuff is important. You'll have a much better chance at
success if you read it with full attention.

WHAT IS MEDITATION?

Meditation is not a static "thing." It's a "doing." This is why it's so

hard to put a finger on and define.
Many definitions of meditation are given by the use of
metaphors. Here are t w o examples, one ancient and one modern:

• " I t is exactly like muddy water left to stand in a glass. Little

by little, the sediment sinks to the b o t t o m and the water be-
comes pure." (Taisen Deshimaru)

• " . . . like great scuba gear. You can see, hear, touch, and taste
your thoughts w i t h o u t drowning in them." (Laurie Fisher
Huck)

But these are verbal attempts to describe what is beyond

words. Meditation is an active process that is a confluence of the
qualities of concentration, insight, and wisdom. Here's how I de-
scribe it: