Excerpted from Sri Chinmoy's Bio:

1. Location.

Firstly, find a suitable quiet place for meditation. If it is very hard to find somewhere quiet, use some meditative music to drown out background sounds. If possible keep a corner of your room reserved just for meditation; this will help build up a meditative vibration in that particular part.

2. The Basics.

It is important to meditate with a straight back. (If you try meditating whilst lying down, you are more likely to fall asleep, than entering into a high state of meditation.)

• Don’t meditate after eating a heavy meal – you will feel lethargic and sleepy.
• If possible shower and wear clean clothes before meditating.
• Try to switch off. If you try to meditate straight after work, you may be still thinking about the day. Try reading some books on meditation to help make the transition from work to meditation.

3. Relaxation.

To meditate it is important to relax and switch off. Tell yourself that for the next 10-15 minutes, you don’t have to think about the past or future – just concentrate on the present moment and your meditation. Let go of any tension in your body and try to be fully aware of the present moment. This stage of relaxation is a preliminary stage to meditation; but, it is worth emphasizing that meditation is more than just relaxation.

4. Breathing.

The most helpful aid to meditation is proper breathing. Our breathing has a big impact on our mind; if we can quieten our breathing it will help slow down our mind. Focusing on our breathing and nothing else will have a beneficial effect on our meditation. The beauty of meditation is its simplicity. – Just be fully conscious of your breathing, feel you are breathing in peace; if you can do this without getting distracted you will be able to meditate most effectively.

5. The Calm Mind

“When you meditate, what you actually do is to enter into a calm or still, silent mind. We have to be fully aware of the arrival and attack of thoughts. That is to say, we shall not allow any thought, divine or undivine, good or bad, to enter into our mind. Our mind should be absolutely silent. Then we have to go deep within; there we have to observe our real existence. “

With these preliminary stages you can now concentrate on cultivating a calm and quiet mind. This is the essence of meditation, whatever form of meditation you pursue, they will share this common goal of quietening the mind. It is only when we can have a mind free of thoughts that we will be able to experience real meditation. What happens is that we can quieten the mind we can expand our consciousness and bring the soul to the fore. We we feel an expansion of our consciousness; when we have a good feeling towards the world, – this is real meditation.    Sri Chinmoy