Too bad Matt didn't get some actual meditation instruction-- I think it would have been more interesting (and beneficial) for him had he done so. Unfortunately, his description makes it clear that he didn't really know what he was doing:<p><i>First, it was difficult (impossible?) to turn my brain off. I’m accustomed to using my brain all the time, every day. I don’t like to turn my brain off. I definitely struggled with that all month.</i><p>Meditation is <i>not</i> about "turning your brain off."<p><i>Someone recommended counting, for example counting leaves on a tree, as a way to help. That worked very well, but it also felt like counting was keeping my mind busy rather than clearing it out.</i><p>Some meditation traditions use counting-- but not like that. Counting the leaves on a tree might be a nice thing to do, but it's not meditation (at least according to any tradition I've ever heard of-- and I'm reasonably well schooled on the subject.)
A while back I made one of the calming and relaxing decisions I ever made: I decided to not meditate.<p>Before that, every time I saw an article like this I would feel pressured and hounded into meditating. But now I'm totally relaxed about it, because I know I'm never going to start meditating, and this detachment from the nonstop you-must-meditate-to-be-happy pressure fills me with a feeling of bliss.<p>I highly recommend not-meditating to everybody.
I have been doing Transcendental Meditation (TM) twice a day for 38 years. I am not suggesting that you do TM. But I have some practical guidelines:<p>Be regular. Absolutely do not miss sessions. Regularity establishes a base line to your day.<p>Find some group or guru who can help you discuss your experiences. Over time you will need to talk about what occurs during your meditations.<p>Meditation is a different way of thinking not non-thinking.<p>Meditation is the high point of my day. If you are not enjoying it or fulfilled by it, you are doing something else.
I am helping a serial entrepreneur who has the exact same problem of "turning his brain off". The best thing we have found is the pranayama iPhone app by saagara.com.<p>Try it for 15 minutes, everyday, either in the morning, or before bed.