Breath counting is one way to train your mind to control and focus attention. The object is to be doing one thing, and one thing only, becoming fully involved in that single purpose. Start by finding a comfortable position, sitting or lying down. Place a clock or watch where you can see it without having to turn your head. Usually with eyes closed, you then begin to count your breaths, silently: "one" as you slowly exhale the first breath, two as you exhale the second, etc. After you get to "four" start with "one" again. The purpose is to be doing _only_ this, only breathing and counting. You will quickly find that your mind rebels; it will stray and wander whenever your concentration and attention falter. It is a recalcitrant entity. You will be doing well in the beginning if you can succeed for only a few seconds {225} at a time in being conscious _only_ of your counting. Distractions will subvert your will in a split second. You will find yourself thinking of a host of things: what to do tomorrow morning, whether you are doing well or badly at meditation, whether it is silly to be doing this, what's for dinner, taxes, work, or that itch on your forehead. Again and again you will have to return your mind to the task at hand. Very quickly, you'll begin to realize that meditation _is_ hard work. It is frustrating and demanding. Practice doing this for fifteen minutes a day. After a few weeks, increase to twenty minutes. After another four weeks, spend twenty-five to thirty minutes a day. Once you can do this, continue to practice daily for another month. It will take that long before you will begin to sense whether this approach to meditation is going to be useful to you. _The Meditation of Contemplation_ This is an alternative approach to meditation. Again, the purpose is to discipline your mind by means of focused attention. In this approach, you try to focus attention on a physical object. Pick a natural object--a shell, a small stone, a pressed leaf. Now, with the object a foot or two from you, simply _look_ at it. The purpose is to look at the object actively, to keep your attention fixed on it, but to be wakeful and alert. Do not stare at one place on the object or strain your eyes. Explore the object, _look_ at it, attend to it. As usual, you'll find plenty to distract you--stiffness, the need to move, sleepiness, slipping into thinking about problems you need to solve. Each time your mind drifts out of track, gently bring your attention back to the object. Try this for ten minutes a day for two weeks, then fifteen minutes a day for a month, then twenty minutes for the next month. By then, you will know if this approach will help you. Be prepared for some effective sessions and some discouraging ones. Remember that no one said meditation would be easy. _The Meditation of the Bubble_