A million ways to mindfulness

A goal of meditation is to be more aware. This means that instead of cruising along on autopilot reacting habitually, you remain mindful of your body, your thoughts and your moods or emotions as they change. When mindfulness is sufficiently sharp you can respond to the demands of life with greater wisdom. You don't get so frequently caught up in the dramas and mental stories which typically keep us stressed.

Meditation is one way of developing such a state of mind, and for many people it's very effective. For others, meditation may seem difficult or even impossible. There's a reason for this: the human brain is a complex instrument - and comes in quite a few billion different varieties. We all perceive the world in slightly different ways - and we all learn best through slightly different processes or methodologies. Our ability to learn also depends on how much fun we're having. If we find something boring and monotonous we're unlikely to learn much about it, and we'll probably give up pretty quick. On the other hand, if you enjoy something, it's likely you're quite good at it - and continue to do it simply because you're happy when you do.

The good news is - if you're one of those people for whom sitting still even for five minutes sounds like torture - the benefits of meditation are not out of reach. Same for those who enjoy meditation but just can't seem to maintain the discipline to continue a daily practice. If you've found it hard to stay motivated to meditate, take heart. It’s not you—it’s the teaching style!

Meditation teachers are rarely bouncing around the room looking like they're full of all the energy they say meditation gives you - and the atmosphere can be rather serious and sombre. That's a shame - because many more would be attracted to meditation if it actually looked like it was fun!

So, how do you make meditation fun. Simple - you adapt it to suit your own learning style. We all learn in our own unique way - some, for example, through logic, some by looking, some by listening, some by doing. Of course, we can learn through all of these processes, but we'll be most proficient when using our naturally dominant learning modes.

According to Howard Gardner, in his book Frames of Mind: The Theory of Multiple Intelligences there are actually eight types of intelligence:

visual/spatial—learning through aspects of visual stimuli, including shape, color, light, shadow, texture, and three-dimensional images
auditory—learning through sound, including music and natural tones
bodily/kinesthetic—learning through movement and the use of your body
linguistic—learning through words, both written and spoken
logical/mathematic—learning through numbers, graphs and formulas
naturalistic—learning through direct contact with nature/living things
interpersonal—learning through knowing others and developing relationships
intrapersonal—learning through contemplation and observation

The way to make use of this information is to try out exercises which exercise each of these different learning styles. It's likely that some will resonate well with you - others will leave you cold. The ones that you enjoy will help you to develop mindfulness naturally, without effort. Using them will feel like a game. And by experimenting with different meditative practices you'll develop greater awareness not only in your dominant learning mode, but you'll also develop new skills and abilities in your weaker areas.

Here then, is an exercise for each 'intelligence'. Try them all out over the next few weeks and take note of what works best for you - that is, which one is the easiest and most natural to you, which one automatically puts a smile on your face.

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