One Minute Meditation to Make Yourself Happier

Meditation is a well known secret of happy people. Even a one minute meditation can start training your brain to be happy. Serious meditation can make you the happiest man in the world.

1. Sit comfortably

You don’t have to be in the traditional lotus position or have a meditation cushion or light a candle. Sitting at your desk reading this right now is fine. You can keep your feet on the floor and even lean back as long as this doesn’t make you nod off.

2. Set a timer

Use your phone or watch to set an audible timer to let you know when your one minute is up. This is to prevent you from sneaking peaks at the time which disrupts your meditation. It also prevents you from nodding off in case you overshoot the minute. Use your phone’s vibration mode if an audible alarm is inappropriate for the situation.

3. Allow your thoughts to wander freely

You’ll very likely find yourself thinking of your to-do list, remembering some recent event, or having an idea which are you are tempted to act on right now. Let these thoughts wander freely through your mind without acting on them nor fighting them. It helps to focus on your breathing.

4. Scratch if you need to

If you’re like me, meditation is worse than a mosquito because it always makes me itch! Traditional advice says to resist that itch, which usually makes the itch grow stronger. We’re going to keep this easy and allow ourselves to scratch. The important thing is to finish the one minute after scratching.

5. Enjoy the results

You will usually feel an immediate sense of calm after the one minute, to varying degrees for different people. If you wish, you can continue to sit still and enjoy this state for a while before carrying on with your day. However, don’t feel obliged to extend the one minute. Keep it practical and easy.

When to practise one minute meditation

Situations where we don’t have to totally focus all the time are ideal for practising one minute meditation:

• Standing in line at supermarket counters
• Taking the bus or train to work
• Meetings which are dragging on unnecessarily
• Waiting for your child to come out of school
• Between the ordering and serving of food if you’re eating alone
• During TV commercials (turn down the volume if necessary)
• While food is cooking

Start now!

Try to practise a one minute meditation at least once a day. You’ll benefit even more if you do this a few times a day. Once it becomes a habit, even a few seconds of meditation can have an immediate impact on you, and eventually you may want to meditate for longer periods. For now, just do this one minute meditation.