Meditation

The first step to living in the moment begins with the practice of meditation.  Now before you give up on me, let me explain how meditation is something that will actually help you develop a large and exciting social life in college.

Meditation that is done properly helps you to focus on the moment, it helps you relax, it helps disperse social anxiety.  If you diligently practice proper mediation techniques, all the positive effects listed above will permanently become the norm for you.  Now wouldn't it be nice to go through the day relaxed, focused, and not at all anxious about social situations? From my personal experience I can tell you it is amazing. 

Other people will notice this as well.  People will want to hangout with you since your relaxed, energized, and focused nature is addictive to them.  They may not be able to explain what it is about you, but they will feel a natural attraction.  Now I won't lie, it takes hard diligent work to develop this state of zen, but it is well worth the effort.

This is you, well maybe not, but the guy below is pretty bad-ass.



Now there are many different techniques for meditation.  I will address a few of the meditation techniques that worked best for me, but there are countless different mediation techniques, so if these don't work well for you, explore the internet and find one that suits you.

The Counting Technique:

Find a quite place to sit down where you won't be disturbed for twenty minutes.  Make sure you are comfortable when you sit down--you don't have to sit cross legged to mediate.  Close your eyes and  begin by taking ten deep breaths.  Breath in through your nose making sure your belly raises as you inhale.  Pause.  Exhale through your mouth slowly.  Feel your muscles relax as you exhale.  After ten deep breaths begin to count in your head from one to hundred.  Every number you count visualize it in your mind before moving on to the next number.  If you lose track of which number you where at because you began to think about something else, restart at 1.  If you find you can't yet focus enough to reach 100 without becoming distracted, that is fine, depending on how active your mind is at the moment it can be surprisingly hard to accomplish without thinking about something else.  Over time, this will train your mind to focus on the present as well as teach your body to remain relaxed.

Sensations meditation technique:

This is a great meditation technique to use alone or before using the counting technique. Once again, find a quite sitting area where you will not be disturbed for twenty minutes.  Take a seat and make sure you are comfortable.  Begin by closing your eyes and taking ten deep breaths.  Inhale through the nose making sure your belly rises.  Pause briefly and then exhale through your mouth feeling your body relax as you do so.  After ten slow deep breaths draw your focus to your face and top of your head.  Is your jaw relaxed?  If not, relax it. (Note: many people hold stress in the jaw and a tip for keeping your jaw relaxed is to press your tongue lightly against the back of your upper teeth.)  Slowly move your attention down your body making sure it is relaxed, paying attention to how it feels, what it is touching.  Continue through the arms, your torso, your legs, and into your feet.  When your body is fully relaxed, draw your attention to your senses.  What do you hear in the room.  Listen closely, and try to pick out different sounds and think about the sounds--not just the source of the sounds, but the sounds themselves.  Finally, end the mediation by once again focusing on your sense of touch, what part of your body is touching the ground, a pillow etc.  Is it relaxed?

Practice one or both of this techniques at least three times a week.  Over time, you will train your mind to permanently function in a more attuned, relaxed, and focused manner even when you are not meditating.