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The human brain tends toward excessive emotionality, which ties the reasonable mind up in knots, confusing us and leading us to hold contradictory convictions. Combined with our general need to feel in control, this not only makes personal crises difficult to handle, but can wreak havoc on us in everyday life.

Many of us carry around banter in our heads. We talk to ourselves incessantly, in emotions and sometimes in words, creating whole worlds which, while we may not fully notice, still affect our actions and the quality of our happiness.

Meditation seeks to calm our unnecessary inner conversations, clarifying our thoughts and widening our ability to perceive existence with accuracy and compassion. The goal is to relax while being acutely aware of our internal and external environments.

The first small step is to consider our relationship with the way we breathe. We are always breathing, but we hardly ever take note of this. Listen to your breath, right now, for a few moments. If you are unfamiliar with meditation, your natural desire for control will most likely leave you feeling short of breath after a short while. Then, if you stop listening, you will breathe comfortably again.

The first goal is to listen to your breath without trying to control it. Calm the impulse, when listening, to change the depth or speed of your breathing. Consider humility: you can control your breath, but it is best left to flow naturally, without your help. This is true of many things.

Once you are able to pay close attention to the sensation of breathing, you will be ready to treat your mind the same way. Choose a quiet, uncluttered location for meditation. You can sit inside or outside. When you enter the area, regard it with respect. You don't own it. It's just there, surrounding you.

To sit, you don't have to cross your legs, let alone adopt the lotus position. Many people are not able to turn their legs into pretzels. Some prefer to kneel, sitting with the legs folded under, with a small pillow between the ankles and the bottom for comfort. Sit up straight, so your breath will flow deeply. Rest your hands, palms-up, on your knees.

Relax by listening to your breath for a few moments. Let your mind wander. Observe your thoughts, your worries, your interests, and the physical sensations of sitting as they pass through your mind, while remaining a passive observer. This will be difficult, as in essence, it is an attempt to objectify your own thought processes. If you start

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