Meditation can be easy and natural. A starting understanding of meditation is a relaxed state of mind in a continuity of observation. It need not be a "practice" or "discipline." Meditation can be integrated in our daily lives in natural ways. These natural ways later may grow into deeper attainments of sitting meditation. But elementary meditation, bringing peace and insight, is really well within anybody's daily schedule and willingness to quietly observe. It doesn't require ceremonies or special sitting postures or breathing techniques. It is called "observing meditation." I practice it every day, many times a day—a string of little moments that have great consequence for body, mind and spirit. Observing meditation is now a very natural state of mind for me. And is a foundation for my more structured "pure awareness" meditation or philosophical meditations.

Our daily lives today are filled with an enormous range of responsibilities, opportunities and diversions. When the alarm buzzer goes off, after a possibly restless night of anxiousness, strange subconscious dreams, the acid discomfort of heartburn from a too-rich meal, we are already thinking out our day. Our body (and its anxiety levels) is already responding to the neural-chemicals kicked up by the brain as we come into waking consciousness and launch into the daily agenda: what do I have to do, where do I have to be, how will I handle a difficult situation at work, one child needs attention I don't have time to give, one teen is hoping I don't talk to her, can I afford a new renovation of the kitchen, I need to study for the nonprofit work I'm doing or I need to trim that work back, how is my diet doing (can I have some butter on my toast, or eat it dry), can I do brisk walking today or am I going to have to skip that, how is the car running, what's the weather like, why am I not sleeping well?

Within a few minutes of coming out of the psychological (should be spiritual—another series of articles) fogs and mists of dream country generally people are flooded with thoughts of their upcoming day. Mental notes are being logged, prioritized, or we are just thinking in a kind of swirl of waking consciousness.

Studies have shown that we are creating thoughts in the range of 30-50 a minute. From the moment we wake to the time of actually falling asleep, our thoughts have added into the tens of thousands: over 57,000 thoughts. Each day. Most of these are in the nature of anxieties, worries, private criticisms and observations of self and others, and generally passive thoughts rising out of the wash of our contemporary mediums of TV, radio, computers, handhelds. Occasionally we reach a train of thought, a series of thoughts—like train cars—that run logically along the tracks of a single subject. Or a pattern of thoughts organize into a tapestry of insight or cognition. But, for the most part we live a daily life caught in a continual perfect storm of thinking too much of things too inconsequential—and our bodies do begin to reflect that.

And this is why many people who are attracted to the concept of meditation and start some method of meditation, eventually let it fall to the wayside. The overwhelming press of life, and the continual fomenting of thoughts—mainly in conditions of anxiety or passive entertainment—literally overwhelm the budding processes of personal meditation. The comment I most often hear in discussing meditation is: "I used to do it. I love the idea. I wish I could do it. But I am just not following the practice. I don't know why."

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