My Tips for Meditation/How I Meditate

I know that I have already done a previous post on tips for meditation but this will not be the same. This post is my own tips for meditation and I would like to pass them onto you readers. Now I do understand that everyone is different and most of these tips might not apply to you. But I feel that the major part of these tips could apply to everyone, they just have to make them their own.
So here are my tips for meditation, take them and make them your own.

Time
The first thing to do when you begin meditation is to pick a time that you would like to meditate. Pick a time that best suits you. For me, I have found that since I am usually the only one awake until around 8 AM every morning; I have taken to meditate about 6:30 or 7:00 AM. This allows me not only to meditate alone but I can also enjoy the peaceful quiet before the rest of my household wakes up to start their day. I have also found that if I cannot do my meditation in the mornings, then at night after everyone else goes to bed is another perfect time for me. Since I am usually the last one to go to sleep every night and the first to wake up in the mornings, I can enjoy my time to myself to calm down after a long day.
I have come to switch my time to meditate around, depending on the day I've had or I'll have. If I know that I have a lot of errands and choirs that I need to do, I'll meditate in the morning in order to give myself extra energy and to wake up my mind more. If I have had a rough and stressful, I'll meditate at night in order to calm my mind down so that I can relax peacefully in my sleep.
Another important thing to do when you begin meditation is to pick how long you are going to meditate. Some people meditate for about an hour and some for about fifteen minutes. Again this has everything to do with what you feel like you need. Try meditating for ten minutes, if you feel like you need more then add on ten more minutes. Keep adding on minutes until you have reached the time that you feel is right for you. I, myself, meditate for about an hour or an hour and half. Again the time that I meditate depends on what kind of day I'll have or I've had.
A tip that I have learned is that since it is easy for me to get lost in my meditation and to lose track of time. This is why I know set a very loud alarm on my phone to go off in order for me to know that I need to come out of my meditation. I usually set my alarm to go off five minutes before the end of my meditation. But lately I have noticed that I come out of my meditation without any aid for an alarm. This is common as you teach yourself to instinctively know when your meditation is coming to an end.

Place/Environment/Surroundings
For me, the perfect place to meditate is in my room. I chose my room to meditate in because it is a room that I feel most comfortable in, mostly because it is my space. Everything in my room holds a bit of my spirit/essence. Again it does depend on the person to pick out the place where they meditate. There are endless possibilities to places
My environment, or my meditation setup is really very simple. I have a pillow that I sit on that is the perfect size to suit my meditation. I also like to light incense that I have collected in order to allow myself to relax more in my meditation. The incense that I usually use are those that I either purchase from Wal-Mart or those that I purchase from a local store as they have a better variety of scents. Also to further allow myself to relax in my mediation environment I have a playlist on my i-pod that I listen to when I am meditating. I put on my headphones and turn it down to a low calming volume and let the music take me. The reason why I put my music low is so that I am able to hear my alarm that alerts me that my mediation is about to end.

Position
Ah, the meditation position. This is different for everyone. For myself, it all depends on the kind of day that I have had/will have. For instance, if my day has been stressful and exhausting I will lay down on my bed, and just relax. If I have a busy day planned, I will take up the classic meditation position in order to wake up my mind fully. I might even do stretches in order to get my blood pumping in preparation for my day. Again it all depends on what your needs are.

How Often 
I meditate everyday, either once in the morning or once at night. I know of some people who meditate more than once a day, some that meditate only a few days out of the week and some that meditate once a month. Again it all depends on what you feel like you need. If you feel like you need to meditate a few times a day, then go right ahead. There is nothing wrong with it at all as it is what you need.

Finding Your Inner Place
Okay, now this I admit might take you some time. It took me a few tries to find this place. This is basically a place where your mind goes when you meditate in order to focus and relax. Again, this place is based off of the person. While it is common for people to have similar inner places, they all vary.
For instance, my inner place is a large library that is filled with tons and tons of all different types of books, some antique and some new. It even has old Victorian furniture and a roaring fireplace. For me, this place speaks so much of tranquility and peace and of myself. I am an avid reader so it would stand to reason that my inner place would be that of a library or study like setting. I can even smell the old books, I know that that might sound a bit farfetched but I honestly can and that makes me relax further into my meditation.

Well that is the end of this blog. I hope that I have given all of you readers some helpful tips in order for you to take full advantage of everything that your meditation can give you. If anyone has any suggestions to other blogs that they would like to see, then please leave a comment below.