“Take a short trip. To your centre.”

Lao Tzu, author of the Tao Te Ching, writes “At the centre of your being you have the answer.” Have you been to your centre, can you find your way? What map would you use to guide a trip to your centre? The map of meditation. Sit quietly, on your yoga mat, meditation cushion, the floor, or a chair, or outdoors.

Sit for just 5 or 10 minutes initially. Simply focus on you breath, observing the in breath, observing the out breath. Try to remain a detached observer – the observer cannot also be the observed. You may not manage long initially, don't be put off. You just need more practice. Take this journey daily, and you will become calmer, more 'centered', more skillful at the act of detached observation. The thoughts are not you, and they are not your reality, don't let them become it.

At the end of your meditation, slowly bring your awareness back to your physical body, step by step, then finally, bring your awareness back to the place in which you are sitting, arriving back refreshed, as if from a short holiday. Did you find the answer yet?

Today's thought is from the series '31 Ways to Have a Better Day'.