Meditation and mindfulness do not have to be heavy, deep, serious or painful affairs. If they always are, they will be counter-productive; small doses are normal and are part of learning.
Meditation can be Blissful.
Mindfulness can be Exhilarating.
Unless circumstances combine through sheer good fortune, getting to a state of bliss or exhilaration takes persistent patient effort. Trying to get there will not help, it will even work against you. One pointed meditation or bhavana lays the groundwork, building stamina and allowing insight. This effort is not rigid-determined-discipline but persistent patience and kindness toward yourself. The results reflect the means. Using the garden analogy, meditation and mindfulness are like composting to improve the soil. With these we cultivate Generosity, Compassion and Wisdom which allow us to see and be the beauty of life.
So here is a meditation exercise that is for beginners and experienced meditators alike: find a place to sit or stand undisturbed, to the side or out of the way, but near others like a park or a seat in a cafe, wherever people pass by or gather. Get comfortable, plant your feet flat, rock side to side a few times. Take a few deep breaths and feel your shoulders lower and your belly soften. Touch the tip of your tongue to the roof of your mouth right behind your teeth. Arrange back support if you like, there is no benefit to being uncomfortable here.
Imagine that your heart is a bowl of golden light of pure gentleness. In your hand is a bubble wand, a small colorful stick with a circle on the end of it. You dip the wand into the bowl of golden light and blow bubbles of friendly kindness, the first is for you - it easily blows up really big and surrounds you. The surface is a rainbow of colors, the light within it is golden, it is warm and fresh and pleasant. Take a moment to enjoy it. Next you dip the wand into the bowl of golden gentleness and blow bubbles of friendly kindness toward the people you see. These may be people in your vicinity or in your mind’s eye.
The light in the bowl makes a bubble solution that brings a delightful sensation to those who encounter it, encouraging all to relax. Some of the bubbles grow so big they can envelope the people you see, surrounding them with happiness and well being. Some bubbles get so big they surround more than one person, big enough to surround two people, a family, a town, a country. You can even blow a bubble big enough for the whole world. This kindness is unconditional and open ended. Everyone benefits in the way that is best for them at that moment in time.ou don’t guide it, merely offer it.
The purpose of such a visualization is to give the babbling mind something to do. It may sound silly but this exercise helps reset your body chemistry, producing a more beneficial and healthy state. It doesn’t take a lot of time to feel the benefit, when you are satisfied, stop and appreciate what you’ve done. Then get up and stretch, or go for a walk. Use this meditation as often as you like.