The 7 Levels of Meditation:

Meditation is easy. You are already meditating without even knowing about it.

Meditation is simply the practice of directing your attention.

Most people give up on meditation because they try a meditation practice that is above their current level.

They try a level 5 meditation instead of a level 1 meditation.

They try a 30-minute meditation instead of a 30-second meditation.

So here are the 7 levels of meditation where you can finally see what is stopping you from meditating.

Level 1: Relax Your Body

Take some deep breaths and relax. How hard is this?

You can try autogenic training if you are really into relaxation.

Level 2: Basic Attention Training

Direct your attention to your breath, your body, a mantra, sounds, feelings, thoughts, whatever.

You don't have to sustain the focus. Just direct your attention from time to time.

Level 3: Observation & Awareness

Observe yourself as if you saw yourself from a 3rd party view. Practice being more aware of what you are doing/not doing.

Level 4: Sustained Focus & Return Path

Focus mainly on 1 thing (can be anything: breath, body, mantra, feelings, sounds,...) + be aware when you start drifting away in your thoughts then return your focus to your 1 thing. Then repeat.

It's like a cycle of focus -> drifting away -> coming back to focus.

Most people think that meditation is about keeping an empty mind.

But actually, before you can reach that, this level 4 meditation is way easier.

Level 5: Focus on the Unknown + State of No-Thought

Here you start to raise your awareness beyond concepts and focus on information that you can't describe with words, images, or concepts.

The easiest examples are focusing on the silence or focusing on the beauty of a flower.

Another example would be to listening to God or focusing on God.

When you focus on things that you can't describe, you stop thinking.

Level 6: No-Focus, Portals & Higher/Deeper States of Awareness

You can reach higher states of awareness if you practice meditation without a single point of focus OR if you use portals.

The easiest way to achieve this level 6 for me: sit down in a comfortable position with head straight, take some deep breaths, close your eyes, relax your muscles, accept any thoughts you may have right now, be aware of everything: breath, body, sounds, etc, explore your surroundings with your awareness, focus on the unknown, use the unknown as a portal: gently stop focusing on the unknown and let yourself be present, your attention wander. If you didn't succeed, use the unknown as a portal again until you do.

Level 7: One With The Universe

The highest level of awareness. A state where you feel like you are everything. No distraction. No more observant/observer. No more concepts like body, space, time, etc. Everything is simply experienced.