Meditation for Beginners in Northwest Arkansas

Meditation for Beginners

We get a few requests about how best to learn meditation. Here's our best advice.

There's really no better way to learn how to meditate than to learn from an experienced teacher or group. When you make the commitment to learn meditation, you should also make the commitment to practice regularly: at least once or twice a day for at least two to three weeks -- anything less than that will not give you enough of an experience to allow you to judge whether or not meditation is "for you." We also recommend regular practice within a group setting so that you can share your experience and questions with other meditators.

The Buddhist Meditation and Spiritual Support Group provides meditation instruction at the beginning of each of their Thursday evening meetings. Contact Josh Newman at (479) 422-6526 or Geoff Oelsner at (479) 521-2395 for more information.

Geshe Thupten Dorjee also provides periodic meditation instruction through the Tibetan Buddhist Practices group, and through his interactions with the University of Arkansas community. Contact Geshe-la through the Tibetan Cultural Institute of Arkansas web site for more information and scheduling.

Perry Randall is available for private or group instruction in Theravadin meditation practices. For more information, contact Perry at 479-387-6213.

For those who are unable to schedule face-to-face instruction, the Unitarian Universalist Buddhist Fellowship publishes a Vary Basic Meditation Primer with some basic instructions and links to other online resources. Members of the UU Buddhist Fellowship can also provide one-on-one instruction upon request -- come a few minutes early to their Tuesday evening meeting and let them know that you need some instruction before the meeting begins.

[Note to other local practice groups: If your group also provides meditation instruction, and you would like to be mentioned here, contact NWA Buddhist with the relevant details.]