People who have never meditated sometimes have difficulty working out what it “looks like”. Does it mean you go into some sort of blanked out zone where there’s no thoughts? How is it possible to have no thoughts? Does the mind have an “off-switch” found during meditation?

Meditation for a beginner is about learning to control your thoughts. It’s almost like you become aware of your thoughts as an observer. You watch them flitting through your mind and aren’t invested in them.

The best way to do this is to focus on one thing – your breath, a flower, a word like “love”. At first it will be hard to stop other thoughts from coming in – that’s been happening for years so don’t expect it to change overnight!

Say you’re focusing on a rose, or a candle flame and thoughts about work or what’s for dinner tonight come in, then acknowledge them, release them and return to what you’re focusing on. The aim is to let go of the thoughts that come in, not to ‘delve’ into them. You’ll find with practice, that the focus does get easier to maintain.

Having meditated for a few years, I find that my mind is now still during meditation – no random thoughts come in. I am aware of my breathing and my body and that’s it. In this state, a visualization exercise is powerful since all my concentration and focus is on that alone.

Science is continually showing the many benefits of meditation. Try to find 5-10 minutes, maybe 2 or 3 times a week where you can do this. You can also do this as you’re drifting off to sleep or waking up. Focus your mind on one thing and start reaping the benefits of this age-old process.