Somewhere within each of our minds there is a sanctuary away from the noise and disruption of our own busy thought processes. Meditation is about calming the chatter of your mind and rediscovering that calm, still space. You have the ability to create that tranquility for yourself, during your busy day.

In itself, this knowledge can make you feel more powerful. Remember that this space is there all the time. When you meditate, you are simply opening the door, walking in and settling down for a while in your own inner sanctuary. One well known technique for calming the mind is to imagine doing this quite literally.

However, you may need to be given the key to that door. There are many keys that work, most based on methods perfected in Asia over the course of many centuries, if not millennia. But since the 1960s, meditation has become widely practiced in the West and people have adapted ancient meditation techniques to suit modern lifestyles.

It is up to you to try out different keys and see which ones work for you. You may well find that in different situations you respond more quickly to different techniques, so it may take a little trial and error to discover what works best.