The place I liked to meditate in the most, was a little old bench overlooking the Pacific Ocean on the Far North Coast of NSW. When I lived there, I used to rise with the sun. I couldn't help but do that, as the sun came streaming into my bedroom every morning waking me up and beckoning me to come watch.

I would start my meditation by turning my mind to God and thanking him for the day. It was so easy to do that there. Then my next step was to sit quietly and watch the waves and let my mind be quiet.

There are many ways to meditate. Some ways invite you to light a candle and stare at the flame. Other ways ask you to empty your mind and sit. All help to calm the mind and some ways work better for some people than others. It depends on our belief systems, our philosophies, our willingness. Mostly meditation is to stop for a while. Stop the busy chatter and hectic life that we live. Stop and listen. Stop and simply be. We are constantly on the go, or in constant contact with emails, mobile phones, no matter where we are in the world we can be contacted or reach out to others. That's wonderful, but there are times when we need to stop, turn off the phone, turn off the TV, turn off the radio, turn off the computer and become still and quiet.

So, my favourite meditation place is to go to the beach at dawn and sit quietly watching the sun rise. However, it's not always possible to go to your favourite place, but in your mind you can travel easily.

Here's a quick visualisation meditation for you.

Find a chair where you can sit comfortably. Move yourself around on your chair until you feel just right. Take a deep breath and let it go. Now allow your body to really flop into the chair. Allow all your thoughts to slow down and bring your awareness to your breathing. Don't change your breathing, just notice it.

After a few breaths, in your mind think of a place in nature you like to go to. For some people it's a river, for others it's a mountain meadow, you might like to be on a boat on a lake. It's really up to you to make it up in your mind. You might even like to go to a church or a sanctuary.

Then allow all your senses to imagine and even imagine smells of the place. There is just the place; the river, the meadow, the beach, the sanctuary let yourself enjoy this place. There is nothing to do, or anywhere to go. Then when you are ready come back to your daily routine. This is something you can do wherever you are. Some people call it day dreaming. Others meditation. In meditation, you can allow your eyes to stay open if you wish, or close them if you'd prefer.

Meditation can be measured. My mother was on a blood pressure monitor at the Dr's and feeling pretty nervous. She imagined going on a favourite ride in Disneyland. The Peter Pan ride. Her pulse went down 30 the Dr was amazed.