-- The fact of my awareness (awareness being the most basic differentiation between living and non-living things; I write about this more here); and

-- Self-reflection, my ability to be aware of my awareness (the most basic differentiation between humans and all other animals, as far as we know - I write about this more here).

Meditation is my being aware of my awareness in an initially structured manner, leading both to a spaciousness and to a focused but open concentration. My meditation practice is body-based, meaning that the arena in which this is played out is my body, using my breath and bodily felt-sense - both kinesthetic and visceral.

My meditation must be enjoyable. It may well lead to deep insights and future liberation, but it must certainly be an activity that I enjoy doing now, on a daily basis, that will help me embrace my day to day life.

It helps me stop worrying about things that there is no need to worry about, and helps me focus on those things I should be concerned about. It gives me something of an anchor in myself that lessens a little the anger, the hate and the petty fretting of life, and makes me a little more aware of what is going on, both in myself and in the people and the world around me.

It provides me somewhere to rest; not to withdraw from the world, although I use it for that occasionally, but having rested I go out and deal with what has to be dealt with, but with a little more humor, relaxation and emotional intelligence - that, to me, is efficient living.