Giridhar Mudili is a professional public speaker who has addressed audiences large and small, and at venues as diverse as convention centers, conference rooms, and classrooms. He says that he long ago overcame his fear of speaking in public, and one of the ways that he mastered that fear was by meditating shortly before his speech begins.

As a Zen Buddhist, Giridhar Mudili says that he meditates daily, and is able to call on many techniques to help him. In the Buddhist tradition the word "meditate" is a lot like saying "sports" in English: it's a group of different activities, and not a single thing. Different meditative practices, he explains, call for different sets of mental skills.

He says that when he first began to meditate as a young man, he was taught that the easiest way to learn was by focusing on his breathing. This is an example of one of the most common approaches to meditation, which is concentration. Concentrative meditation is a technique in which the person meditating focuses on a single point, such as breathing. Or it could be the use of a mantra, or a single word repeated over and over. He says that he began by focusing on breathing, but later found it more effective to focus all of his attention on a candle's flame.

It is challenging to focus the mind on a single thing, so Giridhar Mudili says that beginners should only try to go for a few minutes at a time. When you notice that your mind has wandered, re-focus your attention on something else. Gradually you will learn to focus your attention for longer and longer periods, and at some point will cross an invisible line, and your concentration will improve.

Another meditation technique is called mindfulness meditation. This encourages the person meditating to pay attention to the wandering thoughts that drift through the mind. The point of this technique is not to get hung up on any particular thought or even to judge them, but to be aware of each mental note that passes through the conscious mind. See how your thoughts and feelings move in different patterns. Eventually you will become more aware of the tendency to judge experiences as good or bad, and with practice overcome it, allowing an inner balance to emerge.

About: Giridhar Mudili is a Zen Buddhist and public speaker who says meditating helps him prepare. For More Information visit at http://www.professionalontheweb.com/p/w/giridhar+mudili/18506