Mindfulness, Mind-unfulness and Meditation

Since I've opened my little orange, paperback book again I find it so full of great information that I'm taking my M word from the same source as yesterday.  The word is Mindfulness.

When I think of Mindfulness, I think of being and staying in the present moment without thinking of the past or of the future.  From the book,  How to Be Happy, Dammit , the author writes, "It's like how in the movies, folks like Clint or Sylvester or Sigourney know to remain cool and calm even when their futures look bleak and doomed.  Although these people are often called "action heroes," you know their real power comes from being "still heroes," masters of the art of staying still within---of being fully, deeply present."

"The Buddhists call this mindfulness.  Though in many ways it's like mind-unfullness because it is all about entering into an empty-mind state, void of worries and fears and insecurities...a state that can be best achieved through regular meditation." --Karen Salmansohn

I watched Oprah Winfrey go to a town in the Midwest where the whole town (or pretty much whole town) practices mediation daily- even in the schools!  There was a family that moved there especially for that reason and the wife said that her migraines were gone and their lives were much more calm.  It was such a fascinating concept to me.  I've never regularly participated in meditation; I have done it for a few minutes after a few workouts and it felt good except that it was difficult to still my mind even for the few minutes I was giving it a go.   The concept of clearing my mind of everything sounds very difficult since my mind is constantly thinking of one thing or another.  Someone told me to only focus on one thing, maybe something in the room next to me, and that everything else would fade away.  That sounds a little more do-able. 

There are so many things I'd love to try and meditation is one of them.  "Meditation works like one of those shake-up-snow-dome thingies--it helps the flaky stuff in your mind settle down, so you can see more clearly what you truly need and want.  So once a day you just sit, stop, become a human still life."

                                                      Do nothing.
                           Be nothing.

"Except breath.  You become at one with your breath.  You breathe.  In and out.  In and out.  In and out." ---Karen Salmansohn   You'll find that once you open your eyes, you start to see everything with new perspective.  I really like this idea; I know I could use a fresh set of eyes and new mindset.  


Does anyone have experiences with meditation and an easy method to learn how to still your mind?