Meditation is not a means to a goal. Rather, each practice encapsulates life itself. None of these practices, when done correctly, allow a goal to be entertained even for a second.

Counting the Breath

Counting the breath is probably the most encouraged meditation for beginners. It is highly recomended for beginners because it is a great practice to begin aquainting oneself with both sitting still and with breaking free from discursive though. That being said, this practice should not be thought of as being pedestrian because if it is truly followed, it is no different than even the "advanced" practices.

First, start by sitting. Begin with one exhalation and count that as 1. You should count silently to yourself as you exhale. Oooonnneee. Then, while you inhale, count that as 2. Twooooo. Work your way up to ten then start back at 1. You may find it helpful to picture the numbers while you inhale and exhale. If you lose track of your counting, make sure to start back at 1. If you are new to sitting, sit for 15 minutes doing this practice once or twice a day.

Following the Breath

This practice is almost the same as couting the breath however you are simply not counting. Because you are not counting, there is less of a crutch to fall back on. With less of a crutch, your mind will have to concentrate a bit more in order to not get distracted.

Start by sitting. Do not try to control the breath. Simply experience it. If your mind gets into doing it "right" or "wrong", just go back to your breath.

Koans

Koan practice is a practice of being. Koans were created by the Zen masters through the past exemplifying enlightenment as the standard. In practicality, a Koan is a question that is lived. When this question is lived, the Koan's answers come of themselves. However the answers do not come from the discriminating mind. This practice is very powerful and naturally brings about a change equaling the effort placed into it.

In order to work a koan, you need to practice with a realized master.

Repeating your Thoughts

Repeating thoughts is a valuable practice. Before setting off on this practice, it is likely you do not have any clue what you are thinking throughout the day. This practice will at the least surprise you.

To begin is simple. All you need to do is repeat each and every thought you have back to yourself. If you actually do repeat each thought, then without realizing it, you are beginning to break free from the linear thought patterns you have been involved in from a very young age. The road-blocks will present themselves very blatantly. What you do is, repeat your thoughts back to yourself like so: "Having a thought about what do I say in this next sentence". "Having a thought whether they will understand this sentence", "Having a thought whether this paragraph is becoming too confusing". There, I just labeled my thoughts regarding what I'm writing. Then just continue like this. Don't stop repeating the thoughts. What's amazing is you'll get to a point where you'll say to yourself, "I can't do this anymore". Then instead of repeating it, you will actually believe it! But don't worry about that, just continue to repeat it. You will break free from your patterns more and more. At a certain point, you will be able to see all your thoughts without having to repeat them.

Shikantaza

The great mountain of meditation. There is nothing to realize. In Dzogchen practice this is called "no meditation". Because it literally involves not doing anything. It's a not doing anything that we cannot grasp. It is not that life is not just fine as it is, it is what we want out of life that is the problem. This practice could not be more clear in showing us that fact, and our disappointment will only further prove this. It exposes us directly to what we just do not want to believe. We do not want to believe that this life is just the ordinary. We do not want to let go of our concepts of how things should be.

In order to truly practice this, simply do not involve yourself in any discussions. As soon as you find yourself in a discussion, let it go. And when you let it go, do not look for anything. That is the tough part. As soon as we let go, we look for something, or some indicator or something to validate this practice. You will only be disappointed. But persist anyways. It is the only way to live.