Holy Man!

Never say you aren't important.  You're not just important - you're essential.  You have a definite purpose and it's a sacred responsibility.

Here are my suggestions for meditation:

1.  Don't expect anything.

2.  Don't strain.  You're not working out.  This isn't a project.  There's no such thing as Competitive Meditation.

3.  Don't rush.  There's no hurry.  There's no place to get to and if there was you'd never get there, anyway.

4.  Don't cling to anything and don't expect anything.  You're going to be disappointed.

5.  Let go.  (Where have I heard this before?)

6.  Accept everything that arises.  There's no rule book here.  This is your meditation.  If you're meditating you're doing a great job.  There's no bad meditation.  There's meditation, period.

7.  Give yourself a break.  Almost no one meditates so you're a star if you're making an effort.  Even people who have been meditating for years think they suck at it.  You've made an improvement even when a thought intrudes on every breath you take.

8.  Question everything.  Take nothing for granted.  Don't believe anything anyone says without investigating it yourself.  Even if it comes from some pious holy man.  Especially some pious holy man.  There are plenty of holy men who are self-serving, self-seeking dumb asses.

9.  View all "problems" as challenges.  Remember AFGO.  Another (ahem) Goshdarned Growth Opportunity.  Quit sorting things into Good and Bad.  Try looking at them as Pleasant and Painful.  Here's a news flash for all the other emotional six year olds out there - you're not getting everything you want and you're going to have to suffer from time to time, like all of us.

10.  Don't think.  Don't ponder.  There's nothing to figure out.  There's nothing that's good or bad.  It's just stuff.  It's just shit.  Watch it float by.