You Don't Have To Be Buddhist To Practice Buddhist Meditation
One of the misconceptions of Buddhism is that is thought to be a religion in the sense that it worships Buddha as God. Buddha is not worshipped as a God - he is considered a Holy Man whose actions you could model in order to have a fulfilling life and to lessen suffering. Buddhist meditation does not rely on following the Buddha. You can easily take the basic principles of Buddhist meditation and use it in any religion or belief system.
Not The Only Way
The Buddha taught many kinds of meditation, because there are many different kinds of people. And, if none of those ways seemed to work, not to worry about it and find your own form of meditation. The Buddha was not into "my way or the highway" teachings. He often urged his followers to find things out for themselves and to not take the teachings of anyone as Gospel (pardon the pun).
There are many, many kinds of Buddhist meditation - much too many to go over in an article such as this. There are many books, websites and the other articles on this site that can help you find out the details of specific kinds of Buddhist meditation. But do not worry that you have to change your religion - or take up any religion at all - in order to practice Buddhist meditation.
Mindfulness
A word you will bump into over and over again when learning about Buddhist meditation is mindfulness. This means being aware of the present moment and only the present moment. Have you ever seen a child experiencing Christmas for the first time? That sense of wonder and having no expectations is part of mindfulness.
You probably meditate and enter a state of mindfulness without even knowing it. If you have ever been so entranced by whatever is going on, say listening to music or writing an article on Buddhist meditation, then you are meditating. It is getting into that state at will which is tough.
Some people don't like the confusion that trying to still their minds brings. This is also normal. You just observe it, accept it, and go on. Meditation is akin to watching your mind's thoughts like watching the waves on the sea - they rise, swell, crash, and then are absorbed back into the sea.
Many benefits of meditation is learning self-confidence, learning how to manage your stress and to pay attention to what is going on around you. That is why anyone of any religion should practice Buddhist meditation.
