I wasn't sure whether to post this thread in Spiritual Support or General, so mods, feel free to move it if necessary.

I'm currently reading "Eat, Pray, Love" by Liz Gilbert, and meditation is an important theme of the book. It seems very interesting to me, to be able to get into that "place" of total relaxation. I am much like Liz - a constant worrier, always analyzing at lightning speed the thoughts that go through my head. I want to de-stress, and I've heard of meditation as being one of the ways to do this. Does anyone have any tips for a beginner? I tried tonight for the first time by turning the lights off, closing my eyes, breathing deeply, and repeating the phrase "ham-sa", which is Sanskrit for "I am That" and is a mantra used often by those who meditate. It's one mantra mentioned in the book. It was only a first try, so of course it didn't work very well, but I'm very interested in pursuing it further.