Meditation

I have been trying to learn to meditate this year and incorporate it regularly into my life. One of the directions given for meditation is to staying in the moment, just be. That concept sounds simple, but I frequently find it difficult to accomplish. We are a society who thrives on multitasking and are constantly busy. I think that living this way has made it difficult for me to shut my mind to the past and future and instead focus on the present, the breath by breath focus needed to meditate.
I have been using the cds of Jon Kabat-Zinn. He has various meditation activities under the title of mindfulness meditation. I started with his guided body scan meditation. It was recommended to me because Dr. Kabat-Zinn talks you through the meditation. I found it easier to focus and stay in the moment by listening to him.
After I felt comfortable with the body scan I added the silent meditation cds. This was much harder for me. The cds guide me a little but much of the meditation is silent. I find it a much greater challenge to focus on my breathing and not start thinking about other things. Luckily the cds I use have 10, 20 and 30 minute options.
I am currently up to 20 minutes of silent meditation. The next challenge I face is remembering to consistently practice. It does calm and relax me but the long term health benefits come from consistent practice. Unfortunately that also makes me sleepy which can torpedo any activities I may want to do after meditating. Still, I think it is a reasonable price to pay!