Meditation is simply a deliberate act of clearing and relaxing the mind, often with the goal of achieving some type of benefit.

Though its exact time and place of origin are unknown, it was widely practiced in Eastern religion and medicine for thousands of years.

Today, meditation is considered a “mainstream” practice in Western society.

Some of the world’s smartest, most influential people now rely on it for relaxing and reducing stress, improving aspects of the “self,” such as self-confidence, esteem, and optimism, and more.

People like …

• Bill Ford, Executive Chairman of the Ford Motor Company, credits this with turning around the fortunes of Ford when it was teetering on bankruptcy in 2008 …

• Padmasree Warrior,Chief Technology Officer at Cisco Systems — a job that’s certain to clutter up anyone’s mind — calls this ritual “a reboot for your brain and soul.”

• Hip Hop mogul Russell Simmons is a huge proponent. “You don’t even have to believe in it for it to work,” he said. “You just have to take the time to do it.”

• Green Mountain Coffee Roasters CEO Robert Stiller says it “helps develop your abilities to focus better and accomplish your tasks.”

• Oprah Winfrey, who oversees media dynasty Harpo Productions, says she walks away from this daily ritual “feeling full of hope, a sense of contentment, and deep joy.”

Meditation and the “study of the mind” has its skeptics … but the myriad benefits that millions of people swear by are undeniable.

Whether you’re a skeptic or you already believe in the power of meditation because you have already tried it, you’ll find Dr. Annette Annechild’s Accessing the Writer Within program to be a simple, commonsense approach to meditation that helps you unleash your success as a writer.

Try to meditate in the same place every day. Pick a comfortable chair and make that your quiet place.

Try to meditate in the morning and the night even if it’s only for five minutes — it becomes like bookends to your day.

Don’t give up, it’s like training a new puppy. If you tell the puppy what to do over and over every day, one day it just gets it and behaves. The mind is the same way — if it knows you mean business, it will begin to cooperate, we promise!

Don’t worry — it’s hard for everybody to quiet the mind at first, that’s why it takes daily practice and an experienced guide.

Plus, it’s also a misconception that you’re only “successful” at meditating if you’re able to quiet your mind. Annette says that even after all her years of meditation experience, she still has days where her mind races the entire time.

But the good news is it doesn’t matter what actually happens when you sit to meditate. You are meditating if you are attempting to quiet the mind.

Accessing the Writer Within is designed to help you understand that you can, in fact, control your mind … and Annette walks you step-by-step through that process.