Reddit mentions of Buddha in Blue Jeans: An Extremely Short Zen Guide to Sitting Quietly and Being Buddha

I have found meditation to be extremely helpful, but I don't schedule it or anything. I use it to get in touch with how I'm feeling. The best way is with some chill music, and a quiet environment.

This book helped me a lot:
http://www.amazon.com/Buddha-Blue-Jeans-Extremely-Sitting-ebook/dp/B005ZZ2T2C

Buddha in Blue Jeans, free for Kindle. Extremely short read, but a great primer.

If you want to learn fairly thoroughly about it, but still in a relatively condensed manner, I'd recommend this book. It is super cheap as an ebook and I think it was worth the read.

Another one I like is this. The nice part about that one is its free and really short/simple.

You can probably find videos not only on how to meditate on youtube, but guided meditations as well. Guided meditation can be really helpful for beginners, of which I am one. Having someone to listen to helps keep the chatter in my own mind down. Alan Watts will guide you through in this one..

Sit comfortably, with back straight (but not tensed), eyes either closed or with eyelids relaxed and gaze unfocused. Another tip that he gives in another lecture is to relax the tongue; let it drop into the lower jaw, rather than touching the roof of your mouth like it might usually sit. This tends to help reduce chatter in the mind, because talk in the mind (thinking) usually comes along with some tension in the tongue. It's kind of like how you smile when you're happy but even if you smile when not happy your mood will lift. Now try that guided meditation if you're available to do so. ;)

Hopefully this isn't a jumble of words. I'm kinda hungry so I'm just throwing things out there that I hope would be helpful to you.

Here are a few free Kindle Books you might find useful:

http://www.amazon.com/Buddha-Blue-Jeans-Extremely-Sitting-ebook/dp/B005ZZ2T2C/

http://www.amazon.com/Hoist-My-Own-Petard-Writing-ebook/dp/B00R1R64NW/

http://www.amazon.com/Meditations-Marcus-Aurelius-ebook/dp/B0082XJGRK/

http://www.amazon.com/Change-your-Life-minutes-Self-Help-ebook/dp/B00HESRIU6/

http://www.amazon.com/Meditation-Transformation-Relax-Revitalize-Perspective-ebook/dp/B00IS8RSDI/

The aspects of Buddhism that worked the most for me were about mindfulness and meditation. I am not a Buddhist, but do enjoy the philosophical aspects.

Mindfulness is simply about living in the moment and appreciating every moment. Do not worry or think too much on the past or the future. For example, if you're eating an apple. Concentrate on the apple. Its taste, texture, the crunch. Do not eat the apple and worry over the details at work or a relationship you're in. Simply, concentrate on the apple.

This is a simple approach to life with huge rewards. Life becomes more satisfying, the more you let go of worrying about the future or the past. All aspects of life become more enjoyable, assuming they are moments meant to be enjoyed. You become more present in whatever you're doing. At work, you pay better attention and have increased focus. At play, you will have more fun. It is easier to become content with life and stop worrying about what you do not have or have not achieved.

If interested, there are books you can read which will help develop mindfulness.

Buddha in Blue Jeans: An extremenly short simple Zen guide to sitting quietly and being Buddha by Tai Sheridan

This is the Kindle version and free of charge. Tai Sheridan advocates for people spending 5-10 minutes just pondering and relaxing / reflecting. The book is full of little sayings for us to reflect on to create more awareness of our own lives and appreciation of life.

Tai Sheridan is a Zen priest and poet. He has a series of books titled Budda In Blue Jeans which are about an appreciation of life. You do not need to be Buddhist to read or appreciate these books. I have looked at some and find them to be books that encourage introspection and self-reflection.

Another book that addresses mindfulness is:

The Power of Now by Eckhart Tolle.

The Power of Now can be somewhat inaccessible to people. I find the book very rewarding to read. However, the book becomes more understandable if you have experience with meditation or intend to begin meditating. Eckhart talks about quieting our minds and learning how to control the mental chatter which is constantly running through our minds. The more we learn how to control our minds (meditation helps here), the more mindful we can become, and live in the moment.

If you have any other questions, feel free to PM me.

All you have to do is sit quietly. Your parents cannot stop you from doing that.

I also recommend reading something short and freely available online like Buddha in Blue Jeans by Tai Sheridan. The eBook is free if you have the Kindle app on your phone or tablet.

http://www.amazon.com/Buddha-Blue-Jeans-Extremely-Sitting-ebook/dp/B005ZZ2T2C

Otherwise you can Google it and read it on your computer for free.