I'll meditate for 10-20 mins some days, and all I know is

Meditating means just not thinking.

Everything you use is a tool to get to that goal of having your mind shut up for a brief time.

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>>8341050
I have my own method of meditating, but don't want to talk about it until I experiment it further.
>the best methods
Just focus on your breath while you sit still, if you notice your mind starts wandering around with monologues, fantasies, images, stop it and focus on your breath again, you might need to force yourself to stay still, but don't give up and you get used to it.
>what meditating does exactly
You become better as whole, which means faster, more focused, clear minded, creative, emotionally stable (not stoic, but in control), positive, physically healthy, wiser, empathetic, etc...

>>8341059
Depends on what you consider "thinking". If you are talking about your internal monologue, yes, when you are focusing on your breath for example you are stopping your internal monologue by shifting attention. However the attention shift comes from the importance you are giving to perceiving your breath, in another words, you (in a sense) THINK perceiving your breath is really important, even though there is no internal monologue anymore.

>>8341095
That's "guided" meditation. A lesser form of pure, solo meditation.

>>8341082
Hey, I read that article in Scientific American!