Setting is an important aspect of meditation practice because creating the right atmosphere can help establish consistency in the practice.
When you constantly sit down at the same place everyday, you are helping solidify the daily habit of meditation.
While you can meditate anywhere, even next to a busy highway, it's ideal to practice somewhere that is quiet.
A sunlit room on an above ground floor of the house or building is optimal.
For many people, a bedroom works just fine.
Once you establish the actual location of your practice, you want to cultivate the space.
You want to make sure that the space is clean and organized.
Minimalism is key here.
See if you can limit the number of objects in the room, so that you have plenty of space.
Maybe your space has...
A couple pieces of furniture
A rug
A bookshelf
A table
A lamp
Make sure that loose papers, dishes, clothing, and other things are not strewn around.
Most importantly, we want the room to appeal to all of our senses...
Sight
You may consider decorating your space a little bit to create an atmosphere of calm.
These decorations could be spiritual, or they may be totally secular.
Decorations could include...
Photographs/ illustrations
Plants
An alter
A statue
A tapestry
A gong
All of this helps improve the visual appeal of the room.
You may consider visiting dharmacrafts.com, a great resource for purchasing all these decorative items.
But we also want to consider how the room engages our other senses, not just sight.
Smell
The smell of the room is important.
We can use a variety of aromas to engage the sense of smell, including...
Essential oils
Incense
Herbs (sage/cedar)
The use of essential oils have a vast number of health benefits, and they can be used to uplift or calm the mind.
You can diffuse essential oils into the air with an essential oil diffuser.
The use of incense or herbs also has a number of benefits, as we can also use them them to trigger a certain response in the body and mind.
We can burn incense and herbs, and they come in bundles or sticks that we can place on plates or pads.
Burning sage or cedar is a practice referred to as smudging, and indigenous people have used this practice for centuries to clear spiritual energy in a room.
Sound
While many people prefer to practice meditation in complete silence, others enjoy playing some form of background music throughout their practice.
The following sounds can be very peaceful and help enhance concentration and awareness during the practice...
Wind chimes
Water flowing (from streams, rain, waves, waterfalls, etc)
Birds chirping
Flutes
Gongs
Pianos
You can even purchase some music that has been enhanced through brainwave entrainment or shakti.
Dr. Jeffrey Thompson and Kip Mazuay are my favorite producers of such music.
Touch
Perhaps most importantly, you want to determine where you will sit within you meditation space.
You may choose to sit on a chair or couch in your space, or you may choose to sit directly on the floor.
If you choose to sit on the floor, you will need a meditation mat and cushion.
Meditation mats and cushions come are refereed to often as zabatons and zafus, and you will want to have access to both of them.
You can choose your mat and cushion with a variety of colors and textures.