A year of meditations came about when I was trying to describe the benefits of meditation to a friend. It's quite difficult to explain the inner peace that comes from going inside yourself with a single thought and see where it takes you. For me, a meditation session can take anywhere from ten minutes to a good hour but I always come out at the end with a few very clear ideas on the issue I was meditating upon.
There are a few tips on getting yourself into the right mood for meditating. If nothing else I always come out of a session with clearer ideas and often I will come up with ideas. Maybe for a new book. Maybe how to deal with something that is troubling me in life.
Meditating is not the be all and end all but it certainly gives you an inner peace to go forward in life.