Focus, quiet and practice are important in meditation as well as in origami, and because of this, the two work together in synergy. Take origami animals, such as a simple crane, and practice making it until it becomes second nature to you; as though you could do it blindfolded.

While you are doing this, you will be entirely focused on the task at hand, which is making the crane. There are many ways to go about meditating and one of them, surprisingly enough, is through the practice of origami.

You will suddenly find yourself only concentrating on the fascinating folds of origami techniques, or origami flowers or any other design, and you will enter an almost hypnotic state as your muscles move without controlled thought.

As you do this you are able to clear your mind and only concentrate on the paper and how each fold creases as you work with it. Clear you mind and focus on each crease.

Want to make an origami crane? These few steps instruct you on how to make a crane with beautiful wings. First you will need a square piece of craft or Japanese paper, and the smaller the sheet, the smaller the final crane will be.

If you have a sheet that is colored on one side, then begin with the sheet face down (white side down) on your work surface. Start by folding one corner to meet the other diagonally, thus forming a rectangle.

Now open the sheet up and lay it out flat again. Fold it diagonally so that the white side is out. Line up each corner to get a triangle. Now then, open up the sheet of craft paper.

Lay the paper with the white side up and bring in the side corners, while bringing the top corner down to get a square. With the open sides pointing downward, fold one corner of the square so that the edge is lined up perfectly with the center line, and repeat this step with the other flap. Now flip the model over and repeat this step on the back side flaps. What you have now looks similar to a kite.

Fold the top flap of the “kite” down and crease it hard with your fingernail. Next fold it the same way but in the opposite direction, making a sharp crease. Next, things get a little tricky. You will open up one side, and lay it flat.

Lift the top flap of the “kite” on the open end and fold it upwards, bringing in the sides and lay flat to get a diamond shape. Flip over the model and repeat on the other side.

Next you will fold two of the flaps over and then repeat this step on the other lower flap. Fold one flap over and lay it flat so that each side is lined up and the points are up. Now you will fold the top flap down to reveal one wing.

Flip over and repeat. Invert one of the upper tips like this to form a bowing head. Pull back the other tip slightly to form the crane’s tail. Now gently pull the wings apart to “inflate” the body.

You may also discover that your origami animals become better the more you are able to enter into a meditative state while practicing the craft with Japanese paper. The better you become at origami, the deeper and more meaningful your meditations will become.

As time goes by, creating a crane will become another aspect of your meditation.