BASIC MEDITATION
BASIC MEDITATION “Let us find time each day to meditate. Then, like the steady rain, drop by drop, bit by bit, we will gradually enter the world of Light. All day long our attention, the outer expression of our soul, is going out into the world through our five senses of sight, sound, smell, taste, and touch. Through meditation, we withdraw our attention from the outer world and focus it at the seat of the soul, the third eye, located between and behind the two eyebrows. As we learn the art meditation, we can collect our attention at the third eye and come into contact with the Light and Sound of God which is within each and every one of us. Through this divine connection, we can embark on the inner spiritual journey. The beauty of meditation is that the joy found when we focus within remains with us even after we resume our daily activities.” ~Sant Rajinder Singh Ji Maharaj MEDITATION CHECKLIST 1. Before you sit, do whatever it takes to be fully awake and alert. 2. Assume a relaxed pose and review your body. If there is tension anywhere, readjust now. For the duration of the sitting, don’t move. 3. Invoke the blessing of any source of divinity that works for you in a spirit of devotion, humility, and self-surrender, knowing the results of your practice are in Spirit’s hands. 4. Close your eyes and direct a relaxed, loving inner gaze into the center of the darkness, about eight to ten inches in front of you. 5. Repeat any name or names of God or any quality of spirit that represents the highest most perfect good always slowly, continuously, in an unbroken pattern.
6. Always remain conscious of what you see. If the gaze breaks or thoughts intervene, bring the attention back, re-center the gaze, and resume the repetition. 7. Whatever visions or vistas appear, keep a relaxed gaze focused in the middle. 8. After the sitting, give thanks for what you received. 9. Review this sitting with your checklist. Identify how to make your next sitting better. BASIC MINDFULNESS Mindfulness meditation is a deceptively simple form of meditation. A lot of people have difficulty understanding how doing so little can have such deep and powerful effects on wellbeing. In studies with chronic pain patients the most notable psychological effect of practicing mindfulness meditation every day for just 15-20 minutes was a pervasive sense of improved control over physical sensations and higher pain tolerance. They also began to notice that their ability to comfortably exercise and complete rehabilitation routines also improved. Overall, mindfulness meditators begin to notice an improved sense of control over their thoughts. They report a growing ability to think with more intention and to reduce the racing thoughts, the “monkey mind” that anxiety brings about. If you find yourself worrying all the time, obsessing, being easily distracted, or feeling overloaded with information, this effect will be particularly useful to you. Mindfulness meditators typically experience an improved sense of control over their emotions. If you often feel moody or irritable, become frustrated more easily than you wish, or are entangled with fear-based emotions mindfulness meditation is an effective way to develop a more tolerable, balanced and enjoyable emotional life. The way that mindfulness meditation does all of this is by activating and exercising the frontal cortex, which is the
command center of the entire brain. That means it is responsible for regulating almost all of your conscious activity. Anytime you’re feeling particularly focused, are engaged in problem-solving activity, or are working very hard to moderate your emotional expressions, the frontal cortex is at work. So, by exercising this critical area of the brain, mindfulness meditation strengthens your ability to do all of these critical cognitive tasks. If you meditate long enough, the increased activity and blood flow in the frontal cortex actually begins to physically alter the structure of your brain. After years of regular meditation practice the cortical tissue actual grows thicker and more robust, like any muscle of the body after regular workouts. Research has shown a practice of mindfulness meditation for as little as 15 minutes a day for six months will show visible improvements to brains damaged by chronic stress. The basic technique of mindfulness meditation is deceptively simple. To begin, all you have to do is to pay attention to your breath. Begin by finding a comfortable position where your body can feel reasonably relaxed. If you know any relaxation exercises like deep breathing from the diaphragm or progressive muscle relaxation, you may find it easier at first if you get nice and relaxed before beginning. Now begin to pay full attention to your breathing. You don’t have to change anything about it, just pay attention to it. Notice all of the physical sensations associated with it. For example, you might notice the sensation of the air going in and then out through your nose or mouth. You’ll probably be able to detect some differences in the way the air feels going in, versus the way it feels going out. On the way in, you’ll probably notice that the air is a bit cooler. There may even be a little bit of a tingling sensation associated with it. On the way out, the air will probably have a warmer, softer quality to it. Notice any changes that you might be able to feel in your face as you breathe in and out or changes in and around your sinuses, through your cheeks and eyes. Notice the way the muscles naturally push and pull in your chest, and any sensations
in your lungs. Just try to completely attend to any and every aspect of your breathing that you can notice. Inevitably something will distract you from this simple task. You may find it difficult to block out noises or commotion happening around you. You may also experience inner sensations such as desire, aversion, lethargy, agitation or doubt. Or you will find you have been thinking about “the list” - worries, responsibilities, plans and ideas. This is perfectly okay. As soon as you realize that you are being distracted, simply take note that this has occurred and calmly return to your breathing. Notice the noise, thought or emotion as it arises. Notice the mental state that accompanies that noise as a separate thing. Notice the exact extent or degree of that sensation. Then notice how long it lasts and when it finally disappears. When you have done that, return your attention to breathing. Just as breathing comes in stages, so do mental states. Every breath has a beginning, a middle, and end. Every mental state has a birth, a growth, and decay. Just rest in the place where you can see these stages clearly. Keep trying! Don’t get frustrated! When you get distracted, you should know that absolutely nothing has been lost. The whole point of this exercise is to train your brain to be able to focus more effectively. Just accept it as a slow and easy process. Some days you will find it easier to focus, and other days it will be harder. Even on the days that it is completely difficult, however, the positive effects of the meditation that we have discussed here will still be taking place—perhaps even more so! The struggle itself is the activity. When you realize that you have been distracted, that, itself, is a realization and then you can return to being mindful. This is something that you can do in whatever amount of time you have available to you. Ideally, you’ll spend at least 15-20 minutes at a time practicing mindfulness at least once or twice each day. As your skill increases, you may find that you’re motivated to spend even more time meditating. It won’t be long at all before
you will be able to comfortably sit for an hour or more, doing nothing but being mindful of your breath or whatever else you have chosen to be mindful of. In time you will find that nearly anything you do can be done mindfully. When you begin your practice, it will be beneficial to stay in one spot, and pay attention to a simple, natural, effortless process like breathing. But when you have become relatively proficient in this practice, you can begin to branch out into other more complicated forms of mindfulness meditation such as walking or eating mindfully. If you try this technique for a little while and decide you’d like to get a little deeper into it or would like to have some extra guidance, I recommend the resources listed below as a good place to start. Eventually you may want to join a sitting group or attend a longer meditation retreat.
THREE MINUTE REST PRACTICE Some people – including clients of mine – say, "You know, I am willing to stop and practice something like meditation. But I just don't know how to do it. When I do try to calm my mind, it just gets even crazier!" Let me share a brief meditation-style format that I have written about in the past. I often call it the "three minute rest," though it could be a thirty-second or three-hour practice. I often use a variant of this during both my longer and shorter meditation times. The three-minute rest involves three steps: 1. To begin, we simply "step back" and "observe" what is going through our minds. We might imagine that we're sitting by a stream and watching various leaves float by. Each of our thoughts, feelings, and desires is merely a leaf floating past. Or we imagine we are the sky and thoughts are clouds floating by. During this phase, we try to observe them from a detached
perspective. We may say, "There's a thought about work." "There's a feeling of hunger." "There's a desire to get something to eat." During this phase, we practice non-reactive mindfulness. We simply observe each thought or feeling, allow it to float by, and open to observing the next one. 2. In the second phase, we choose a "centering" word or phrase that represents for us the highest most perfect good always. In traditional meditation practice a name of God is often used as this centering phrase. We begin to slowly repeat it to ourselves silently with pauses and then repeat again. We turn the mind toward this word or phrase repeating it gently but firmly, returning our focus and to the phrase when it wanders. Most people find this very difficult at first. But it becomes easier with practice. 3. In the third phase, we continue to repeat our centering word or phrase – but we allow it to fade into the background as we attempt to drop into a direct experience of inner peace. Even if we only receive a small sense of peace for a quick moment, we have accomplished something extremely helpful. Every step toward inner peace helps to strengthen the path toward it. Even a slight hint of warmth is a success. As our mind attempts to draw us back toward conflict-filled thoughts and feelings, we simply return to steps one and two. We note what is passing through our minds, allow it to float by, and return our focus to the centering phrase. Many people practice a similar type of mediation in the morning or evening (or both.) However, far fewer people attempt to stop for a minute every hour. I invite you to experiment with a practice like this for a day or two and see what you find! MEDITATION RESOURCES Austin, James H. (1999). Zen and the Brain: toward an understanding of medication and consciousness. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press. Bien, Thomas (2006). Mindful Therapy: a guide for therapists and helping professionals. Somerville, MA: Wisdom Publications, Inc.
Chodron, Thubten (1990). Open Heart/Clear Mind. Ithaca, NY: Snow Lion Publications. Germer, Christopher (2009). The Mindful Path to Self-compassion. New York, NY: The Guilford Press. Gunaratana, Bhante Henepola (2002). Mindfulness in Plain English. Somerville, MA: Wisdom Publications, Inc. Gunaratana, Bhante Henepola (2009). Beyond Mindfulness in Plain English. Somerville, MA: Wisdom Publications, Inc. Hanh, Thich Nhat (1990). Present Moment/Wonderful Moment. Berkeley, CA: Parallax Press. Hanson, Rick and Mendius, Richard (2009). Buddha’s Brain: The practical neuroscience of happiness, love and wisdom. Oakland, CA: New Harbinger Publications. Kabat-Zinn, Jon (1990). Full Catastrophe Living. New York, NY: Dell. Kabat-Zinn, Jon (1994). Wherever You Go, There You Are. New York, NY: Hyperion. Kornfield, Jack (1993). A Path with Heart. New York, NY: Bantam. Kornfield, Jack (2008). The Wise Heart. New York, NY: Bantam. Lynch, David and Travis Fred (2010). Consciousness, Creativity and the Brain. Fairfield, IA: Center for Brain, Consciousness, and Cognition. Siegel, Daniel (2007). The Mindful Brain. New York, NY: W.W. Norton and Co. Singh, Rajinder (2007). Inner and Outer Peace through Meditation. Lisle, IL. Radiance Publishers Singh, Rajinder (2012). Meditation as Medication for the Soul. Lisle, IL. Radiance Publishers