Meditation
The Value of Meditation
Meditation is vital for helping you reconnect with your inner-self, allowing the quiet time you need to experience your journey of self discovery. There are many different meditation techniques. The teaching we are using come from the practice of mindful awareness, called Insight or Vipassana Meditation.
Through meditation we establish a new relationship to inner tendencies such as desire, anger, and confusion. By seeing these states clearly as they are, we are no longer controlled by them.
We begin meditation with the focusing of attention on the breath, the practice concentrates and calms the mind. It allows one to see through the mind's conditioning and thereby to live more fully present in the moment. As we find balance among the changing conditions of life, we see that wholesome qualities such as patience, generosity, and compassion emerge naturally.
Through Meditation we pay clear attention to whatever exists naturally in this present moment. The specific focus for our awareness can vary, from bodily sensations to sights to thoughts and feelings. We often begin by paying attention to the sensations of breathing.
We sit still, either cross-legged on the floor or upright in a chair, and allow our eyes to close gently. Then we turn our attention to the breath and simply experience, in as continuous a way as possible, the physical sensations of breathing in and breathing out. This simple activity of paying attention to our experience in the present moment is what the Buddha called "mindfulness." Mindfulness is the heart of Meditation.
Meditation can also be carried on throughout our daily activities. We can be mindful of the movement of our body, the sensations in walking, the sounds around us, or the thoughts and feelings that come into our mind. As our meditation practice develops, we find that the mind becomes calmer and clearer. We start to see the influence of our habitual patterns of moods, expectations, hopes, and fears. In seeing through the mind's conditioning, we can live more fully in the present moment with balance and spaciousness. We are no longer so swayed by the shifting thoughts and feelings of our conditioned responses. This is the first taste of freedom.
We are fully in touch with our experience of life, but we are not limited by it. We can act skillfully, with compassion for ourselves and for others, even when difficult states of mind are present. As we investigate further from this place of calm, clear seeing, the dimension of wisdom begins to unfold in our practice. When the mind is balanced and fully present, it is open to new understanding, or insight.
Meditation Instructions
Meditation should last at least 20 minutes, as you become more experienced you may choose to extend your meditations. Set a timer so that you do not have to watch the clock.
Start by finding a quiet, safe place where you will not be disturbed, meditation should be done in silence. You can sit cross legged in traditional meditation style on the floor or if you find this uncomfortable, use a comfortable chair instead. The most important thing is to be comfortable and well supported.
When you are sitting comfortably, just relax, let go, do nothing. Now close your eyes and take some deep breath. Now start observing your breathing. Let your thoughts gradually quiet down. Try to be aware of your breathing, gently let your breathing become deep and regular. If a thought comes to you, then just observe it, do not add to it with any active participation. Focus your entire attention on the breathing and follow it as it travels inside your body and comes out. Follow the breath in its entire route from inhalation through exhalation.
Just watch your breath as it moves in your body. Don't be attached with it.
When it comes - watch it.
When it goes - Watch it.
Be an observer, be a witness.
This can be very challenging, but think of it as a training of the mind. There will be distractions as you watch. There will be floods of thoughts. You will be carry away by different kind of thoughts. This is what the mind does, it thinks, it wanders, it runs on and on like passing clouds. Gently bring your attention back to the breath, without judgment. If your attention is diverted 100 times, bring it gently back to focusing on the breathing 100 times. Slowly all thoughts will start settling down. Watch your breathing. Keep watching and you will be in meditation. When the timer goes off gently open your eyes and give thanks.
Just as an aside, keep in mind this is called a meditation practice, because it takes a lifetime of practice to cultivate mindfulness.
Metta Meditation print out...»
Closing thought:
"Thus shall ye think of all this fleeting world:
a star at dawn, a bubble in a stream,
a flash of lightning in a summer sky,
a flickering light, a phantom, a dream. - from The Diamond Sutra
in gratitude to:
www.spiritrock.org
and www.awakeningjoy.info
