Meditation is a transformative practice that opens the doors to mental clarity, peace, and deep realization. In this simplified guide, we'll explore how to start meditating. The following is largely adapted from Tara Brach's meditation guide. Tara Brach is a psychologist and spiritual teacher. However, I have definitely included a fair bit here from my own knowledge and experience as a student and practitioner of meditation. For a more detailed discussion on the structure of mediation discussed here, consult Tara Brach’s free mediation guide: https://www.tarabrach.com/howtomeditate/
1. What is Meditation? Meditation is about training your attention to go beyond conditioned thoughts to access pure awareness. In essence, it’s about quieting the mind to access the witnessing consciousness which includes but transcends the thinking mind.
2. Attitude Matters The key to successful meditation is your attitude. Approach it with sincerity and care to connect with your inner stillness, love, and peace.
3. Create a Container Set up a regular time and place for meditation to establish a consistent practice. Find a quiet, dedicated space where you can focus without distractions. A typical full mediation practice involves 20 minutes in the morning before starting your day and 20 minutes in the evening after the major tasks of the day have been completed. With consistent practice, in due time, your mind and nervous system will become quiet and calm.
4. Set Your Intention Before you begin, set your intention. Dedicate your practice to your own spiritual freedom and that of all beings. This is the basic vow and deep intention of all true spiritual seekers and realizers. Allow for the practice of letting your thoughts pass without clinging to them. Consider your thoughts akin to clouds in the sky passing peacefully. Our intention is to access the clear spaciousness of pure consciousness itself, beyond thought. We are accessing the witnessing state.
5. Find Your Posture Sit in a comfortable, upright position, with your hands resting on your lap or knees. Relax and breathe deeply to release tension.
6. The Basic Practice: Natural Presence Meditation is all about recognizing and allowing what's happening without judgment or resistance. This most basic form of mediation is known as open monitoring. Mindfulness meditation involves focusing on a chosen anchor, like your breath while letting your thoughts go as they arise. Mindfulness meditation can include the addition of a sacred word that you choose and repeat in your mind whenever you need to more firmly reestablish your intention to allow thoughts to pass. This allows the mind to quiet down from the incessant thinking function. It is unlikely that you will experience sustained absolute cessation of thoughts, but you certainly can regularly have the experience of your mind settling down, becoming clearer, more spacious, and calm.
7. Skillful Means: Supports for Practice In addition to the basic mindfulness method just described, you can also use various specific techniques to calm the mind and aid your meditation, such as metta (lovingkindness) and self-inquiry.
9. Self-Inquiry Ask probing questions about your awareness and presence during your meditation to deepen your practice.
10. RAIN: Healing Emotional Suffering Use RAIN (Recognize, Allow, Investigate, Non-identification) to address challenging emotions during meditation.
11. Common Issues for Meditators Comm challenges include getting lost in thought, clinging to thoughts, aversion, restlessness, and doubt. Have grace for yourself and your experiences as you would someone you deeply love and care for. Remember that it's natural to face these hurdles. Welcome to the human condition. Remember, “the mind is a wonderful servant but a terrible master.” This is why we practice, to end the tyranny of runaway mind chatter and to reclaim the peace that is our birthright. This peace arises naturally when our mind becomes still.
12. Physical Pain If physical discomfort arises during meditation, meet it with gentle attention and openness. Shift your focus if necessary, without feeling the need to "tough it out."
13. Sustaining a Meditation Practice To sustain your meditation practice, sit in a formal meditation every day (twice is best), pause frequently during the day to reconnect with your inner self which only exists in the timeless present moment (mindfulness of daily living), reflect on your aspiration for awakening, and remember that everyone seeks happiness just as you do (this is your common ground with everyone). Practice with a group if you can, seek guidance when needed, and don't be judgemental of your progress. Live with reverence for all life.
Meditation is a journey toward self-discovery, inner peace, and an ever-increasing sense of inner freedom. May you arrive at the peace and freedom you seek. When you do, it’s the most natural thing in the world to see all life as sacred and to open one's heart to the desire for all sentient beings to be free of suffering. Please connect with me if you would like to discuss any of this further.
