Introduction to Meditation Part 1

Written by Jim Smith,

Emerging Path, LLC.

In case you think differently, everyone is capable of doing meditation. The only thing that differentiates someone who is successful at meditating from someone who is not successful at meditation is their commitment to meditation.

It was Gautama Siddhartha, better known to many as Buddha, who more than 2,500 years ago developed the technique that is now known as Vipassana meditation. And it is just a technique that he created It is not magical, no rituals or no dogma, no talk of God, non-sectarian (no ties with Buddhism) and absolutely universal. It doesn’t matter if you’re rich, poor, young, old, saintly, sinner, male, female, Catholic, Muslim, Jew, etc. It is for everyone who desires to live a peaceful, harmonious and happy life, devoid of misery and all its trappings.

Everyone is capable of meditating, but not everyone will commit themselves to the process long enough to begin to see and to feel the benefits of meditation. Meditation is not hard, it just takes dedication.

Your thoughts may (will) run wild; you will learn how to quiet them. You may suddenly find that you have been daydreaming; you will learn what to do when that happens. Long suppressed or subconscious thoughts and feelings may arise and, if you are honest with yourself, you will learn to observe them, understand how they make you feel, and then learn how to let them go.

With a dedicated practice, you will learn how to allow yourself the awareness of how to receive the many wonderful things that have been waiting for you. Whatever you do with your awareness is meditation. Watching your breath is meditation; listening to the birds is meditation. As long as these activities are free from any other distraction to the mind, it is effective meditation.

Meditation incorporates mind-body techniques for relaxing the body, calming the mind and for releasing stress. Its origins lie in countries such as India, China and Japan, but it can also be found in many other cultures around the world and in many differing forms.

Meditation is a mental discipline by which the practitioner attempts to get beyond the reflexive, “thinking” mind into a deeper state of relaxation or awareness. Different meditative disciplines encompass a wide range of spiritual or psychophysical practices that may emphasize different goals—from achievement of a higher state of consciousness, to greater focus, creativity or self-awareness, or simply a more relaxed and peaceful frame of mind.

The various techniques of meditation can be classified according to their focus. Some focus on the field or background perception and experience, often referred to as “mindfulness”. Others focus on a preselected specific object, and are called “concentrative” meditation. There are also techniques that shift between the field and the object.

Here are some common misconceptions of meditation:

The purpose of meditation is to become psychic – No. The purpose of meditation is to develop awareness. There is a link between psychic phenomena and meditation, but the relationship is complex and can be an ego trap luring you off track. Your best approach is to not place any emphasis on these phenomena. If they come up, that’s fine. If they don’t come up, that’s fine too.
Meditation is for saints and holy men, not for regular people like me – It is true that many holy men meditate, but they are not holy men because they meditate, they meditate to see their life clearer and deeper. Morality, concentration and wisdom grow together as your practice deepens. Each influences the other so you cultivate the three of them together.
Meditation involves becoming spaced out, blissed out, or less conscious – Meditation involves high states of concentration where one becomes much more alert, present and aware. A state of calm & matter-of-fact acceptance of reality makes one appear spaced out while meditating. High concentration is a tool used to enhance awareness of ordinary experience, like a microscope is used to improve observation in biology.
The main purpose of meditation is relaxation or stress reduction — or to experience peace or bliss – These are useful preliminary effects, but the goal is to clear the way for transformative insights which lead toward a wisdom so profound that it results in peace and happiness independent of conditions.
Meditation isn’t for me because I’m a Christian (Muslim, Jew, etc.) – Meditation is about reality — seeing “things as they are”. There are no beliefs to adopt which might conflict with one’s religion. Meditation can only help one’s understanding. Of course, if one’s religion requires delusion, meditation is a threat!

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Introduction to Meditation Part 2

Until recently (or very long ago!) the primary role of meditation was that of a religious one; however, in more recent times the health benefits of meditation have become more prominent in western culture and this has facilitated its spread across the globe. Although the benefits of meditation were known to those cultures who have been practicing the art for thousands of years, it was not until 1970 that the first articles on the health benefits of meditation started to appear in western civilization appearing firstly in the journal of Transpersonal Psychology

Some of the benefits of meditation are:

Can lower heart rate.
Can help lower blood pressure in people who are normal or moderately hypertensive.
Can help relieve certain forms of cardiovascular disease; generally conforms to assertions that yoga, tai chi, Qi gong and other transformational disciplines that promote health.
Evidence that meditators recover more quickly from stressful impacts and demonstrate fewer chronic or inappropriate emergency responses than non-meditators.
People use meditation to address various health problems, such as Anxiety, Pain, Depression. Stress. Insomnia, High Blood pressure, Physical or emotional symptoms that may be associated with chronic illnesses (such as heart disease, HIV/AIDS, and cancer) and their treatment.
Meditation is also used for overall wellness.

What are some of the most common types of meditation?

The various techniques of meditation can be classified according to their focus. Some focus on the field or background perception and experience, often referred to as “mindfulness”; others focus on a preselected specific object and are called “concentrative” meditation. There are also techniques that shift between the field and the object, such as Vipassana.

Here are some of the more common types of meditation:

Guided meditations: One the most common general method employed. This is the most simple and basic of meditations and it normally involves you closing your eyes, getting comfortable, taking deep breaths and then allowing your mind to follow along with the facilitator or recording. This is often used to help facilitate past life regressions, body relaxation and restoration of a calm and peaceful attitude, and internal healing.
Vipassana (mindfulness) meditation: A practice which Buddhists call Vipassana or insight meditation, mindfulness is the art of becoming deeply aware of what is here right now. Your focus is on what’s happening in and around you at this very moment. Becoming aware of all the thoughts and feelings that are taking your energy from moment to moment. You start by watching your breath, and over time you move your attention to observing the creating and dissolution of thoughts going through your mind, the feelings in your body, and the sounds and smells around you. The key to Vipassana meditation is in observing without judging, analyzing, or attaching to what you are observing.
An empty mind meditation: Meditating can create a kind of “awareness without object,” an emptying of all thoughts from your mind. The techniques for doing this involve sitting still and letting the mind go silent on its own. It can be difficult, particularly since any effort seems to just cause more business in the mind. Not a meditation recommended for beginners.
Moving meditations: This one gets the body involved. It can be inside or outside, as Tai Chi or Qi Gong movements, or simply a back and forth pacing in a room in slow and very deliberate steps. For the walking meditation, pay attention to the movement of your feet, legs, breathing and your body as you walk, and to the feeling of your feet contacting and then lifting from the ground. When your mind wanders, just keep bringing it back to the process of walking and breathing. Meditating outside in this way can be difficult because of the distractions. If you do it outside, find a quiet place with level ground.
Simple mantra meditation: Many people find it easier to keep their mind from wandering if they concentrate on something specific. A mantra can help. This is a word or phrase you repeat, such as “Om” as you sit in meditation. It is chosen for you by an experienced master in some traditions. If you are working on this alone, you can use any word or phrase that works for you, and can choose to either repeat it aloud or in your head as you meditate.
Meditating on a concept: Some meditative practices involve contemplation of an idea or scenario. An example is a “meditation on impermanence,” in which you focus on the impermanent nature of all things, starting with your thoughts and feelings as they come and go. In the Buddhist “meditation on the corpse,” you think about a body in the ground, as it slowly rots away and is fed on by worms. The technique is used to guide you to an understanding that your rationalizing mind might not bring you to. Meditation on a kōan (Zen Buddhism) consists of a story, dialogue, question, or statement whose meaning cannot be accessed by rational thinking, yet it may be accessible by intuition. A widely known kōan is “Two hands clap and there is a sound; what is the sound of one hand clapping?”

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Introduction to Meditation Part 3

What are some of the most common obstacles when learning to meditate?

The Five Classic Challenges (called “hindrances” in Buddhist texts):

Grasping: wanting more (or something different) from what’s present right now.
Aversion: fear, anger, any form of pushing away.
Restlessness: jumpy energy, agitation.
Sloth and torpor: sleepy, sinking states of mind and body.
Doubt: a mind-trap that says, “it’s no use, this will never work, maybe there’s an easier way, I just can’t do it”

There are also several complaints that are most often noted as obstacles when learning to meditate.

They include:

Unable to quiet your mind – you may have heard this called “The Monkey Mind”. Every time you try to silence the noise, to create inner peace and awareness, your mind decides that you need to review your last email or your mental to-do list, or by listening to sounds that are around you and following those resulting thoughts down the path and away from your focus.
And it can go on and on and on…
Mental focus eludes you – not the same as quieting the mind, focusing is the deliberate attention paid to a distinct idea, concept, image, sound, or value. But when you can’t maintain a focal point, you can’t reach your mental/meditative goal. This is the Monkey Mind once again having its way with you.
Finding the time – the world is so busy these days for everyone. However, life is ALL about choices. If you don’t take the time to do the things that will improve your life, you are not respecting yourself. “If you always do what you have always done, you will always get what you have always gotten”. Do it or don’t do it, there is no “try”.
Getting Distracted – once you have made the decision to take the time for yourself, if you don’t “own” and make sacred that time for yourself and you allow the sounds and the urgencies of others take over your time, you are still not showing the self-respect required to develop strong meditation skills.
Physical Discomfort – the ability to release stress is not always easy and it certainly can be a distraction when you feel uncomfortable and muscles feel strained or the ”pins and needles” begin. There is a difference between discomfort and pain. If you are in pain you need to deal with it immediately. If you are in discomfort you will need to learn to how to be seated properly and then how to manage through the discomfort.

There is a logical and effective path to learning to achieve a deep meditative state. It starts with releasing tension, relaxing the body and controlling the breath. Next follows the technique of focusing and being aware and “in the moment” rather than trying to control and shut off all thoughts.

When the observed mind begins to let go and release, the restless thoughts begin to diminish. This fact is as sure as the earth revolves around the sun. It is not speculation nor wishful thinking. When the observed mind begins to let go and release, the restless thoughts begin to diminish.

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Introduction to Meditation Part 4

Positions of Meditation

In all of the positions you must keep your back straight and tall and your head in alignment. Your hands can lay comfortably in your lap or with your palms facing upward.

Full Lotus – Both knees touch the floor. Right foot lies on your left thigh and your left foot lies on your right thigh.
Half Lotus – Both knees touch the floor. One leg and foot lie flat along the calf of the other leg and that foot lies on the other thigh
Native American style – Right foot tucked under your left keen, and left foot tucked under your right knee.
Burmese style – Both legs lie parallel and flat on the floor from knee to foot.
Cobbler style – Knees bent, the soles of the feet touch each other with the heels pulled in close to the groin.
Seated Meditation Position – Another well known position and one that is generally more comfortable for Westerners is sit on a chair with legs uncrossed and feet planted flatly and firmly on the ground. Again, you must keep your back straight and tall and your head in alignment when taking a seated position. No leaning back.
Kneeling Meditation Position – This posture requires the meditator to kneel while seated on the backs of his or her heels or on a Zafu, pillow, or a kneeling bench. The hands rest on the thighs.
Lying Down Position or Corpse Pose – The meditator lies on their back on the floor, preferably on a carpet or yoga mat and allows their arms to rest at their sides and their palms to roll upward, legs are straight and feet are gently turned outwards. This is a wonderful meditation posture for stress relief but it is much easier to fall asleep in this position.
Walking – The meditator slowly walks a “path”, with their deep focus on the movement and placement of their feet, the shifting of their weight, the movement of their legs and their slow and steady breathing.

Hand Positions in Meditation – One can also add to their meditation practice by incorporating hand positions. One common example is the right hand resting on the top of the left hand with thumbs touching. Another is form a circle with the thumb and index finger of each hand.

The clothing that you wear for meditation should be loose and soft. If they restrict blood flow or put pressure on your nerves the result will cause pain and/or tingling and numbness that we refer to as “legs going to sleep”. Remove shoes and any other constricting articles of attire.

In meditation, it is important to have the correct posture and the reason for this is simply to remove strain and stress on the different muscle groups within the body. To achieve this, when sitting, the knees must be lower than the base of the pelvis. With the knees below the pelvis, the pelvis automatically rocks forward which is the best base for sitting.

Use rolled up bath towels to sit on and try differing thicknesses to achieve the correct height for you. The bottom of your spine should be curved in with your middle and upper back straight and shoulders back and not hunched over. Your head should be level, chin down slightly. Arms relaxed and hands in your lap or on your thighs.

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Introduction to Meditation Part 5

So, if you have read this far you may still be asking the question “yea, that’s all swell stuff… But HOW do I meditate???” Well, here is how:

General meditation practice tips (the How):

A quiet place is preferred, but not required.
A meditation cushion helps in both comfort and posture, if not available use rolled up bath towels to achieve the appropriate height.
Wear comfortable and loose clothing.
Close your eyes: Breathe naturally. Sit for a moment before you begin and unwind.
Allow your heart and breathing to slow.
Don’t slouch – sit up straight.
Slowly rock back and forth a few times before you begin – side-to-side – forward and backward. Come to a stop in a position that feels solid. Don’t rush this step!
Breathe in and out through your nose.
Find the spot within your nose where you can feel the air entering and leaving as you breathe. Feel it, remember it so you cal easily locate it.
Gently bring your attention to this area of your breath and begin the meditation session:
There is no particular goal. Just sit and breathe. Allow yourself to be absorbed in the practice.
Allow your thoughts and feelings to come and go without attachment. Don’t try to control your thoughts in any way. Don’t follow them. Just note them and return to your awareness of the breath at the spot in your nose. You may experience a deep state of relaxation, but it is fine if you don’t.
Meditate in this way for 5 – 20 minutes (beginners and children for less time):
It is more important and beneficial to meditate for 5 minutes each day, rather than an hour every two-weeks. Daily practice is an essential element of effective meditation.
When your practice time is completed, take a moment to slowly return to normal awareness. Be kind to your body when opening your eyes or standing-up after a meditation. Don’t be in a rush to jump up and start other tasks.
During meditation your goal is simple awareness, nothing else.

Meditation provides us with time to connect with our inner Source and let go of the things and roles we get caught up with in our daily life: work, parenting, concerns and responsibilities. It may be that your meditation is relaxing, peaceful, even blissful – or it may be confusing and full of obsessive thought.

Regardless of the result of a particular meditation session, daily meditation is a positive process that helps us to connect with the Source.

To summarize, everyone is capable of doing meditation. The only thing that differentiates someone who is successful at meditating from someone who is not successful at meditation is their commitment to meditation. Meditation is just a technique. It requires no religious allegiance nor special tools nor anything outside of what you already posses.

Good Luck!

Introduction to Meditation written by Jim Smith