Chapter 1: What are the essential practices for returning to breath in meditation?
Welcome back. Last week, we honored the body as the home of the breath and awareness. And as we move more deeply into this form of meditation, we will from time to time return to the body again so as to anchor our presence and our practice as fully as possible in the reality of our day-to-day life.
For most people, as they begin the practice of meditation, one of the things they find most difficult is suddenly discovering the babble of thoughts that are constantly part of the background music of our lives.
In fact, for some people, it can be quite disturbing because with our constant distraction through the world of media and entertainment, we can kind of push our thoughts into the background a lot of the time.
And so when we become still and quiet and try to observe the breath or try to come into this contemplative atmosphere of meditation, the thoughts can suddenly seem very loud and very distracting indeed. But I have some good news for you. That's exactly how it's supposed to be. The thoughts, especially the thoughts as distraction, are part of the practice.
And you can't get stronger in meditation without encountering them. Think of it this way. If you were to go to the gym in the morning to try and build up the muscles, you build them up by lifting the weight and by putting the weight back down again. Simply lifting the weight does nothing. And putting the weight down and walking away does nothing either.
It is in the repetition of the lifting and the putting down, the lifting and the putting down, the lifting and the putting down, that the muscle grows and becomes stronger. This is exactly the same for meditation. When I encounter a distracting thought, I am, if you like, encountering the moment of challenge. And when I let the thought go and return to the practice,
I am building the muscle of awareness, the muscle of attention. Focusing is lifting the weight. The distracting thought is putting the weight down again. And it's only by the constant return, the constant beginning again, that the faculty of attention grows stronger and the thoughts become less distracting over time. The thoughts are part of you.
And so to struggle against them, to try and suppress them or fight them, is an impossible task. You can't stop your thoughts from happening. And often for the beginner in meditation, this is something they think is supposed to happen, that they will in some way enter a blank space. Now don't get me wrong, there will be times of great stillness, profound quiet, even contemplative unity. But
After that, the thoughts will return. And so we begin to befriend them. We begin to recognize them for what they are. And in later meditations, we will look at the different kinds of thought we encounter. But for now, in this meditation, we're simply going to observe the thoughts. So let's make that our intention for today, to observe the thoughts,
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Chapter 2: How can discomfort and challenge enhance meditation practice?
As a group, for us listening here, the bell is that ritual beginning. But you may have some private ritual observance you would like to make yourself. Lighting a candle, blessing yourself, joining the hands in prayer pose, or simply taking your seat.
Placing your feet upon the floor, your hands upon your lap, closing your eyes or lowering your gaze, we begin to enter into this meditative moment together. Once again, finding our point of awareness of the breath. It's always there waiting for us. And so we use this moment to focus, to recognize its gentle rhythm of in and out, ebb and flow.
Watching the breath for a few moments as we breathe in and breathe out. And checking in with ourselves, we begin to notice again any sensation that may be in the body. Again, this is with gentle curiosity and openness. No judgment, just noticing. If we discover any area that's particularly tense or stressed, any point of discomfort or pain,
We know now we can breathe through that area and begin to allow it to relax, at least for this time of meditation. As mentioned before, you may like to picture your breath as you do this. Breathing out all tension, all calm, all anxiety or stress. Breathing in peace, gentleness, calm, and stillness.
Recognizing that in this rhythm of breath, there is the encounter with the present moment as it is. Not asking anything from it, but simply being with it. Having checked in with the body, gently now we can begin to stand back from our thoughts and to notice them. A good way of beginning this practice is to ask, what have I given mental time to today already?
And then to allow, across our mind's eye, passage and pattern of our thoughts so far to simply roll by. We're not grasping any thought, not holding on to any thought, but simply noticing the thought, letting it come, letting it drift into awareness, and letting it go. all the while simply breathing in and breathing out. Our thoughts may be familiar, but they may be very strange indeed.
That doesn't matter.
We simply notice and let go, all the while holding our focused awareness of our breath.
If you need something else to anchor you while you notice your thoughts, simply notice the sensations of the floor against your feet or the chair holding you. Let the thoughts flow. You're not doing anything with them. You're not choosing them. You're not arguing with them.
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