Meditation with Travis
Introduction to meditation
Class one – Introduction, Awareness, Mindfulness
08/28/2008 7:00 PM to 8:00 PM
Host: Travis A. Swift
Agenda topics
5 10 5 5 10 10 5 10 Introduction What is Meditation & Mysticism Questions & Answers Posture Breathing Awareness and Mindfulness Guided Meditation Question & Answers Insight: The greatest secret to meditation is you have to do it!
Introduction Welcome to an Introduction to Meditation with Travis Swift. It is my intent with this instruction to share my knowledge and passion for meditation and mysticism with you. What is meditation? Meditation is a catalyst for change. Meditation is many things to many people and that is my perspective. There are many forms and styles of meditation and we will be discussing and practicing several styles during this instruction. Different styles and intents bring about different results and people connect to them differently. One of the most important aspects to meditation is you must be comfortable. Styles we will use in class are Awareness Mindfulness Guided Meditations o Open ended meditation o Walking Meditation o Chakra Meditation o Creative Visualization o Group and Silent Mantra meditation o Loving Kindness Chakra Meditation Walking Meditation Mantra Meditation Affirmations, Values and Self Reflecting Creative Visualization Insight Meditation Conversations regarding Universal Laws Karma Law of Attraction As Above So Below Energy before manifestation Self Responsibility
What is Mysticism? Mysticism is the belief in a metaphysical existence and the study and practice of those principles and beliefs in daily life. Mysticism has been studied since man became aware of himself spiritually. Through history many principles of metaphysics have been taught and are regarded as the basis of any serious study. To understand the knowledge is one thing but most important is to practice it and make it part of your daily life. Not just to know them, but to make them your belief system and apply these principles without effort. This is the difference between knowledge and wisdom.
Sitting and Posture for meditation. Your meditation posture is important so you can sit comfortably but it is also important in your daily life. Your posture has a profound effect on your emotional and physical state. Think of when you are feeling very good. You stand straight, your chest out, your shoulders back and your head straight. This is a positive display of posture. A straight spine allows the bodies energy to flow with less tension in the body. When we are tired, depressed, or upset, we slump. Our chins are down, our shoulders are dropped forward. Our spine is out of alignment and the bodies’ energy flows poorly though our tense muscles and bent spine. There is no perfect posture for meditation. The most important aspect is that you are comfortable and able to relax. The qualities of your posture will be determined by your attitude at that time, your stress level, diet, time of day, etc. You will not be able to recreate the same posture every time you meditate so do not allow yourself to caught up in searching for the perfect posture. Some of the sitting positions are Full Lotus Half Lotus Kneeling Standing Laying Down (not recommended) The full lotus position is great if you can do it but it is not necessary. One reason for the traditional positions is to control the flow of energy through the body during meditation, but these positions are not mandatory to reap the full benefits of a regular meditation practice. The half lotus is a much easier position for most to practice but still not attainable by all people. Both the Full and Half lotus take practice to be able to maintain for long periods of time. Remember, a comfortable posture is a key element and if you want to use these positions a regular stretching and exercise routine will help you achieve the flexibility required. Do not try the Full or Half Lotus positions if you cannot maintain correct posture. Do not begin and a stretching or exercise routine without consulting a physician. Kneeling can be done with a pillow between the legs or under the knees and is a comfortable option for sitting and maintaining good posture. Sitting in a chair is a good position but you must be careful to not ―sit back‖ in the chair. Your spine should be erect and barely making contact with the rear back support. This is to help maintain awareness and not get comfortable and fall asleep. Standing is a fantastic method to build an aware meditation practice. You will not fall asleep standing up! In a standing meditation it is important to keep your weight on your legs and not your back. It is recommended that you spend the first six months of meditation practice standing.
Lying down is an option for meditation but not at all recommended. It is very difficult to not fall asleep while meditating lying down. Although standing is a legitimate posture it is hard to maintain focus.
Breathing for Meditation Your breath while meditating should be natural and completely uncontrolled. Just like your posture, the quality of your breath will be different based on your current circumstances. Sometimes you will breath deep, full and slow while other times your breath may be shallow or a little faster. There is no perfect breathing and you should not judge your breath or get caught up looking for the right breathing pattern. In meditation you simply want to observe the breath and use it as focal point for your attention. Traditionally you breathe in and out through the nose with your mouth gently closed, your jaw loose and relaxed and your tongue resting just behind your front top teeth. There are different styles of meditation that call for specific breathing techniques using both your nose and mouth and specific timing of your breath. We will not be studying those various techniques in this class. Breath is a focus in traditional meditation because it is always there for us. Breath is also the main focus of Mindfulness and this teaches us to focus, maintain our awareness and to track our progress in these areas. For advanced metaphysical, spiritual and meditation practice the importance of mental awareness cannot be overstated. Awareness An awareness exercise is vital to a strong meditation practice and we should always take the time to follow this first step. Beginning to meditate without an awareness exercise is similar to exercising without warming up and stretching. We are about to undertake a mental and emotional exercise and awareness helps the body and mind to be relaxed and ready for the work they are about to do. It is also symbolic setting the tone and formally marking the beginning of the meditation process. This exercise can take only a minute or two, or longer if you choose. Awareness should include first being aware of your external environment. The temperature of the room you are in, the weight of your clothes on your skin, the feeling of yourself on the floor, in your chair, on your zafu, etc. Starting at your scalp or feet slowly scan your body and notice how you feel and the level of relaxation. As you mentally view each part of your body, visualize the muscles relaxing, and letting go. As one portion of your body relaxes gently move to the next and scan your entire body until you’re completely aware of your physical self. You are now ready to begin to meditate. I recommend starting with a Mindfulness exercise.
Mindfulness There are many different forms of the Mindfulness and Breathing exercise and the one we will practice is from traditional Theravada Buddhism. Mindfulness is one of many techniques that teach us to be ―Here and Now‖, increase our awareness and learn to focus. Awareness is choice and mindfulness teaches us to be aware. The mind is busy all the time and we our greatly affected by our own head-noise. We have created habitual reactions to specific situations and much like zombies we react to our emotions without thinking or being aware of why. Sometimes we are so unaware and so unmindful, so detached from ourselves we have no idea how we are behaving. Our emotions control us and how we feel but when we are mindful, we can be aware of our emotions, we can experience our emotions without reacting to them. Practicing a Mindfulness exercise gives us a break from our mind by narrowing our focus to a single event, all of the characteristics of our breath. While your mind will wander from watching your breath the length of time that you can maintain focus will increase with practice. When your thoughts wander from your breath, gently bring your focus back, relax, and watching or counting. While a mindfulness exercise can be as simple as watching the breathe roll in and out of the body we will practice a counting exercise today. As you continue your own practice the counting will let you gauge your progress and improvement. At anytime the counting can be dropped, the characteristics observed can be added or ignored and the length of time spent can be short or long. A regular practice routing will result in you being aware of yourself more often.
The traditional name for this meditation practice is Anapanasati. This word simply means mindfulness (sati) of breathing (pana) in and out. This is a meditation practice where we use the breath as the object of attention to which we return every time we notice that the mind has wandered. (wildmind.org/mindfulness)
Stage Zero Before we can start on Stage 1, we need to do some essential preparation — what I call ―Stage Zero‖. Stage 0 involves setting up your meditation posture, then taking your awareness through your body relaxing as much as you can. You might find it beneficial to read a fuller description of the background and practice of this important stage before beginning Stage One. Stage 1 - Counting the Breath Once you’ve taken a tour of your whole body, begin to focus on the physical sensations of your breath. Let yourself become absorbed in the sensations of the breath flowing in and out of your body. Notice how the sensations are always changing.
Then begin counting (internally) after every out-breath: Breathe in - breathe out - 1 Breathe in - breathe out - 2 Breathe in - breathe out - 3 Breathe in - breathe out - 4 Breathe in - breathe out - 5 … and so on until you reach ten. Once you get to ten, start again at one. Keep following the breath, and counting, for at least five minutes. If your mind wanders, just come back to experiencing the physical sensations of the breath, and begin counting again. Bring as much patience into the process as possible. It’s normal for a lot of thoughts to arise, and from time to time you’ll completely forget you’re supposed to be following your breath. Distraction is a normal part of the meditation process. Stage Two In the second stage of the practice we continue to count in cycles of ten breaths, the difference being that this time we count just before each inhalation. Whenever you regain your awareness after being distracted, bring your attention gently back to the breath. Stage Three In the third stage of the practice, drop the counting, and just follow the breathing coming in and out. Pay particular attention to the transitions from an in-breath to an out-breath, since those are the places where you’re most likely to become distracted. Stage Four In the fourth and final stage of this practice, begin to narrow the focus of your awareness, so that you’re focusing more and more on the sensations where the breath first passes over the rims of the nostrils. You may even notice the sensations where the breath passes over the upper lip. If any of these sensations are hard to find, just notice the breath at the first place you can feel it as it enters and leaves the body. You may even notice the sensations where the breath passes over the upper lip. But if any of these sensations are hard to find, just notice the breath at the first place you can feel it as it enters and leaves the body. (wildmind.org/mindfulness)
Meditating Having completed an Awareness and Mindfulness exercise you are now in a relaxed, focused and aware state of mind. Do you feel it or are you unsure of what you should be feeling or is your mind racing from
topic to topic uncontrollably? It takes time to retrain your mind to focus, be aware, and maintain focus for periods of time. Do not try to look for anything or have any expectations of the quality of your experience. Unless you have focus for your meditation you should simply be sitting in the back seat observing the qualities of your experience. Your state of mind should be non-judgmental without attaching emotions or value to any of your thoughts, feelings or experience. You can meditate without the Awareness or Mindfulness exercise but it should be the exception and not the rule. Benefits of a regular practice will build your focus, clarity, and mental stamina.
Today’s guided meditation will be open ended. This means that I will verbally guide the meditation until a certain point when you will be allowed several minutes to explore yourself and continue the meditation. Guided Meditation You are standing inside a room inside a house. The room is decorated in a design that is welcoming and comfortable to you. As you step into the room slowly look around and notice the furnishings, the floor and walls. This room is decorated in the most wonderful way, just for you. Slowly look around the room and see the furnishings. See the chairs, tables, decorations on the wall. Look at the flooring, the walls and notice the textures and colors that surround you. Notice the temperature in your room. The level of lighting is it soft or bright. Glance out the windows of your room and what do you see? Do you smell flowers in your room? Smoke from a fire burning in the fireplace? What sounds do you hear? Is there music or a pet purring or barking? Step into the center of your room and slowly turn taking in all of these characteristics. You are safe and relaxed and allow yourself to feel the sense of belonging, of being Home. Turn and look back at the door you entered from. Allow yourself to feel your heart. Inside your room, focus your attention to your chest and feel the warm glow of your heart. Visualize love, a beautiful green light, flowing out from your chest and filling the room. Now allow the door to open and imagine someone you love entering the room. They are smiling at you, they rush over to greet and hug you. You can feel them in your arms and you can smell them. The two of you stand together in this room filled with the green glow of your heart. Now, on your own, turn and face the door again. Who else do you invite into your home? Allow them to enter and greet you and share your love. Ending meditation The best case scenario when finishing with your mediation is that you can walk away with a continued sense of focus and awareness and have time to reflect and appreciate the experience that you just had. Depending on the meditation session you may be able to simply walk away, but after a serious session you should have time to slowly reconnect with the physical world. Enjoying a glass of water or tea and reflecting or simply enjoying the relaxed state of mind you have achieved is a wonderful way to end a meditation.