Mindfulness Meditation
Mindfulness meditation involves sitting quietly with our eyes closed, being with ourselves exactly as we are. I like to think of it as “coming home,” especially because we spend so much of our lives “out there.”
During mindfulness meditation, we may choose to focus on breathing in and out through the nose or feeling the way our chest rises and falls with each inhale and exhale. We may pay attention to sounds coming and going. We may just sit with ourselves, noting the changes we experience without attaching to their content. As we meditate, we let ourselves be.
Thoughts and feelings will carry us off. This is completely normal. When we notice we are somewhere else, we just bring ourselves back gently. We might feel restless and want to get on with our day. Again, completely normal, but the amazing stuff starts when we don’t bolt. When we sit there and observe our feelings of restlessness or boredom or whatever we feel and stay anyway. That’s where the real practice begins.
While meditating, we stay with the contents that arise without dwelling in them, gently observing them without judgment. When we find ourselves judging, pushing away or clinging to thoughts or feelings, we observe ourselves and return to acceptance of what is.
“It is only when we relax with ourselves that meditation becomes a transformative process. Only when we relate with ourselves without moralizing, without harshness, without deception, can we let go of harmful patterns.”
From The Places That Scare You: A Guide to Fearlessness in Difficult Times, by Pema Chodron
Sitting Meditation Technique
Mindfulness meditation can involve activities other than sitting, such as mindful walking, but this is a 20-minute mindfulness meditation I learned from an MBSR class that involves sitting in a chair or on a cushion.
Start by sitting in a comfortable position with a straight back and neck.
1. Become aware of your in breath and out breath.
2. Notice body sensations, then release tensions on out breaths.
3. Notice emotions, then release them on out breaths.
4. Hear silence. Hear sounds. Note (”talking” or “barking”).
5. Bring awareness to thoughts and feelings as they move in and move out of your mind. Watch them float in and float out. Note emotions and body sensations as they arise.
When we notice the mind has drifted off, we gently bring it back to the present moment. By practicing this kind of awareness every day (for at least 15-30 minutes), we gradually learn to notice our reactions to triggers or every day situations calmly.
Daily mindfulness meditation cultivates a sense of balance in our lives.
“As we learn through meditation to recognize the kinds of thoughts that distract, mislead, anger, or otherwise trouble us, we can then let go of them earlier and more efficiently during the times when we’re not meditating. We can exercise more conscious control over our moment-to-moment desires as well as our moods, and best of all, we can interact with people more smoothly, skillfully, compassionately, and constructively.”
From Buddha is as Buddha Does: The Ten Original Practices for Englightened Living, by Lama Surya Das
