Basics of Meditation

How would you like to feel as if you were in love all the time, no matter what the outer
circumstances? With these words thirty years ago, I was invited to begin a practice of
meditation. The promise seemed too good to be true, and yet it spoke to the greatest longing in
my heart to live in the state of wholeness and well-being I associate with being in love.
Looking back over the years, in many ways the promise has been met. It is not that I walk around
feeling in love all the time. However, with increasing frequency, a feeling of unconditional love
arises spontaneously at the sight of a flower, the sound of a bird flying by, the call from a
friend, or simply sitting quietly and meditating.
Essentially what I have learned is that love is not something that exists outside me, but freely
springs from within me when it is not blocked by thoughts or emotions. Meditation is the path
that leads to the source of love, a love that does not come and go.
Whether we access it constantly or not, once we know the inner place of love, we are never too
far away from it.

What is Meditation?
Meditation is not restricted to any one culture or tradition. Almost every spiritual tradition
includes some form of meditative practice. The practice of meditation can be as simple as
watching your breath or as vast as experiencing the unlimited essence of life itself.
Meditation ultimately transforms your daily life, and yet, at its core, it is very simple. Psalm 46,
Verse 10 states very concisely: Be still and know that I am.
In the fourth century, the great Indian yogic sage Patanjali described meditation as the unbroken
flow of awareness to an object of concentration. We all have this capacity for concentration. We
use it every day in driving, in working, or in just having a conversation. In meditation, we turn our
power of concentration inward.

Meditation as a State
Meditation also defines a state of mind we attain through the practice. This meditative state is an
innate capacity, in the same way that we have the ability to go into a deep sleep or a dream
state of mind. A meditative state is one in which we are awake, focused, conscious, and yet not
perturbed by what is outside us.
In this natural meditative state, we interact with our world in a profoundly loving and authentic
way, present to what is happening and not burdened by concepts and fears from the past or
future. This capacity is developed through our formal practice of meditation.

Relax!

In todays world, people meditate for a variety of reasons. One of the simplest reasons is simply
to learn to relax. Take a minute right now, before reading any further, to just breathe in and out
deeply a few times. Take three deep breaths in and out.
Notice what happens as you do this. Inevitably, when you shift to your breath, some form of
relaxation takes place. Meditation brings deep relaxation.

The Mind and Meditation

Beyond relaxation, we meditate to work with the mind. The mind can be the greatest obstacle in
meditation and our daily life, until we understand it. Through the practice of meditation, we
begin to separate from our thoughts and recognize we neither are our mind nor are we controlled
by it. Instead, we connect with the power that makes the mind think. We gain choice over the
fluctuations of the mind.

Who Are You?

Ultimately, we meditate to know who we really are, the deepest part of us. The Buddhists call
this buddhanature; the Indian yogic tradition calls it the Self; other traditions call it Spirit. Closer
than our own breath, this is the real source of love. This unchanging awareness, or
consciousness, has been with us all through the changes of age and circumstance in our life.
We can say, I am angry. I am scared. I am a lawyer. I am a parent. Regardless of the roles or
emotions we are experiencing, the I am is the same. This eternal presence is always there, and
its blissful and aware nature can be experienced in meditation. When we meditate, our innate
nature shines forth.
As we continue to practice, the benefits become part of our daily life: relaxation, a mastery over
our thoughts, and a sense of inner freedom. We begin to access our own creativity, and
reconnect with our own source of love.

Basics of Meditation
To learn meditation properly, it is essential to attend a class, find a teacher, or at a minimum
access some of the excellent books that teach meditation. Meditation is worthy of study in the
same way that you might study art or music. Find an expert to guide you. The brief pointers here
are a way of encouraging you to begin.
Meditation involves three aspects:
Posture: how you sit
Focus: where you place your attention
Dealing with the mind: how you handle thoughts
Posture
Sitting for meditation entails finding a posture that allows you to be alert and present. The
traditional posture is seated on the floor, with crossed legs and a nicely elongated and upright
spine. However, it is equally possible to meditate well sitting in a chair.

Wherever you are seated, be sure to have a firm and comfortable seat. Find a way to be at ease
and alert. Imagine a string gently drawing your head up slightly.
You can keep your eyes open or closed. If they are open, your gaze is relaxed and somewhat
unfocused, not staring or looking, just open and looking lightly ahead. If your eyes are closed,
you need to make more of an effort to stay present and not drift off into thoughts or sleep.
It is fine to change positions as you are meditating. Moving is not a sign of failure. Simply
maintain awareness as you change your position. If you experience pain in your legs or back, it is
better to adjust your posture than spend the entire time meditating on your pain.
Focus
The simplest form of meditation is to place your focus of attention on the breath. There is no
need to change your breathing. Just watch it come in and go out.
One way to keep your attention on your breath is to feel the sensation of breath in your body.
Where do you feel it? Nostril, chest, and abdomen are a few of the places where it is easiest to
sense the breath coming in and going out. Place your attention wherever you can feel the breath.
The place may vary from time to time, or even breath to breath.
Focusing on the breath keeps you present in this moment. While you are present with the breath,
you are not lost in thoughts.
What does it mean to be present with the breath? A simple analogy is to think of how you do a
chore such as unloading the dishwasher. You can have your mind on what you are going to do
once the chore is done cook dinner, put more dishes in the dishwasher, or go out to a movie.
Or you can have your mind totally focused on taking the dishes out and putting them where they
go.
The same choice is possible with your breath. You can breathe, while thinking about everything
else. Or you can be present with each breath. Each moment becomes now, now, now there is
the breath now, and the breath now. A feeling of timelessness may actually arise when you do
this.
Dealing with the Mind
The most important insight you can gain from meditation is this: You are not your mind. You are
not your thoughts. You are the one who has a mind, has thoughts.
Think of it this way: You say, My shirt, my hat, my car but you never think you and your shirt
are the same. If your shirt is dirty, you dont think you are dirty; if your car is bashed, you dont
think you are bashed. In the same way, we can say My mind, my thoughts. If your mind is
running wild or your thoughts are up and down, you are not wild or up and down.
In meditation, we learn to break our identification with the mind and thoughts; then, no matter if
the mind is happy or sad, bored or not bored, quiet or restless, we can maintain our innate
steadiness and freedom. In meditation, we are not concerned with our thoughts; we practice

letting them rise and subside without distracting us.

When we are distracted by our thoughts, if we just name them, just let them be, they will
disappear. At the moment of the Buddhas enlightenment, Mara, the great demon, kept
appearing in various disguises to pull the Buddha out of his state. With each appearance, the
Buddha touched the ground and said, I know you, Mara. And the form of Mara disappeared.
We can do the same with our thoughts. Name each thought that pulls us out of a relaxed,
meditative awareness: I know you, lack of self-worth. I know you, self-righteousness. I know you,
boredom. Naming the thoughts, rather than battling with thoughts, allows the thoughts to
subside.
The challenge is that we find our thoughts so interesting we dont ever think something more
enticing might lie underneath them. All we yearn for peace, stillness, love is right there,
once we get beyond the thoughts.
The key is not to get involved with a thought, not to judge it or push it away, but simply
acknowledge you were thinking, and then move on. One Tibetan master describes it this way:
Do not prolong previous thought. Do not beckon the next or future thought. Rest nakedly in the
nature of fresh awareness of the present moment.
If you can do this for even a few moments, you will be amazed at the sense of inner strength that
arises from this simple practice.

Beginning Your Practice

It is helpful to set aside the same time each day to meditate. If possible, select a clean and
inviting place you can use for meditation every day. Having the same time and place helps you
create a habit of meditation.
Begin by meditating for about fifteen minutes each day. You can use a timer, and increase the
time as you get familiar with meditating. Keep a journal of your meditation; after each session,
note down what happened during the meditation.
Like other practices, such as music or art, you need to keep your inspiration fresh to maintain a
life-long practice of meditation. Inspiration can come in many forms. Reading spiritual books,
remembering your intention, meeting with other meditators all help to refresh your spirit. From
time to time, draw inspiration from those who have walked the path and know where it leads. As
an old Zen saying goes, if you want to know the way up the mountain, ask the one who walks it
every day.
I like to think of meditation as an act of kindness we do for ourselves each day. It is a way of
creating an inner shelter from the storms of life and the storms of our own mind. Give yourself
this gift.
May your meditations be filled with ease and light.