Meditation group / Synopsis

 

Session 1:

 

Intent & method of the meditation, basic instructions 

 

 

intent of the group: learning some simple and clear steps to practice meditation on a regular basis

 

objective of the meditation practice: open conscious awareness, fully awake here and now – ness

 

experiences in meditation come and go

however interesting or boring – they are not the goal of meditation

 

the focus is on establishing a practice of meditation in a conscious and specific way

so we may know what we do when we sit down to meditate

 

 

1) consciously arrive

– give yourself some time to come here, sit down, notice how you are doing right now

– simply notice and acknowledge:

    your body, physical condition

    your emotional state (mood)

    what is occupying your thoughts

– just connect with it,  don’t do something with it

 

2) relax into a comfortable position that allows you to sit for 20 minutes without much disturbance

stick to a specific length of the meditation, no matter what happens

you might even use a soft alarm clock if you meditate by yourself

be utterly unconcerned about the time

 

3) close the eyes or have them partly open

 

4) create a clear intention for the meditation

– the intention is: continuity of awareness

– the method is: gentle focus on the breath

 

5) give yourself a clear “start signal”

– you might sound a gong, singing ball or any such thing

– you might simply state internally: “now i start meditating”

 

6) feel your breath (rather than focussing or concentrating on it)

– be the breathing

– if you notice that thought have taken you away, just simply return to breathing

– if you notice that something distracted your awareness, gently return to breathing

– if you feel some impulses or needs, acknowledge this and return to breathing

 

7) be sure that whatever happens in the meditation is exactly the right thing … as long as you stay aware of it

 

forget the censor that says: good meditation, bad meditation

 

there is no right or wrong in meditation

 

just awareness

 

8) make time in your daily schedule to practice regularly

 

 

———————————————————————————

 

 

session 2:

 

posture, mudra, breathing, looking

 

 

the following instructions are just hints, things you can try

those aspects can help you to deepen the quality your awareness, bring it to more subtle levels

 

 

sit comfortable on a chair or on the floor

holding your spine straight without strain

pulling your chin in/back a bit

raising the top/back of your head ever so slightly

 

imagine you are a puppet on a string that is fixed on the highest point of your head

 

do that in a very relaxed but conscious manner

and you will naturally end up sitting in your seat like a yogi(ni) ; )

 

place your hands on your tights, palms up

gently bring together the tips of thumb and middle finger

this is called a mudra (sanskrit, meaning seal)

which is a gesture or position of the hands that locks and guides energy flow and reflexes in your chakras & brain

 

you can also try another one:

gently bring together the tip of thumb and pointer finger

 

i’ll not say more about it, because this is not the focus of the meditation

you may feel subtle energy streaming

awareness is refining

but remember – your intention is to bring your awareness back to the breath

 

gently

always returning

 

 

feel the breath

feel the subtle flow of air thru your nose

like you would smell a rose

or a faint fragrance

 

you don’t need to do it

you simply focus your attention on the subtle flow

 

become the breathing

 

 

changing your breathing pattern can also help you in case of drowsiness, sleepyness

or when you find yourself dragged away by thoughts and phantasies

 

breath deeper

breath into the belly

take in more air for a while

expand your sides, your chests a bit

breath out deeply relaxed

like a sigh, just silent

 

this will bring you back on track

back into centered awareness

 

 

in case you find yourself thinking nonsense

or even if you think more interesting things ; )

or if you notice that you space out into cozy nothingness

you can sharpen your awareness by opening the eyes a bit

just slightly

and let their focus rest somewhere on the floor a bit in front of you

 

 

nobody can control you in your meditation

nobody can correct you

you have to become your own meditation teacher

if you want to progress

 

those tips might help you with that

 

try them out

 

 

see you next week

may all beings be happy

may you be happy

 

 

———————————————————————————————————

 

 

Session 3

 

  

how to deal with certain states of mind – be your own meditation master

 

in the silence of your meditation nobody can check on you

if you want to progress in meditation, go deeper, wider, if you want to transform, you have to become your own meditation master

the one with the gentle zen stick ; )

 

i want to mention some of the states of mind that every on who sits down to meditate will experience at one time or the other

and i want to offer some hints how to deal with them:

 

 

1) warm cozy numb unconsciousness, like being packed in white cotton, like being on Valium; neither awake nor asleep

 

when you notice that kind of space-out, name it: NUMBNESS

gently bring your awareness back to the breath

breath more consciously, breath into the belly

count the breath for a while, count to 3 or 7

open eyes a bit to sharpen your awareness

 

 

2) your head drops, you fall asleep, you get into dreaming

 

when you wake up, when you notice that you’ve been sleeping, simply sit up again, gently name your state in a friendly way: SLEEPING

assume a more upright posture, a uprightness that spells determination, clarity, straightness, discipline

breath deep into the belly for a while, bring the awareness into the body

imagine oxygen filling your brain

also opening the eyes a bit and focusing on a physical object can help to stay awake

also counting the breath will help

 

 

3) wild thinking, daydreaming, fantasizing

 

when you notice that your mind is luring your awareness away from the breath, gently label it: THINKING

 

don’t fight the mind, don’t try to suppress thoughts

simply leave it alone, don’t give the thought processes your attention

over time the thinking will get bored and will go somewhere else (on holiday : )

 

when the thinking is wild, relaxation helps

don’t be harsh on yourself, don’t judge

relax, start with the body, relax the out-breath, relax the mind

create more airy space in yourself

open the windows (inside) so the thoughts can fly out

always come back to the breath, this is your sure anchor in the here and now, the reality

 

it might be more interesting sometimes to follow the thoughts, but you can postpone those exciting, interesting thoughts & ideas

if they are real, they will not disappear

put them into your inner notebook and leave them for later

 

 

4) practical, reasonable thoughts and impulses

 

“my bladder is full”, “my knee is itching”, “the telephone is ringing” ….

take note of the situation, gently name it: DISTRACTION

 

observe the situation for a while, let go of the urge to react immediately, mechanically

after a while of letting-go-practice, you can consciously decide to do something (or not)

 

 

5) extra-ordinary inner experiences, “spiritual” experiences, peak experience

 

energies moving around in your body, your body is vibrating, you hear sounds, colors are appearing, you see angels and such … ; )

be happy, you don’t need to label that

still you try  to stay centered in your breath

gratefully experience what is there to experience

don’t hold on to it, don’t get hooked on a certain type of peak experience

just let it wash thru you

it has a reason

it can be helpful to talk about such experiences or try to write them down, paint or express them in some way

this might help to integrate those subtle gifts

it is not wise to talk or try to analyze them too much or share with people who can not relate to such things

 

don’t become a inner-experience-junkie ; )

this road leads nowhere

 

rather let meditation become something like breathing

something simple

something constant

something completely integrated

 

 

see you next week

may all beings be happy

may you be happy