HOME PRACTICE GUIDELINES #3

“Always mindful, the meditator breathes in; mindful, the meditator breathes out.”
~Anapanasati Sutra

This week we ask you to really focus and steady your seated practice on the breath. Choose one specific place in the body where the breath sensation is strong (below the nose, the chest, the belly) to be the “anchor” of your meditation and stick with it. All manner of distractions may arise (sounds, other sensations in the body, thoughts, emotions, etc.) but your intention is to simply notice these distractions and return to your anchor-- over and over again.

If a body sensation other than breath becomes very strong, explore it in the way we’ve been practicing, staying interested in the changes and moving with intention and awareness if need be. As the “pull” of the sensation diminishes, return your attention to the breath.

Instead of increasing the length of your daily sit (which if you are following along with us is now 15 minutes a day) focus this week on strengthening whatever commitment you have made to yourself. This is not a suggestion that we judge ourselves for falling short, but rather that we bring an extra bit of will into the mix and see what happens. You might recall why you made the commitment in the first place. Or, you may identify where your commitment tends to break down and come up with an alternative plan.

If even getting to the cushion seems impossible, make a commitment to simply sit down, notice, and then move on to the next thing. If you happen to feel like noticing a breath or two great, but for many people, the act of simply sitting down with the intention to meditate is a big step.

Supports to concentration

In / Out: Many people find that a soft gentle label (“in” as the breath enters, “out” as the breath exits) supports their ability to stay with the breath. When concentration grows, you can release the label and just be with the direct experience of the breath itself.

Counting: There are many traditional methods of counting to help build concentration. One easy strategy is to count backwards from 10 to 1 for each breath. Whenever the mind wanders, you start back at 10 again. Once you are able to move through a number of full sets without getting distracted, release counting and stay with the direct experience of the breath.

“Breath”/”not breath”: Begin by imagining a blank screen and anchoring your awareness to the breath as we’ve been doing. Then, with as much vigilance as you can muster, notice whenever anything shows up on the screen that is “not-breath.” There is no judgment here!

We are simply learning to identify all those moments where something other than our breath has our attention.

Next class: this Sunday, October 17th, 6:30pm

In our next class (October 17), we will move from the general experience of the whole body to the direct experience of the breath. We will explore this basic life giving force in a myriad of ways while continuing to strengthen our concentration muscles. Why the breath? Aside from being utterly profound (essentially the difference between life & death!), the breath also happens to be a simple and accessible doorway into the present moment, and therefore a very useful tool in developing mindfulness...

Speaking of which, here is a nice reminder of what this mindfulness thing is all about:

"Mindfulness can be described as intentionally paying attention to the present moment without being pulled into the mind’s usual elaborations of judgment, internal dialog and the emotional reactions such elaborations can trigger. It is being with the experience of the moment with gentle compassion and a strong disciplined intention to simply stay present with whatever is happening in the moment, allowing space for the experience to rise and fall away without adding our usual overlay of suffering, frustration or panic." ~John Steven Shealy

Ah yes... staying present without adding our usual overlay of suffering, frustration and panic... sounds like a pretty good idea, no?

See you on Sunday!

Best,
Rebecca (& Jenn)

Mindfulness in Daily Life: Hands!

Hi all-- In these last few days before we meet again (Sunday October 17th, 6:30pm) consider shifting the focus of your attention from the feet to the hands...

Awareness of hands is a connecting practice-- our hands are often the interface between our internal and external world-- we reach for a door knob, shake someone's hand, open the fridge, hold a cup of tea, write a letter, pick up the phone, etc. It's an opportunity to connect physically with the rich textures of our lives.

This is a practice in which we can really be like children in a candy shop! So many textures, shapes, temperatures, etc. It also facilitates a little bit of "pause" in between all the "doing" of life -- we simply stop for a moment and experience directly the world around us. Enjoy!

Best,
Rebecca

Mindfulness in Daily Life #1

A "daily menu practice" is a good way to support bringing mindfulness practice off the cushion and into our daily lives. A menu practice just means bringing a particular focus of awareness to each day. Like the various strength, flexibility and balancing postures that we might practice in a yoga class to develop overall vitality and health in the body, the menu practice offers us a “cross-training” method for cultivating awareness in daily life. Over time you will notice that as the various skills develop, there is a growing sense of overall connection and appreciation for whatever is arising. This is really where the awareness we bring to formal meditation practice opens up and meets our lives in a wonderful way.

THIS WEEK: Mindfulness of FEET

This week’s “menu practice” is to bring attention to our feet at various moments throughout the day. The practice of focusing awareness on our feet is a grounding practice, one that brings us right to the "here" of the "here and now." It is incredibly helpful, especially when caught up or feeling lost. It is also a way to build awareness into the transitional elements of our life (when we are walking) or to the static elements (waiting in line). Whenever you remember, whether you’re watching television, driving a car, headed to the copy machine or stepping into the shower, bring attention to the actual sensations taking place in the feet.

May footsteps and grounding connections abound :-)
Jenn & Rebecca

Home Practice Guidlines #2

“With gentleness and precision, meditation practice will bring us joy.”
~Sakyong Mipham

SEATED PRACTICE

This week we ask you to really focus and steady your seated practice on the body. Learning to work with body sensations not only offers us a direct window into our basic moment to moment human experience, it is an invaluable skill as we negotiate the many difficult physical experiences that can show up on the cushion (or chair). Often when we begin to sit for longer periods of time, unpleasant sensations can arise in the shoulders, knees, hips, etc. Sometimes the discomfort is sharp, sometimes broad or pulsing, sometimes deep or numb. Our practice here is to notice with curiosity and kindness WHATEVER is arising. Moreover, learning to compassionately observe physical sensations serves us greatly when we encounter strong emotional states (which we will explore inweek 4 of the meditation series).

Please incorporate the following practices into your seated meditations:

BODY SCAN: Slowly scan the body (head, neck, shoulders, etc), staying alert to whatever sensations are present. Feel yourself as a physical body. If you are lost or not sure where to place your attention, direct your focus to the physical sensations of breath and then return to the body scan.

BODY EXPLORATION: Begin with your attention resting on the breath but notice whatever physical sensations arise in your field of awareness. Allow your attention to go to that area and explore. What are the basic elements (size, temperature, intensity, etc.) of the sensation? How does the sensation move, change, intensify or dissipate? How does the act of observation affect the sensation? When your attention wanes, gently return to the anchor of the breath.

STONG SENSATION: Explore strong physical sensations and/or the desire to move with kindness. We are looking to cultivate stillness but if you need to move, do so with interest and curiosity, paying attention to the changing sensations before, during and after.

For those of you who are new to meditation, we ask you to up your daily practice by 5 minutes a day (so if you’ve been sitting 10 minutes a day, now practice sitting 15 minutes a day). Notice what the extra 5 minutes feel like. Are you aware of the extra time? Does it make you more anxious or more relaxed? Does it allow you to go deeper in or do you notice more resistance arising? Remember, whatever you notice is an integral part of the practice, not an obstacle to the practice.

Carving out 15 minutes of stillness can seem daunting in a busy life, but what most people find is
that the stillness actually creates time in the day by generating a greater sense of spaciousness and perspective.

For those of you with an established practice, continue to augment your practice in a specific way—a longer sit, sitting more frequently during the week or adding an additional short sit during the day.

Weekly Support Notes / October 1, 2010

"Look at the tree in the front yard. The tree doesn’t seem to be doing anything. It stands there, vigorous, fresh, and beautiful, and everyone profits from it. That’s the miracle of being. If a tree were less than a tree, all of us would be in trouble. But if a tree is just a real tree, then there’s hope and joy. That’s why if you can be yourself, that is already action. Action is based on non-action; action is being."

Practice it is! 10 minutes today, 10 minutes tomorrow, 10 minutes the next day, and so on and so on and so on...

Join us again this Sunday October 3 as we narrow our focus and explore the landscape of the body in walking and sitting meditation. Gaining insight thru experiential means as we discover more about what it is to be us.

Jenn & Rebecca