The discipline of labeling thoughts

Most people find that these instructions sound clear and easy to do, but that in practice, the awareness easily slips away as we begin to daydream and compulsively entertain various thoughts. This is merely habitual and is not considered to be a bad thing at all: in fact this habitual mind is the very handle with which we can get a hold on the entire process of seeing the unconditional, clear and open mind.

That very moment that you become aware that you were lost in thought is the moment that is of key importance. That is the moment that we make the choice drop the story line or fantasy of the thought, and simply to return to our awareness and to our breath. This is the moment that we apply the discipline of letting go. At the moment that you recognize that you have lost your awareness and you have been in a daydream, fantasy etc, you have aleady returned to the present. At that moment, apply the key instruction: simply let go of the topic of your daydream or thought, and again return to what is occurring to your mind. What occurs to the mind is simply sound, smell, and so on, as well as the trickle of thoughts as they flash by.

We apply this essential discipline by applying a mental label: we say (silently) to ourselves the word ‘thinking’, and simply drop what we were thinking and return to whatever is occurring at that moment. Whether the daydream or fantasy brought you joy or sorrow or neither, just let that story-line go and return to your breathing: in, out, in, out.

Technorati Tags: awareness;meditation;

The main instruction

Of course the most interesting and beneficial aspect of this practice is how we work with the thought process. It is what occurs in the mind that we experience as pleasure and pain, happy and sad, and so on, and we usually try to either grasp or reject what we like or dislike. As you begin your awareness meditation, you will become aware of the many waves of thought that come up and disappear endlessly. This is totally natural and occurs to everyone, but it is how we regard this process that is the difference between whether or not we suffer from it.

Everything that occurs to your mind is simply an experience of mind. That is a key point. It is recommended to spend some time away from your meditation seat simply reflecting on this important point. Generally, we do not maintain the awareness that this is so, and we easily become wrapped up in all that occurs to us. While not abandoning the awareness of your breathing and of your body sitting there, let your mind become aware that all that your senses perceive, and all thoughts that flicker. It is truly a simple thing to see that all that occurs to your mind is just an occurrence of mind. Just relax as you experience your breathing in and out, and be aware that you are aware of what occurs to your mind. This is the main instruction.

Try to maintain this awareness of awareness for a short period, perhaps just for a minute. Then, just let that drop, and take a break. A break in this case does not necessarily mean standing up or even moving your body at all. It just means to drop the meditation exercise for a time. Stretching and another deep breath or two can be helpful before you begin another short ‘session’.

Repeating many short sessions within a period of meditation is considered to be far superior to the marathon approach of trying to hold on to awareness as long as you can. Letting go of our awareness again and again keeps the practice from becoming a burden and has enormous long-term benefit to the practitioner.

The Key Point

• All that occurs to your mind is simply an occurrence of mind.  It is important to take frequent breaks from the technique.

1 – Settling in

Now that you have settled into your posture (see previous meditation tips), take 2 or 3 deep breaths just to relax, and then continue to breathe normally.  In this meditation, our breath is something that we always use. It is like an anchor for our awareness to come back to as we experience and often become distracted by the waves of thought, emotions and so on.  It has been traditionally recommended to begin by simply being aware of the breath.  Feel the body as you breathe, listen to the sound the breath makes, and just remain aware and present with that.

The breath is something that we always have with us and that we will always be using during every meditation session.   Spend some time just feeling your breathing very acutely before reading further: this will be very helpful later in your awareness meditation, sometimes known as mindfulness meditation.

The Key Point

• Spend some time simply feeling your body as you breathe in and out

Technorati Tags: awareness, breath, meditation, Meditation Tips

Meditation is a simple and practical way to enhance the quality of your life and today it is becoming a regular part of daily life for people from every walk of life.  Once seen as trippy and esoteric, mindfulness meditation and other types of relaxation meditation are frequently investigated by scientists and are becoming embraced by ordinary people who at one time would have never considered such an activity.  By reading this first Meditation Tips post you have already accomplished the biggest step of your meditation training, which is just getting started.

This blog will explain the basic steps that you can use to begin your own practice and offer helpful tips for practitioners of any amount of experience.  We also invite you to share your experience with other readers.

The instructions presented here are very traditional and have been practiced for many centuries by millions of people.  While they are simple and direct instructions, they are also very effective and profound.  Welcome to the community of practitioners of this insightful and beneficial path!

The steps

1. Meditation Posture
2. How to work with thoughts, emotions and sense perceptions

Please begin with the section on body meditation, describing the meditation posture which is one of the most important and helpful instructions stressed by meditation masters for many centuries.  After that I will post the main meditation instructions on how to work with thoughts, emotions and sense perceptions.

Technorati Tags: Meditation Tips