Most of the content on this website is already geared toward mindfulness meditation for beginners, but has not thus far breached the topic of meditation technique. And while I am not a strong advocate of ‘formal’ meditation, there is a time and place for sitting still and reuniting with the present.
Mindfulness meditation is an exercise which aims to put to rest the selfish compulsive thought and action that dominates daily living. It accomplishes this by letting us live in the now. By slowing our pace or stopping everything all together and simply listening without judgment, one is forced back to the present.
Looking back and anticipating things to come is the cornerstone of discontent. Looking back is simply playing games with dead thoughts and experiences. It is only our continued attention that keeps them alive, and there is nothing intrinsic to them that gives them credence. Looking to the future is the abstraction of past ideas to what may become. These thoughts too have no intrinsic value save for what our subjective egotistical minds can construct.
Looking forward or back is a game of memory and abstraction, both of which are selfish. Mindfulness meditation is a selfless immediate relationship with the present and in this present exists peace and tranquility. And while this exercise can be performed as you are walking or eating, today we’ll discuss the basic technique for sitting meditation.
Mindfulness meditation is best practiced in quiet natural settings with few external distractions. There should be little to remind you of troublesome thoughts or personal anxieties. It makes little difference if you’re sitting cross-legged on the floor or comfortably in a chair. The key to both is comfort and good posture. Good posture allows our lungs to open fully and for a full breath and increased energy circulation. Hands can rest comfortably in the lap or on the thighs.
Your eyes can be open with an unfixed gaze, or can be lightly closed. The former is better for external experience, the latter better for internal. But with practice, both will coalesce in the expanded perceptive abilities of the mind. And finally, breathing should be deeply drawn into the lower abdomen. This becomes our base of immediate experience. The breath comes and goes, in constant flux. Being with our breath allows us to remain in the present.
It isn’t essential, but in my opinion is helpful to practice deep abdominal breathing as opposed to chest breathing. As we age, our breathing tends to be more and more upper chest breathing. This is the kind of breathing used when we’re exercising. Energy is drawn from oxygen. But if you watch a child their breathing pushes out the lower abdomen rather than the chest. This is where the seat of energy in the body resides. And its no coincidence children have boundless energy. They haven’t forgotten how to breathe.
As you begin to meditate, keep in mind that you are not performing an exercise with a focus on results. This is hard for us westerners because action in general is result driven. In this case however the practice itself is the end, and we should undertake mindfulness meditation without ambition. Start only with your breath. Watch, listen, and feel your breath draw into the lower abdomen. Do the same as you exhale. And remain relaxed and sensitive.
After some time this simple breathing exercise will start to reveal much more than your own breath. Your mind will take note of other sensations within the body, as well as sights, sounds, and smells from outside. Observe all of these things without judgment. Simply accept them as they come and go. The difficult part is to allow the mind to function without judgment.
Your mind will wander. Don’t force it or control it. Try to watch it without judgment. This will create almost a dual consciousness for a few seconds where you’re watching your own thoughts. This observation will cause your thinking to cease, and your mind can then return to your breath. There is no time limit or time minimum to this type of meditation. Don’t force yourself to meditate beyond natural limits, which at first may only be a couple minutes. With steady practice you’ll find your limits.
With more time you’ll find mindfulness meditation will cease to be practice and become a way of life. You’ll notice on your walk to work that you’re much more aware of your rhythms and breathing. You’ll begin to feel stronger and more in tune with the environment. And on trains, planes, and at parties you’ll find yourself breathing properly and mindfully taking in conversations and internal sensations without judgment. And in these moments you’ll be at peace.