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| title: "Meditation" | |
| --- | |
| - [[The Mind Illuminated]] by **John Yates** #Buddhism #Meditation #book | |
| - **Tasshin** thread on [[Meditation]]: Meditation Tips for a Lifetime of Practice | |
| - source: https://tasshin.com/blog/meditation-tips-for-a-lifetime-of-practice/ | |
| - notes: | |
| - general wellbeing first (bigger bang for your buck) | |
| - [[happiness journal]] | |
| - exercise / cardio (**running**) | |
| - Unfortunately, feeling good is not enough. You’ll also need to feel all of the yucky, uncomfortable feels that you’ve probably ignored and repressed because of [trauma](https://praxis.fortelabs.co/the-body-keeps-the-score-summary/). Until you learn to fully feel, express, and resolve these, they’re going to block you in your meditation practice and your life. Techniques like Gendlin’s [focusing](https://www.amazon.com/Power-Focusing-Practical-Emotional-Self-Healing/dp/157224044X) and the [Bio-Emotive Framework](https://bioemotiveframework.com/) can help. | |
| - Read **Buddhist** scriptures - they're accessible, for example [Access to Insight](https://www.accesstoinsight.org/) | |
| - starting practice: | |
| - plan to meditate for the rest of your life **Atomic Habits** | |
| - consistency quality, 1-5 minutes every day better than many minutes once in a while | |
| 50 hours to get meaningful results | |
| - optimize for fun fun, pleasant, enjoyable, relaxing | |
| - Meditation apps are great. [Brightmind](https://www.brightmind.com/) is the best I’ve seen. | |
| - Phrases and images to motivate yourself #motivation | |
| - In many respects, meditation is like exercise. If there’s a problem or something that’s confusing to you, consider how you might approach a similar situation in physical exercise. In most cases this mere transposition solves the “problem.” Daron Larson is [a master of this](http://www.athomeinyourlife.com/blog/exercise-your-attention). | |
| - **Compassion practice** | |
| - Learn and consistently do loving kindness / compassion practice or similar techniques from the very start of your meditation practice. These techniques have more power early on than e.g. following the breath. Why? Many of us in modern culture have psychological trauma; loving kindness [helps heal these wounds](https://www.evernote.com/l/AgTRegeRn6BGprsGgv8FGLzXHnDkdb64S3o). | |
| - Just so you know, it’s possible to enter very deep states through metta / loving kindness practice. So don’t think of it as a lesser form of practice. | |
| - To my great sadness and boredom, loving-kindness techniques are often taught formulaically. Try the formulas, but be playful and experimental. Go in the direction of feeling emotions in your body. | |
| - meditating with your body, not your head | |
| - **posture**, **breathing**, muscles, awareness to stay with your body. | |
| - **relaxation** is a technical term - remove **muscular tension** that is unconsciously built through **awareness** and **attention** | |
| - loose clothing (body breathes naturally) | |
| - **breathe** | |
| - through your nose, slowly. | |
| - You can learn to breathe far more slowly than you are used to | |
| - Into abdomen, not chest. | |
| - ribs should expand laterally - 360 degrees around abdomen | |
| - move into and through sitting bones and pelvic floor | |
| - normal to feel pain - might take a few years to overcome | |
| - move as little as possible, not at all | |
| - meditation just before exercise or just after. | |
| - end on a positive note, happy and relax. Brain associates with bodily pleasure: | |
| - short sessions | |
| - ending with loving kindness | |
| - lying down for a few moments in total relaxation | |
| - posture | |
| - start by establishing good posture | |
| - good posture to **sit** in, If you can sit in [full lotus position](http://www.zen.org.nz/uploads/6/3/1/4/63145119/8965505_orig.png), or [half-lotus](http://www.zen.org.nz/uploads/6/3/1/4/63145119/2400913_orig.png), do it. | |
| - If you can’t, sit in [Burmese](http://www.zen.org.nz/uploads/6/3/1/4/63145119/9920315_orig.png), which is gentler and easier for Westerners. | |
| - If you can’t sit in Burmese, sit with a [seiza bench](http://www.zen.org.nz/uploads/6/3/1/4/63145119/5981236_orig.png). | |
| - If you can’t sit in seiza, sit forward in a [chair](http://www.zen.org.nz/uploads/6/3/1/4/63145119/2114855_orig.png) (don’t let your spine touch the back of the chair) | |
| - If you can’t sit in a chair, lie down. Practicing while lying down is a totally valid way to practice – just don’t fall asleep. If you can trust yourself to not fall asleep, enjoy it! It’s a lot easier to stay physically relaxed while lying down. | |
| - OK, you’re exercising and eating right and sleeping well and you’re grateful and you’re compassionate and you’ve improved your ethics, too. Now for the real good stuff: posture. Good posture will help you take care of your body, feel good emotionally, stay in your body, and be focused. | |
| - If you can’t, sit in [Burmese](http://www.zen.org.nz/uploads/6/3/1/4/63145119/9920315_orig.png), which is gentler and easier for Westerners. | |
| - If you can’t sit in Burmese, sit with a [seiza bench](http://www.zen.org.nz/uploads/6/3/1/4/63145119/5981236_orig.png). | |
| - If you can’t sit in seiza, sit forward in a [chair](http://www.zen.org.nz/uploads/6/3/1/4/63145119/2114855_orig.png) (don’t let your spine touch the back of the chair) | |
| - If you can’t sit in a chair, lie down. Practicing while lying down is a totally valid way to practice – just don’t fall asleep. If you can trust yourself to not fall asleep, enjoy it! It’s a lot easier to stay physically relaxed while lying down. | |
| - You don’t have to have perfect posture right away. That’s not feasible for most of us. Instead, be sure you are learning about and improving your posture over the months and years of your practice. | |
| - If you remember nothing else about posture, remember this: upright and relaxed. Start sessions by straightening up and settling in: making your spine as long as you can, and relaxing your muscles. Upright body, alert mind; relaxed body, relaxed mind. | |
| - In whatever position you sit in, maximize the surface area between the lower half of your body and the ground. Feel the points where you contact the ground and enjoy the relaxation and security that comes from those points. | |
| - In all positions except horizontal / supine / lying down, make sure your hips are above your knees. This image will help you see what that looks like. | |
| -  | |
| - Balance your body from front/back and side/side. Move like a pendulum to the extremes, back and forth, and find the midpoint. | |
| - Open your chest, like you’re confident and proud. Notice that opening your chest makes you feel confident and proud. Enjoy that. | |
| - Bring your neck forward, and notice it’s very hard to breathe abdominally. Bring your neck back, and notice it’s easy to breathe abdominally. Keep your neck in this position. | |
| -  | |
| - Elevate the top of your spine. Your chin will tuck naturally as a side effect. Avoid looking like the meditator in Time Magazine’s mindfulness special. This head position is a surefire recipe for you to think a whole bunch of thoughts (read: not be in your body). | |
| -  | |
| - [Tuck your tailbone](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V-qLnlTx5io). | |
| - Go to a yoga class – hatha yoga is a great complement to meditation. One of hatha yoga’s main goals is to help you with seated meditation, so that you can sit still in good posture for a long time. | |
| - A good hatha yoga teacher can help you learn these postural alignments. For fast feedback, practice moving in and out of good posture as they narrate what’s happening. | |
| - They might look funny or feel weird, but use mudras – hand positions. Mudras help your hands to relax and become still. Here’s a good, simple one. | |
| -  | |
| - Photo by [David Gabriel Fischer](https://flickr.com/photos/photosdavidgabrielfischer/15098452632/in/photolist-p1cvWQ-7oRoEC-q4VaWB-683nij-RGPz28-qc8vWz-fATtyH-9Uzn1-KPukm-fAVBU2-az7FGi-57ugDP-eLLnGy-oTGGBg-2hzgNqD-pHPMqr-54YMEg-9EuE8F-4sF41u-4M4g4g-9UgN5P-9DAchK-8hchke-5HwVKc-9JswTu-9JpH2p-9JpHX8-9JpGgP-9JsvkC-9JpGNv-f7aDZD-9JpG68-4fKCJz-BgczWa-9JpHvn-9Jsw7J-68qNk-4XyEAQ-f33N4x-7WCE5x-f7aKXx-gTn1Yt-5uPcje-f7q5xh-f3pwFq-azBje6-4M4fUT-aeejiX-7MJbdG-dLraKa), [CC BY-NC-ND 2.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/2.0/) | |
| - []()Concentration and the Five Hindrances | |
| - The Buddhists love their numbered lists, like [The Eightfold Path](https://accesstoinsight.org/ptf/dhamma/sacca/sacca4/index.html), [The Four Noble Truths](https://accesstoinsight.org/ptf/dhamma/sacca/index.html), and [The Three Jewels](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Refuge_(Buddhism)). One such list, the [Five Hindrances](https://www.accesstoinsight.org/lib/authors/nyanaponika/wheel026.html), will help you to work with distractions and improve your concentration. | |
| - Getting distracted in meditation practice is normal. Meditation develops concentration in two ways: by staying with the focus object, and by noticing when you are getting distracted. Rather than getting angry at yourself when you get distracted, celebrate that you noticed you were distracted! | |
| - When we get distracted, you have a chance to notice the nature of your mind more clearly. In most cases, you’ve probably stumbled into one of the Five Hindrances. Memorize these bad boys: want, hate, agitation, stupor, and doubt. | |
| - Having memorized the Five Hindrances, learn to recognize them in your experience. Learn which shows up most frequently for you and why, and learn what works for you to break through them. | |
| - There are many, many strategies for breaking through the hindrances, and you’ll have to find what works for you, but simple mindfulness helps with all of them. If a hindrance comes back, fall back to being mindful. | |
| - Here’s what typically works for me for each hindrance. For want, I notice that I’m craving the thing and consider the ways in which that thing is not that good or satisfying. E.g. food doesn’t last a very long time. | |
| - For hate, I do loving kindness practice. I remember that the person I’m annoyed at / angry at / hateful towards wants to be happy. Or if that’s hard, loving kindness towards anyone and everyone helps. | |
| - For worry/anxiety, I slow my breathing down and/or say nice things to myself (positive self-talk) and/or do mindful review. I blogged about Mindful Review [here](https://tasshin.com/blog/catalyzing-positive-behavior-change-with-mindful-review/). | |
| - Most of the hindrances show up in multiple ways. E.g. stupor can be sleepiness or laziness. For sleepiness, I open my eyes, straighten my spine. Rinse and repeat. | |
| - OK, sometimes opening your eyes and straightening your spine isn’t enough for sleepiness. That’s when I break out the big guns. Really, really, really slowing down the breathing – in particular extending the exhale can help you generate energy and wakefulness. | |
| - Here’s [an early video](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P4QgnBYx594) of my meditation teacher teaching this technique, which is called sussokan or the extended exhale. | |
| - Stupor can also manifest as laziness. Use your motivation skills here. Remember why you’re practicing. | |
| - Feel free to get dramatic and big picture here. Pep talks and severe talking-tos are great. I typically recall that our whole species and planet are at risk of collapse and extinction. Mindfulness is helping me become a leader that can face [these problems](https://tasshin.com/blog/the-problems-we-face/). | |
| - Doubt in its extreme form is thinking “this is bullshit.” In a less extreme form it’s subtly not really believing that meditation is a good use of your time. Again, reason yourself into remembering that meditation and mindfulness are good in general and for you in particular. | |
| - Take time off the cushion to really let these Five Hindrances sink in conceptually. Recall times when they’ve been present for you, and what that was like. Write down a plan: if I experience desire, I will… if hate, I will… if worry, I will… if stupor… if doubt… | |
| - Celebrate! If you can reliably: not be a jerk, do good things, take care of your body, feel good emotionally, sit down to meditate with good posture and notice/cut through the hindrances- you will increasingly find a new kind of joy and satisfaction from integrity/awareness. | |
| - []()Exploring Meditation Techniques | |
| - If you can cut through the hindrances, you can stay with your technique. Here’s what to do once you’ve developed this level of consistency in your concentration power. | |
| - There are a lot of techniques out there. Learn about them! Try them! | |
| - Having learned about the many, many meditation techniques there are out there, try making your own meditation techniques. Be creative and playful. | |
| - Then again, you can also keep it simple. Let following the breath be the default technique – the default when you have done everything else mentioned here, especially cutting through the hindrances. | |
| - Whatever technique you do, **commit to doing a specific meditation technique for a specific period of time** – the whole session, or part of the session (then switch techniques). | |
| - At this point the breath becomes a really, really important tool. You’re already breathing into your abdomen, and slowing your breathing, and you may have learned to energize it as well. Be playful in experimenting with different breathing techniques. | |
| - In addition to the technique in the video shared previously, try the [Wim Hof technique](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tybOi4hjZFQ&feature=youtu.be), which is becoming more and more popular/well-known. This and [other techniques](https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0553374435/) will convince you intellectually and physically that the breath can alter your conscious experience dramatically. | |
| - Most Western mindfulness instruction errs towards “following” the breath passively; counterbalance that by learning to “manipulate” or change the breathing actively. Play with different points along this spectrum. | |
| - Whichever strategy you take, whichever technique you do, avoid letting the breath become stale/static/repetitive. | |
| - Try to see if you can let the breath affect / flow through your whole body. | |
| - Learn to “breathe into” specific parts of your body. This can be as simple as bringing awareness to those parts of your body while you breathe, but can get more involved. | |
| - This is a good point to take time to re-investigate why you want to practice mindfulness, meditation, and spirituality. You might not have the same reasons for practicing that you did when you started. | |
| - Although self-oriented reasons for practice are valid and good, there are other, more wholesome motivations: relentless, determined renunciation; compassion for all beings; doubt and confusion about basic issues to life and death; vigor and energy; faith and trust. Recognize and summon these. | |
| - []()Going Deeper In Formal Practice | |
| - There are always ways to keep your meditation practice fresh and exciting. Here are some ways to spice things up. | |
| - Read widely, learn widely. Read the original texts of wisdom traditions. Read contemporary interpretations and practice manuals. Practice applying what you learn and trusting your intuition as to what you should put into practice. | |
| - Reading about meditation and spirituality helps give you information, but it also serves to inspire you. Include books about meditation and spirituality in your reading regimen, and you will naturally benefit from the motivation boost. | |
| - Here are some ways to dramatically accelerate your practice. A tried and true method is “[strong determination](https://shinzenyoung.blogspot.com/2014/05/duration-training.html)” sitting – commit to sitting in a specific posture for a specific period of time without moving. This helps you learn to work with physical pain and strong emotions. | |
| - Another similar method is what **[Shinzen Young**](https://www.shinzen.org/) calls “[trigger practice](https://www.shinzen.org/trigger-practice/),” “[exposing] yourself to a sight, sound, or physical-type body sensation that would tend to create a mental and/or emotional reaction within you.” | |
| - Sad, scary, even cringe-worthy YouTube videos works great for trigger practice, as does music you dislike and news you don’t agree with. | |
| - You can also enjoy trigger practice! Funny gifs, adorable cat pictures, news you agree with, and music you like all work splendidly. | |
| - []()Practicing All Day Long | |
| - Aim to have the mindfulness you cultivate during formal practice periods seep into the rest of your day. Maintaining mindfulness or [heedfulness](https://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/kn/dhp/dhp.02.budd.html) through your whole day will accelerate your meditation practice; it will also help you to develop ethically. | |
| - There are a few important strategies for practicing through the whole day. If you haven’t already, take up a contemplative movement practice, like yoga, tai chi, or qi gong. These are designed to help you maintain and increase your mindfulness skill and power in motion and life. | |
| - Walking meditation is also great. Fast walking meditation, slow walking meditation, it’s all good. Make time to practice in motion. | |
| - You can keep your meditation technique going throughout the day, even when you’re not formally practicing. Simpler techniques work better for this – e.g. following the breath. | |
| - One approach is to use “micro-hits” – short periods of practice of 1+ minutes that you sneak into your day: at your desk, in the bathroom, in the parking lot, etc. As you normally do, commit to a specific technique for a specific time. Enjoy these practice sessions- have fun! | |
| - Another approach is “background practice” – keeping 20% of your attention on your technique throughout the day, while 80% is dedicated to the task at hand. You might be surprised that this can actually improve your performance at certain tasks. | |
| - Use [[Shinzen Young]]’s [challenge sequences](https://shinzenyoung.blogspot.com/2012/08/working-smart.html) to help you practice increasing your mindfulness throughout the whole day: take a meditation technique and “attempt to maintain it through a sequence of progressively more challenging activities.” | |
| - []()Practicing In Community | |
| - Western culture worships independence and individualism, but you can’t complete the spiritual path by yourself. Find and build communities of spiritual practice. | |
| - Finding a “sangha” or community of people that you can practice with on a more regular basis, e.g. for a couple of hours or more each week. Formal practice with other people helps hold you accountable and you also get to learn from others. Plus, it’s more fun with other people! | |
| - Circling, authentic relating, and other interpersonal practices are an excellent complement to meditation. They help you practice awareness in the presence of others; others can also help you notice patterns of behavior and speech that you might not detect on the meditation cushion. | |
| - Monastic communities are the ultramarathoners of meditation and spiritual practice. [Visit a monastery](https://monasticacademy.com/visit) to get inspired. | |
| - Find a coach or teacher to work with. Depending on how serious this is for you, they can be like a workout advisor or an all-inclusive spiritual teacher. In any case do due diligence internally and socially to make sure you trust them / they are trustworthy / they are qualified. | |
| - Remember you’re in this for the long haul. Schedule time each year for an extended period of practice. The typical goal is to do at least one silent week long meditation retreat with a qualified teacher each year. Plan ahead of time, then go do it! | |
| - At this point, if you haven’t already, you should learn about [concentration states](https://www.accesstoinsight.org/ptf/dhamma/sacca/sacca4/samma-samadhi/jhana.html) and [insight attainments](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Four_stages_of_enlightenment). Know that these are easily confused and you’ll want your teacher to verify any that you find. | |
| - Be open to receiving feedback about your practice from teachers and senior practitioners. Be open to receiving feedback about your actions from anyone and from the world. You have something to learn from everyone, in every moment. | |
| - Have the humility to branch out into spiritual traditions that are unfamiliar and even uncomfortable to you. Be charitable and assume that practices and customs have reasons and benefits you might not be aware of. | |
| - Notice if there are any traditions or practices you are especially averse to. A very overly simplistic heuristic is that the more aversion to a spiritual practice you have, the more likely you are to benefit from it. | |
| - For example, having an altar. Someone else’s altar is probably not going to resonate with you and may even turn you away from this time-honored tradition. But having a place with items that remind you why you’re practicing is a tried-and-true method for hacking motivation. | |
| - Another example: chanting. Chanting can strike people in Western culture as weird, foreign, backwards or bad. But chanting in a group hacks motivation *and* concentration – especially with chants that repeat the same phrase. Chanting is way easier than everything I describe here. | |
| - Yep, I’ve been averse to both altars and chanting in the past – and then benefitted from them. My example proves there’s hope for you. Other powerful but aversion-generating spiritual technologies: bowing, generosity (donations), prayer, visualization, pilgrimages, community | |
| - []()Serving Others | |
| - Formal practice isn’t about separateness, isolation, navel-gazing. We do formal meditation practice to live our lives, to dance our dance, to manifest our vows. | |
| - So much of this path has to do with inspiration; all of it has to do with friendship. As an early meditation teacher of mine, Frances Brown, said in her memoir: you will be inspired by others, and you will inspire others. | |
| -  | |
| - You’re now in a position to inspire, help, and even teach others. Try teaching meditation and mindfulness to someone. You will find that this is a mutually supportive relationship, precious and sacred. | |
| - Consider the possibility that you are a [bodhisattva](https://tasshin.com/blog/all-that-is-necessary-to-be-a-bodhisattva-is-to-want-to-be-one/), a saint, a being dedicated to the service to others. You don’t go through this much challenge, put this much effort in, just for yourself. | |
| - Stay humble. There’s always more to learn, always more to grow, always higher standards to hold yourself to. This is more and more important as you progress – and also increasingly rewarding. | |
| - Take every opportunity you can to be of service to others. This includes obvious things, big things, small things, and subtle things. Teaching is service. Feeding someone is service. Smiling is service. Being present with someone is service. | |
| - Take a good look at the [problems we’re facing collectively](https://tasshin.com/blog/the-problems-we-face/) and see if there’s a way you can help. Consider the possibility there’s a service you can do others and the world that no one else can. All of the skills you’ve built with meditation will serve you as you serve others. | |
| - Then again, don’t take yourself too seriously. Learn to [laugh](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dDRr8UEIP9E), and to enjoy it. That’s a practice, too. | |
| - I hope that these tips were helpful to you! Consider taking some time to take notes on what you found that was new, motivating, or helpful, and how you plan to apply it. | |
| - []()Further Reading | |
| - [Maple Seeds](https://www.monasticacademy.com/seeds/): much of this post is a poor summary of Soryu Forall’s meditation teachings; this is a book I wrote that summarizes his teachings. | |
| - [Meditation Handout](https://docs.google.com/document/d/1-ok8YkdG5HphF10JQYR2SleIBZVIjRcYK19lzKKJ-tI/edit?usp=sharing): an overview of practice that I give all of my meditation students. | |
| - [[Meditating with John Vervaeke]] |
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