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Charlotte Community of Mindfulness In the Tradition of Thich Nhat Hanh |
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Sitting Meditation Excerpt from Radical Acceptance:
Find a sitting position that allows you to be alert - spine erect but not rigid - and also relaxed. Close your eyes and rest your hands in an easy, effortless way. Allow your awareness to scan through your body and, wherever possible, soften and release obvious areas of physical tension.
Because we so easily get lost in thoughts, mindfulness meditation begins with attention to the breath. Using the breath as a primary anchor of mindfulness helps quiet the mind so that you can be awake to the changing stream of life that moves through you.
Take a few very full breaths, and then allow your breath to be natural. Notice where you most easily detect the breath. You might feel it is it flows in and out of your nose; you might feel the touch of the breath around your nostrils or on your upper lip; or perhaps you feel the movement of your chest or the rising and falling of your abdomen. Bring your attention to the sensations of breathing in one of these areas, perhaps wherever you feel them most distinctly.
There is no need to control the breath, to grasp or fixate on it. There is no "right" way of breathing. With a relaxed awareness, discover what the breath is really like as a changing experience of sensations.
You will find that the mind naturally drifts off in thoughts. Thoughts are not the enemy, and you do not need to clear your mind of thoughts. Rather you are developing the capacity to recognize when thoughts are happening without getting lost in the story line. When you become aware of thinking, you might use a soft and friendly mental note: "Thinking, thinking." Then, without any judgment, gently return to the immediacy of the breath. Let the breath be home base, a place of full presence. While you might notice other experiences - the sounds of passing cars, feelings of being warm or cold, sensations of hunger - they can be in the background without drawing you away.
If any particular sensations become strong and call your attention, allow those sensations, instead of the breath, to become the primary subject of mindfulness. You might feel heat or chills, tingling, aching, stabbing, vibrating. With a soft, open awareness just feel the sensations as they are. Are they pleasant or unpleasant? As you fully attend to them, do they become more intense or dissipate? Notice how they change. When the sensations are no longer a strong experience, return to mindfulness of breathing. Or if the sensations are so unpleasant that you are unable to regard them with any balance or equanimity, feel free to rest your attention again in the breath.
In a similar way, you can bring mindfulness to strong emotions - fear, sadness, happiness, excitement, grief. Meet each experience with a kind and clear presence, neither clinging to nor resisting what is happening. What does this emotions feel like as sensations in your body? Where do you feel it most strongly? Is it static or moving? How big is it? Are your thoughts agitated and vivid? Are they repetitive and dull? Does your mind feel contracted or open? As you pay attention, notice how the emotion changes. Does it become more intense or weaken? Does it change into a different state? Anger to grief? Happiness to peace? When the emotion is no longer compelling turn your attention back to the breath. If the emotion feels overwhelming for you, or if you are confused about where to place your attention, relax and come home to your breath. |
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For more information about Charlotte Community of Mindfulness, Leslie Rawls leslierawls@carolina.rr.com Tel: 704-583-1279 PO Box 38325 Charlotte, NC 28278 |
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