20 MINUTES TO MASTER … MEDITATION

A TEACHER

Again, differing degrees of emphasis are given to the significance of having a teacher or guide within the variety of meditative traditions. A teacher will offer more than just instruction in technique or form, but will serve as a spiritual friend able to offer guidance and experience. Some meditators find it helpful to connect with a teacher on an ongoing basis and as our meditation deepens the support of someone who has travelled this path before us can be invaluable. However, a relationship with a teacher is not a prerequisite to cultivating a meditation practice. If you bring to your meditation practice the willingness to learn, to deepen in sensitivity and patience, and the commitment to developing attentiveness, you have everything you need to begin.

In the following chapters the major styles of meditation will be explained. Feel free to experiment with and explore any of them until you find a style you feel some rapport with.

BEGINNING TO MEDITATE

1 Choose a regular time – morning, evening, or whenever you can rely upon not being interrupted.

2 Find a place – as secluded, simple and quiet as possible.

3 Choose a posture that is comfortable for you.

4 Set a minimum time for your meditation, whether it is 15, 30 or 45 minutes.

5 Check your body for any apparent areas of tension and consciously relax.

6 Take a few deep breaths.

7 Begin.

CHAPTER 2

CONCENTRATION (#u1ad98ac7-eba2-5714-8b6e-fe3cb3036c53)

Within the variety of schools of meditation there is agreement upon the need to cultivate a strong basis of attentiveness or concentration for the development of any style of meditation. Some disciplines will develop concentration as their primary form of practice, whereas other styles will emphasize developing only enough concentration to serve as a foundation for insight, contemplation or devotion. The need to retrain our attention as an essential ingredient in transformation is the central, prevailing thread that runs through the entire variety of meditative disciplines. For depth, balance and understanding a clear and calm attentiveness must first be present.

There are a whole range of experiences that are possible within the field of concentration that run from the simple capacity to keep ourselves focused in the present moment upon a single subject without distractedness, to profound altered states of consciousness that bring with them experiences of bliss, oneness and absorption in which the activities of the body and mind are stilled. Visionary experiences and feelings of deep rapture, joy and equanimity are all experiences that emerge from deep levels of concentration. Within this whole spectrum of experience the essential benefits of concentration to steady and calm the mind and establish us in the present moment are recognized.

Through developing concentration the mind is brought to rest in the present moment and deepening levels of calm pervade both mind and body. Through focusing our attention upon a single object there is an integration of the mind, body and present moment, and our capacity to attend to one moment at a time with clarity and sensitivity is enhanced. We are enabled to attend to the inner landscape of sensations, thoughts and feelings that is revealed to us free of our usual habitual reactions of judging or resistance. The concentrated mind has the power to penetrate deeply into the processes of our minds and bodies and to explore with ease other dimensions of meditation. Concentration enables us to cut through the habits of restlessness, discursive thinking and reactions that entangle us and set our minds in motion; the mind becomes tranquil and serene.

Through both fairly shallow and very profound states of concentration there are a number of insights that can emerge that bring deeper levels of happiness, harmony and freedom into our lives. In the calm and serenity that develop through concentration practice we discover subtle yet pronounced levels of happiness that are qualitatively different than the fleeting states of happiness or pleasure we find through excitement, achievement or possession. It is an inner happiness and contentment that depends on nothing outside ourselves, bringing with it a greater sense of inner completeness. This understanding changes our relationship to the world around us, enabling us to let go with greater ease and step back from the relentless pursuit of consumption, attainment and possession. Resting within an inner serenity and richness we are less inclined to search the world for the happiness we feel to be missing inwardly. We learn to be at ease within ourselves and within each moment – we find ourselves in greater harmony with the world around us and with other people. Through the development of concentration the mind becomes less fragile and susceptible to extremes. It becomes steady and balanced – able to receive the variety of experiences and impressions that come to us in life without feeling overwhelmed or burdened.

Concentration practice greatly enhances inner confidence as we improve in the art of attending wholeheartedly to one moment at a time. We develop our inner resources of energy, attentiveness and dedication and through collecting and directing them towards the present moment or a single subject of meditation we discover the calmness and clarity born of our own efforts. In becoming increasingly familiar with deeper levels of calmness the mind loses its addiction to busyness and entanglement. There is a lessening of interest in fantasy and daydreams that offer limited satisfaction in the light of a calm and clear attentiveness. Anxiety and stress levels decrease as they are supplanted by deepening levels of well-being and serenity. The inner tranquillity that emerges enables us to respond more intuitively and clearly both to our inner and outer world rather than being compelled by habitual reaction. The nature of the mind changes through concentration practice and our sense of the possibilities that lie within our consciousness expands.

Concentration is a means of simplifying our inner landscape. Rather than experiencing ourselves as being a captive of the endless stream of random thoughts, memories, plans and images that pass through our minds, concentration frees us from entanglement. As our attention deepens the thoughts begin to slow down and become clearer to us. We find an increasing capacity to be able to let go of the mind’s dominance and a deeper quality of calmness and clarity begins to emerge. We are aware of thinking, aware of the beginnings and endings of thoughts with a calm and clear attentiveness. Agitation is replaced by calmness, habit replaced by sensitivity and confusion gives way to clarity.

Concentration is developed through focusing the mind upon a single subject. Through this attentiveness the mind is united with the present moment. The subject that is chosen for attention will differ according to the meditation style, it can be a visual object, a sound or the breath, but the objective of sustaining a focus remains the same. The intention is to cultivate an undistracted and undivided attentiveness. The subject that is chosen serves as a steady anchor, a lifeline amidst the swirls of thoughts, images and sensation. It is a place we continually and gently return to each time we become lost or entangled in the streams of activity that pass through our minds. The sustaining of the focus upon a single object requires both perseverance and patience as we are faced again and again with the habitual wandering of the mind as it departs into past and future. We are facing the habit of distractedness that has perhaps accompanied us through our lives. It is not willpower or striving that enables us to penetrate this habit but practice, consistency and the right spirit of dedication and acceptance. Meditation is an art and like the exploration of any other discipline it requires love, the willingness to learn and the capacity to accept the moments we falter.

The nature of the mind is to have thoughts, images, plans and memories. Concentration practice is not an endeavour to suppress any of this; it is only in very profound states of concentration that the mind will actually come to total stillness. Any attempt to resist or push away the thoughts that arise will only increase their intensity. A gentle but consistent returning of the attention to the selected focus is the way to bring the mind to calmness. Meditation is not anti-thought nor is it in the service of dismissing the value and capacities of our mind. The mind has a remarkable potential for creativity, reflection, clarity and investigation. Concentration enhances our ability to use and apply thought creatively and appropriately, rather than be dominated or overwhelmed by excess thinking.

The way of developing concentration is to plant in the foreground of our attention a single subject which we consistently focus upon and return to rather than becoming entangled in any of the stream of events that are occurring in our mind and body. By sustaining this focus the mind will naturally and gradually slow down and the swirl of thoughts will to differing degrees begin to calm and take their place in the background of our consciousness rather than ensnaring us. As our capacity for attention develops it will be increasingly natural for our minds to rest in the focus of our meditation and differing degrees of unity will begin to emerge. There is a growing happiness and sense of well-being as we pass though the variety of resistances such as restlessness or dullness that present themselves and the mind finds a certain steadiness and ease in its attention.

Almost anything will serve as a focus for concentration, different temperaments will find affinity with different subjects as the focus for their attention. It is certainly helpful to choose as an object for focus something relatively simple and familiar to us. If we initially select an intricate mandala or complex series of phrases we will make the task of cultivating attention unnecessarily difficult. As our skill in concentration develops we may well choose to direct it towards increasingly complex subjects but in the beginning simplicity is most conducive to calmness.

EXPLORING THE PATH OF CONCENTRATION

Finding a suitable place to practise, adopting a posture that is comfortable to us and bringing to our meditation the spirit of patience and acceptance, we can begin to explore some of the paths of concentration that are widely taught. Don’t be tempted to rush or be overly ambitious, every moment of cultivating attention and oneness is worthwhile. The fruits of our meditation may not be immediately visible to us in the form of tangible results or grand experiences and breakthroughs. Yet every moment we are engaged in bringing our attention back to clarity and single pointedness we are directly engaged in the transformation of our being. We are following the pathways of patience, dedication, clarity and compassion rather than the familiar pathways of resistance, distractedness and reaction.

Initially as you practise you will find that your attention repeatedly wanders away from your chosen subject, becoming lost in memories of the past, plans for the future or preoccupations in the present. We may no sooner return our attention to the present than it departs once more remembering a conversation we had yesterday. We may be tempted to try and analyse the thoughts that present themselves, wonder at their hidden meaning or try to evaluate our progress. It is not uncommon to feel that meditation has produced even more thoughts than before we began to practise. It is more likely we are simply becoming aware of the relentless nature of thought, produced by the mind untrained in attentiveness. Distractedness is a habit of the mind – we are gently learning to disentangle, training the mind in simplicity and clarity. The moment you notice that your attention has wandered away is a moment of returning to attentiveness. Don’t judge or become frustrated with your wandering, simply anchor your attention once more in your meditation subject and begin again. Learning to be attentive you need the patience of a child learning to walk.

CONCENTRATION WITH VISUAL SUBJECTS

A candle flame, a shape, a symbolic object, a mandala or a colour can all serve equally well as a focus for developing attention. The concentration cultivated in relationship to these subjects may serve as a foundation for other devotional and visualization practices later on in the path but initially the objective is to develop a sustained and steady attentiveness. We are integrating our mind and body with the subject of our meditation through sustained attention.

CONCENTRATING ON A VISUAL SUBJECT

Settle yourself in a relaxed and alert posture then place your chosen visual meditation subject just in front of you and bring your eyes to rest upon it.

Gently settle your gaze and allow your mind and body to relax. Don’t let your eyes wander around the room but simply fasten your attention upon the object in front of you. Whatever thoughts or bodily sensations arise, give them minimal attention – simply let them flow through you and pass away.

As you begin to feel connected with your visual subject, let your eyes close and sustain the visual impression of your subject in your mind. In the beginning you may only be able to do this for a few moments before the visual impression becomes vague or lost. When this happens, open your eyes once more and bring your gaze to rest again upon the object in front of you. You may need to do this many times before you find you are able to retain the visual impression of your subject within your mind for longer periods.

As the concentration deepens, you will find it less necessary to revert to the external visual connection with your subject as its image becomes more clearly imprinted upon your consciousness in an increasingly sustained way. The image will become increasingly clear in detail and vividness and there will be a greater ease in holding it in the forefront of your consciousness. The thoughts or images that previously appeared to clamour for your attention will begin to quiet and become like whispers arising and passing in the background of your consciousness. This is a sign that your concentration is deepening. Whenever you become distracted, know that you can always open your eyes and return to the direct visual connection with your subject.

As your concentration begins to deepen you may discover that you only need to make a very brief contact with the external visual image in order to trigger the inner imprint. The capacity to recall that inner visual image brings with it qualities of calmness and well-being in the mind and body. In deeper levels of concentration the distance or separation between the image and the observer begins to disappear and there is the sense of being absorbed within the visual impression. This experience of absorption triggers deeper levels of happiness, joy and communion. There are different levels of absorption that are possible to realize. The body and mind can become profoundly still to the point where they make no impression upon the consciousness and there is a sense of being saturated with a sublime peace and bliss. It takes considerable practice to reach states of deeper absorption – you should not feel disillusioned if in the early stages of your practice you seem to spend more time disentangling your attention from thought than floating in bliss.

CONCENTRATION WITH SOUNDS

Within every spiritual tradition the use of sound plays a central role in cultivating both concentration and devotion, whether we chant the name of God or use the repetition of classical phrases or prayers to collect our attention. Again a vast variety of sounds can serve as an object of concentration upon which to focus our attention. Mantras, prayers, phrases, chants and the repetition of symbolic religious words are all sounds that are adopted as a basis for collecting our attention. Some styles of meditation will encourage the verbal repetition of the sounds, others will promote a silent rendering of the sound. There are schools of meditation that encourage the continued repetition of the sound throughout all of our daily life activities and others that encourage its cultivation only in times of formal meditation.

The objective is the same in both schools of emphasis – the attention is turned inward and focused wholeheartedly upon the sound. The intention is to cultivate a direct connection and eventually an absorption into the sound. Once more the repetition and resultant concentration serve as a foundation for further devotional or contemplative practices where there is equally an absorption into the spiritual qualities represented by the sound, phrase or prayer.

In choosing a sound to serve as a central anchor for your concentration the principles of simplicity and familiarity again hold some significance. Whether we choose the sound of OM or a simple prayer or inspirational quote, the practice begins with the slow and consistent repetition of it. Some people choose simple statements such as ‘May I be filled with compassion’ or ‘May all beings live in peace’ as a focus that is both evocative and symbolic. A single word such as ‘peace’ or ‘calm’ will serve. Through our sustained focus it becomes more prominent to us than any of the other mental or physical events that are occurring. It is important that the repetition doesn’t become mechanical or habitual but through giving each utterance of the sound our wholehearted attentiveness, it is an expression of sensitivity and meaning. Through repeating the sound we become increasingly attuned and close to it. Again many times our attention will depart to become entangled elsewhere, the cultivation of concentration occurs through the same gentle returning of attention to our primary object of focus. As we continue with the practice, our attunement with the sound deepens and it becomes an integral part of our consciousness, easily accessible to us. In the deepening of the practice the level of attunement with the sound becomes so profound that it saturates our being and we are absorbed in it. The characteristics of absorption are always joy and oneness. Even on more surface levels of connection with our chosen sound it offers us a refuge of calm and focus that we are then able to bring to the variety of circumstances in our lives where there is turmoil or confusion. The chosen sound, mantra or phrase provides a tangible place to anchor our attention in times of stress or even in the midst of activities that require little attention.

CONCENTRATION ON BREATHING

The practice of focusing upon our own breathing process as a means of cultivating one-pointedness and concentration is found within a variety of schools of meditation practice. This widely cultivated practice is adopted for a number of reasons: it is a style of practice that is unencumbered by religious connotations and therefore has a universal appeal, the focusing upon our breathing process does not demand that we concentrate on anything culturally unknown or unfamiliar to us, the breath is immediately accessible to us. No matter what else is happening in our lives, no matter what circumstances we find ourselves in – we are always breathing. Our breath is always available to us as an anchor of attentiveness.

It is a practice blessed with great simplicity. As in any other form of concentration practice the objective is to cultivate a clearly focused, undistracted attentiveness, to calm and clear the mind, to establish us in the present moment and to bring serenity and joy. Like any other form of concentration practice, the practice of attending to our breath can be developed into deep states of absorption with experiences of sublime joy and equanimity, or developed just sufficiently enough to serve as a foundation for exploring other dimensions of meditation and the development of understanding. There are a number of schools of meditation that suggest developing the principle of clearly established attentiveness utilizing the breath, prior to expanding the focus of meditation to develop insight.

There are a variety of ways of cultivating concentration through attending to our breathing process. No one of them is intrinsically superior or more effective than another – again different temperaments will find a greater sense of harmony in slightly different variations upon what is essentially a single path of establishing and developing attentiveness.

COUNTING

After settling your body in your chosen meditation posture, turn your attention inward to be aware of your breathing process. Don’t attempt to alter or control your breathing – it will not accelerate your capacity to concentrate – but simply attend to the natural rhythm of your breath. The purpose of counting is to aid us in focusing our attention upon our breath and bring us closer to each breath as it occurs.

As you breathe in, silently count one, as you breathe out count two. Continue up until ten and then begin again with one.

There will be times when your attention becomes lost in a thought process – the moment you become aware of this simply return to counting one and continue. Continue with the counting until your attention begins to feel steady and established in your breathing process and then let the counting go, remembering that the counting is only a tool to establish your attention.

FIXING THE ATTENTION

As you begin your meditation, initially bring your attention to the whole movement of your breath from its beginning to end and notice the way in which your body responds to each inhalation and each exhalation – the movements of expansion and contraction.

Notice in which part of your body you most clearly perceive your breath – it may be in the area of your upper lip and the entrance to your nostrils, the area of your chest or in the rise and fall of your abdomen. Establish your attention in the area of your body where your breath is most clearly perceptible and cultivate a sustained and unwavering focus at your upper lip, chest or abdomen. Notice the sensations that arise in this area of your body as you breathe in and out, whether coolness, warmth, rising or falling – not evaluating them but bringing a mindful attentiveness.

Again your attention will be at times pulled away by thoughts, sounds or sensations. The moment you are aware this has taken place simply return your attention once more to the area of your body you have selected. As the mind calms and steadies, you will notice changes both in the state of your body and in the rhythm of your breathing. Your body will begin to relax and feel lighter, your breathing will become more subtle and slow. Don’t interfere in any way with this natural unfoldment, but keep the attention unwaveringly upon your chosen focus.