Mindfulness Meditation Instructions 1. Set aside time each day to develop a personal meditation practice. When undertaken with discipline, meditation can lead to clarity and peace of mind. 2. Select a place where you can sit, uninterrupted. 3. Practice meditation for at least five to 10 minutes in the morning and five to 10 minutes at night. 4. Sit in an erect and upright position on a chair or on a meditation cushion. Have a sense of regality in your posture, an inner confidence and a sense of self-worth. 5. Either close your eyes, or softly focus them on a spot on the floor about three to four feet in front of you. 6. At the same time, heighten attention to all five senses: touch, taste, scent, sight and sound. 7. Feel the skin of your palms resting gently on the top of your thighs. Hear the sounds of traffic or birds outside the window. Smell the scent of rain, or dinner cooking on the stove. Taste the mint you recently finished. Experience, through your senses, the richness of colors, shapes, scents, sounds and flavors of everyday things. 8. Now, while maintaining awareness of the five senses, bring attention to the flow of your breath as it comes in and goes out. 9. Heighten attention particularly to the out-breath, as you practice letting go of all thoughts and feelings. 10. At the end of the out-breath, notice a small gap, a space in time, before the in-breath occurs. Similarly, at the end of the in-breath, notice a small gap before the out-breath occurs. 11. Repeat the process of maintaining attention on the breath, as it naturally comes in and goes out. 12. When you find that you are lost in a thought while meditating: What do I have to do tomorrow? for example, or if you feel an emotion like anger or envy, or even joy, simply label that thought, thinking, silently, within your mind, and return your attention, very gently, to the breath, acting as anchor the present moment. Follow the breath as it slowly goes out and dissolves. 13. At the end of the out-breath, notice the gap, and then bring awareness to the in-breath. 14. Repeat this pattern of following the breath, over and over again. 15. During sitting practice, when you realize that you are caught in a thought, swept away by a story in your mind, silently label the thoughts, thinking, and return attention once again to the out-breath. Withhold self-judgment. Be kind to yourself. 16. Continue the pattern of following the breath in-and-out, labeling thoughts as thinking, and returning attention to the breath. Meanwhile, maintain heightened awareness of the five senses. 17. Shifting awareness from thought, to the here and now of the present moment, is the practice of meditation. 18. Set aside time each day to develop a personal meditation practice. When undertaken with discipline, meditation can lead to clarity and peace of mind.
Posted on: Thu, 18 Sep 2014 18:58:26 +0000
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