03/12 – 4/16 The Way of Awareness: An Introduction to Insight Meditation

Way Of Awareness- Class One Home Practice-

I will arrive at 6:20 pm on the day of our practice group- in case you have any questions and of course, there will also be Q & A during the class as well.

Click Here for a PDF copy of the home practices.

1. Gratitude Practice.  Text or e-mail your buddies from class 3 things you are grateful for each day. Can be anything.
2. Sitting practice: Try sitting for a minimum of 5-10 minutes per day (or more if you are able). It is helpful to find a quiet space or room, a consistent time, and a chair or cushion that best supports your sitting practice. It is helpful to use a timer (if using your phone, place it a distance away from where you are sitting) Please practice your meditation in silence. (if you use an app-try using it only a couple times a week)
3. Experiment with different postures and meditation supports — a cushion, a chair, or a bench. Find what works best for your body to help develop an alert and easeful posture. One that supports your attention to the present moment experience of the body/breath or body/touch points or body/sounds.
4.  Bring an attitude of kindness, curiosity and interest into your sitting practice. 
   As you meditate, begin by settling into the body. Aware of sitting (and the sensations such as the body making contact with the sofa, bed, mat, the floor, or your sitting bones on the cushion or chair. Then gently bring the attention to rest on the breathing either at the nostrils, the chest area, or the abdomen (pick just one place- the easiest for you to feel the sensations of the breath). Using the breath as an anchor. Feel the sensations of breathing. You can also use touch points- hands, feet, sitting bones, lips as your anchor. Simply receive the sensations. Or you can use sounds as your anchor. Sounds near or far, all around you, spaces between sounds, tone, pitch, length, loudness. Simply listen- Please choose just one anchor: breath, touch points, or sounds. Stick with the one that is the easiest for you as your anchor.
5. This practice is a practice of remembering, so when your mind wanders and you notice it wandering or you wake up from the story/trance you are in. Simply…
   Delight that you are awake, ground in the body and gently, escort the attention back to the breath, the touch points or the sounds – whichever is your anchor. The anchor is a place you return to when you wake up and the story pops. Please let go of any judgments about returning to opening to the anchor. Every time you bring your attention back to the present moment, you are developing mindfulness.
6. Ask yourself everyday-What keeps you from paying attention in your life? From living more fully? What keeps you from living here in the present?
7. HAVE FUN! 

Way Of Awareness- Class 2 Home Practice-

 I will arrive at 6:20 pm on the day of our practice group- in case you have any questions.

Click Here for a PDF copy of the home practices.

1. Gratitude Practice. Text or e-mail your buddies from class 3 things you are grateful for each day.
2. Sitting practice: Try sitting for a minimum of 5-10 minutes per day. (more if you are able) Please practice your meditation in silence. When you are sitting, rest your attention on the felt sensations of your anchor. When you notice the mind has wandered gently bring the attention back to the experience of your anchor-EITHER touch points, sounds, breath.
3. If a strong physical sensation makes it difficult for you to stay with the touch points, sounds, breath, bring your mindful awareness to this new predominant experience and sense or feel the physical experience. Simply allow it to be there. Drop whatever comments or evaluations you may have about the experience and get to know the experience directly. Is the experience pleasant, or unpleasant?  What are the actual sensations of these physical sensations? (heat, cold, tingling, tightness, pulling, hardness etc.). Are there any edges?  Is it changing? Once a sensation is no longer calling your attention or has disappeared, return to or open your anchor Touch points, sounds, breathing. The goal is not to sit without pain. Some sittings you may have joy, calm, others discomfort, pain-In meditation & life get about equal measure- We are not trying to minimize, get rid of, ignore, run away from pain- because if you do you may spend ½ of your life running away! Better to learn how to RELATE to pleasure and/or pain with compassion, tenderness, understanding.
4. Walking meditation: Practice walking meditation at least once during the day as you move through the world. Simply, find a pace that gives you a sense of ease as you walk. Let your attention settle on the base of your feet.  Feel the contact with the ground.
5.  In the midst of your regular daily activities: Dedicate two 5-minute periods during the week to being mindful of your body. Notice your shoulders, stomach, face or hands. If you find tension in any of these places open, soften and bring in some ease if possible.
6. This practice is a practice of remembering, so when your mind wanders and you notice it wandering or you wake up from the story/trance you are in. Delight that you are awake, ground in the body and gently, simply escort the attention back to whatever you are doing. Every time you bring your attention back to the present moment, you are developing mindfulness.
7. Please practice–beginners mind – to find your way to a quieter mind is to start a new, a fresh, to begin again to open your heart & to be here, in this present moment, over & over. To let go of the stories, agendas, opinions, views, bias, projections, conclusions-to begin again!

HAVE FUN!

Way Of Awareness- Class 3 Home Practice-

There is No class next week 4/2 – Next Class will be  4/9  

I will arrive at 6:20 pm on the day of our practice group- in case you have any questions. HAVE FUN with the practices below!

Click Here for a PDF copy of the home practices.

1. Gratitude Practice. Text or e-mail your buddies from class 3 things you are grateful for each day.
2. Sitting practice: Try sitting for a minimum of 5-10 minutes per day (more if you are able). Please practice your meditation in silence. When you are sitting, rest your attention on the felt sensations of the body- the touch points or sounds or the breath. When the mind wanders & you notice it. Delight that you are present. Gently, drop the story & open to the touch points, sounds or breath. You can always begin again. When physical sensations or emotions arise in the background. Let them be in the background. When an emotion, mood, mind state, hindrance becomes compelling enough to make it difficult to be mindful of the touch points, sounds, breath or you are experiencing a struggle- then bring the emotion, mood, mind state, hindrance into the focus of your mindful awareness. Observe its changing nature. When it no longer calls your attention, return to your anchor. (You can also practice RAIN- below-) Practice RAIN (any of these letters)
   • R=Recognizing what emotion is arising.
   • A=Accepting, Allowing, opening to, making room for the emotion just as it is. Not adding, not subtracting.
   • I=Investigating. Dropping any fixed ideas you have about the emotion. Seeing it in a fresh way. Seeing what makes up the emotion- where is it in the body? What are the sensations, is it pleasant, unpleasant, neutral, got any attitudes? –Not analyzing, not fixing, more a sensory understanding. Let the body be the container for the emotion.
   • N= Non-identification. Not claiming the emotion to be who you are or how things are. Instead nurturing & resting in awareness.
3. Practice standing & walking meditation at least once in your day.
4. Gently notice when you can, if experiences are pleasant, unpleasant or neutral. (Be mindful of the habit to hold on to the pleasant, push away the unpleasant & space out the neutral) ALSO, Do your best to get to know desire, aversion, sloth & torpor, restlessness & doubt. They are energies and common sources for distraction. Are any of these more common for you than the others? What is your relationship to these hindrances when they appear? By noticing their presence, does that change how you get pulled into them? Mindfully observe and get to know any hindrance. Experiment with RAIN or if strong cultivate the opposite (desire-impermanence, aversion-kindness, sloth & torpor-raise energy-stand, open eyes, pull on ear lobes, restlessness – increase calm, steadiness count 1-3, deep breath, doubt- doubt the doubt) or 3 E’s (eyebrow, earlobe, elbow) steady in the neutral & then return open to connect to hindrance)
5. Dedicate one snack (or meal a day) to eating slowly & mindfully. Pay attention to the tastes, textures, temperature of your food & to the experience of your body eating. You might want to put down the spoon or fork between bites. Whenever your mind wanders, or you get caught up in reactions, pause & come back to simply eating.
6. Engaging in a daily activity with Mindfulness: a simple, routine activity commit to integrating mindfulness into that activity every day. Such as brushing one’s teeth, taking a shower, riding your bicycle. This practice in addition to your daily formal sitting-standing-walking-gratitude, eating practices are designed to bring mindfulness into your daily life.