Hello and welcome to Living in Freedom.
This is Sagi,
Your host,
And today we'll do a comprehensive guide for beginners and advanced meditators alike,
And I'd like to start with the reason.
We all have different causes and conditions,
Reasons we came to do this meditation and to want to learn about how to meditate,
Perhaps to increase relaxation,
Better sleep,
Better life quality,
To enhance communication with ourselves,
The people we like,
For growth,
For joy,
Happiness,
And so on.
And those are all good reasons to start the practice,
And there are more.
But as far as the fundamental reasoning behind doing those things,
Beyond all those benefits and more that we'll discuss,
It's the partial and the possibility of complete freedom from the conditions of dukkha,
Freely interpreted as ill-being or suffering.
To learn to free ourselves from the things that hinder,
From causality in a way.
Imagine the movie The Matrix,
When a person discovers that his reality may not be what it seems.
So from the Buddha perspective,
In the old days,
He'd seen the causes and conditions leading to ill-being,
And he'd find,
For that time,
In a surprising,
So very scientific way,
To find freedom from it.
And unlike other science,
It will base on inner science and on true freedom.
So we'll take the adventure today to start with the very basis of that freedom,
And to find ways to increase it in our life in a more organic way.
And we start with the classic of sitting meditation.
So the basis is to have a place in the house,
If we have a lot of extra space,
Maybe even a room,
Or an area that you make specific for sitting.
It is quite crucial in a way,
Because our mind and body will feel much more comfortable after repeating day by day,
In a similar time,
To this place of peace.
So by organizing a place,
Creating some decoration,
Perhaps things that motivate us,
Or have deep meaning for us.
Once we do that,
We set up a sitting.
It can be a chair,
Or a floor cushion,
Whatever is more comfortable and more sensible for you at this time,
So you can sit for the amount of time that you like.
If you're a beginner,
I recommend starting with a small amount of time,
So you can enjoy the sitting more,
And you'll be able to sustain better,
And not have resistance.
It will be much more efficient.
And you can do a silent meditation,
Or a guided one,
Depending on your disposition,
Both are fine.
Whatever you decide,
Stick with it,
Or create a rule of maybe one day this,
Other day that,
Or create it.
And when we sit,
It's not about clearing a mind of thought,
Or stopping thoughts.
In the most basic way when we sit,
We simply notice the thing we focus on,
And for this moment we'll talk about the breath.
So when we sit,
We don't only think on the breath,
We fully sense it,
Beginning,
Middle,
And ending,
Moment to moment sensation.
It's sensing and letting go.
You constantly need to be present,
And to enjoy.
It naturally happens,
So you don't need to use a lot of focus and other force.
It's a very relaxed process.
You're relaxing into it,
And you just enjoy the sensations of it,
And naturally thoughts will arise,
As they naturally secrete from our mind,
Especially when we have momentum in our life that supply more of it.
And when it comes,
You simply notice this is a thought.
You simply try not to engage in it,
Notice the thought,
Thank you,
I'll come back to you later.
And you come back to the breath,
And sometimes you will get lost for a while,
And then you notice,
And that's great,
As soon as you notice it's a wonderful moment.
Gently stop,
Enjoy a deep breath or three,
And come back to the present moment.
And simply repeat,
But in a way that is fresh,
And constantly full of presence,
And relaxation.
So this is one example of breath-based meditation,
And there will be other stages,
But for now we'll just talk about this basis,
Not to overcomplicate it.
And now we'll continue to some other aspects.
How do we sit?
We want to sit upright,
Not lean back on a chair,
If we're using a chair.
Not to be too rigid either,
Simply imagine kind of a line coming from the base of our back,
All the way to the tip of our pulling upwards.
So we upright,
Dignified,
Not slouching,
But not like very rigid,
So we can relax and enjoy.
In the beginning there might be some discomforts if you're not accustomed,
And your body is not yet strong,
But it will be.
Consistency is extremely important,
More than how long you may be doing this.
So simply taking the time to enjoy it,
And continue on the process.
If it's once or twice a day,
You choose the best time of day for you,
And you do it to the amount of time that is right for you.
And you can increase slowly with implementation,
But very small.
It needs to be something that you can enjoy,
And want to come back to.
And in truth it's an extremely enjoyable process.
It's your special place,
A place that brings joy,
Freedom,
And friendship with what is wonderful,
In the beginning,
Middle,
And end.
It is the whole of the spiritual life as a part.
And far as meditation,
And what does it mean in our life once we establish this beginning of the sitting,
Meditation is not meant for the cushion.
Meditation is this ability to be within your body.
Even if you keep just a little bit,
If you watch TV,
Or on your phone,
You'll have sensations.
Your way,
Your back is straight,
Your neck is not going too forward.
When you talk to people,
Instead of waiting to respond,
They enjoy the breath.
It's understanding where they come from.
The joy of making somebody else feel understood.
Skillful understanding,
Through deep listening.
It's the way we walk,
That we can walk with peace,
And enjoy every step,
That we still have legs that work.
We have a planet that holds us,
To enjoy.
We wash the dishes.
How wonderful it is to have running water,
You can adopt the temperature to whatever you like.
To have food we just ate,
You,
In your mind,
Have this gratitude,
This awareness,
This being awake to the reality of what is already here.
And this simple joy,
This wonder,
This acceptance of it,
Can bring so much freedom and zest into this very moment.
So it depends on your heritage and what you want.
In the Buddha time,
We talk about the genres as a level of concentration,
Or more to say,
What can be called deep concentration.
It's like being deeply absorbed into something.
It's deeply within it.
It is the mind within the mind,
And the body within the body.
Those levels can bring a heightened sense of sensitivities,
And leave the mind more fresh and sharp.
So we can have a deeper insight into things in our life,
Causes and conditions.
We can see the basis of joy and sadness,
Pain and pleasure,
And our relationship with them,
And how things occur in life.
And it goes to a variety of things within our life to bring us freedom.
So when we engage more in this path of meditative absorption,
We'll be able to refine our ability to notice the real causes in our lives.
It is as we've been sleeping,
Not noticing,
And repeating things endlessly in various ways.
But now we have a mannequin of ability to choose a response,
To go beyond basic causality.
And this brings great change and freedom.
And again,
This change and freedom does not come only in the sitting cushion.
It comes and refers to all points of life.
So we establish the sitting,
We establish the walking that is really recommended to do with the sitting,
If possible,
As a way to establish ourselves,
To be able to be more present and open those paths,
Those basic things,
So we won't be as distracted,
So we can actually notice and develop those capabilities of wisdom,
Of insight,
Of meditation,
Of concentration,
And so on.
So when we establish those things,
Our life opens.
And once we establish this,
And again,
When we do this,
It is within ourselves,
But anything within goes without.
We see those bases,
Life as we see it,
Life as it is,
Contemplating the variation and the connection,
The limitations of language,
Actions,
Perceptions,
Consciousness,
And so on.
So as a beginner,
You establish yourself in meditation by organizing an area,
Choosing the way that is best for you to sit at the moment,
Creating a routine of every day that is not something that you dislike,
Something that you can really enjoy and connect to and sustain on a daily basis.
And you don't need to convince yourself,
It's like brushing teeth,
It becomes a simple part of life,
But you don't have to overemphasize in that way.
Some do walk with the basis of faith,
Can do it through faith or through a lot of different energies,
Because it gives a lot of joy and freedom.
Whatever works for you.
Once we establish the sitting and walking,
And when we walk,
I'll go a few words into that,
We just enjoy the walking.
We take a time to simply notice how it is to lift a foot,
To pick up the leg,
Put it back down slowly,
Noticing all the sensation.
What does it mean to walk?
How does it feel?
Fully be engaged.
And we can notice how many breaths for how many steps in a playful way.
You don't have to control or change.
Same with meditation.
Don't over fixate it about how you're breathing.
Do you need to slow or deep or the way?
That is important.
Just naturally let it occur.
And if you have thoughts towards it,
Just simply smile to them and accept your breath,
Your steps or your speed,
The way it is,
With a kindness.
It's a gentle,
Kind process.
And we establish those bases,
Things just naturally change.
And then we can progress to various stages.
Even for advanced people,
This very base is very important to come back to.
Because some of us get lost in various works of mind sometimes or habits.
And the basis of the practice,
And for us to look at the eightfold steps or various ways of skillful living,
Bring us back and keep the practice alive through our entire day,
Through our entire lives.
Because the basis of the practice is not just a little activity for relaxation.
This is not a true basis for it.
It is a way of well-being to keep you actually there,
To not lose this life that is so precious,
To not become completely automatic and predetermined in a way,
To live beyond those conditions and the joy that comes from it.
So we discussed lately about the way you see it,
How walking meditation,
Some of the causes and ways to do it,
And things in life,
Like washing dishes,
You can add taking a shower,
Or any kind of a thing,
Walking from one place to the other,
From work,
Taking this time to truly enjoy yourself,
Relaxing to the moment,
Cultivate joy and freedom,
Noticing of the moment,
Notice if the mind wants to go towards planning,
Stress,
Past,
Future,
Anxiety,
Smile to it,
Notice that it has a place and a reason.
And we go more advanced,
We take the time as we establish this deep,
And we are based in relaxation,
Based in freedom,
To contemplate those anxieties,
Those sensations,
Without drowning in them,
Truly noticing the causes,
What happened before,
Where they occur,
Noticing,
Gaining wisdom.
The more wise and perceptive we are,
The more freedom we'll get.
When it comes to relationships,
It also brings,
It can bring a lot of freedom.
Some of us,
As the basis of jealousy,
Fear,
Envy,
And other sensations such as anger and even hatred,
When it comes to the extreme.
Noticing the causes and conditions that come before them,
Not looking at them as ourselves,
But seeing them as what they are,
Can create a fundamental change in those as well,
And transform our relationships,
The relationship of true love.
And again,
It always starts with in ourselves,
Because our ability to see what starts,
What creates those conditions,
What ignites them,
What are the excuses,
Stories,
And reasonings that we have around them,
And what the feeling.
When we're able to be cool,
To come back to them,
Notice them in the time,
Before the time,
Or after,
And then contemplating it,
To see,
To create change.
This is a huge part of the practice,
Because when one sees the error of the way,
Or the causes and the reasons,
This is a beautiful moment,
Because it gives you the opportunity to change it.
And instead of being ashamed or judgmental towards yourself,
It becomes an opportunity of the basis of this,
This practice,
This path of freedom.
So you can change,
Smile,
And choose a different route of well-being.
And if anybody later on has any questions,
Like any extra details,
Or for me to go in extra depth,
Feel free to message me,
So I can make more content that will be relevant to you,
And share this path that I am walking on,
And we are walking on,
To this joy and freedom.
With love,
Thank you for listening.
