In this meditation,
We'll practice becoming aware of the moment in which a thought has arisen in the brain and is noticed.
Once it has been noticed,
We'll add a gentle label to identify and disempower the thought,
And then come back to the experience of being in the body.
If we are particularly lucky,
We may come into a meditation with a state of stillness,
But if that's not the case,
Let's identify what has arisen.
What is the vibrational state of the mind?
What energy does it carry?
What is active within me right now?
This kind of introspection helps us to meet ourselves where we're at.
We're not entering a meditation trying to force stillness when stillness isn't present.
We're acknowledging whatever energy is,
Even if it's not stillness.
Even if it's restlessness or anxiety,
Depression,
Excitement,
Anger,
Frustration,
We can start a meditation by aligning ourselves with that.
Just bringing our energetic state into that place and seeing it.
This is our beginning point.
There is no other beginning point.
Become aware of the process of your breath.
Without controlling the breath in any way,
Just become aware of its happening.
Begin to experience its sensations and become present for the breath.
As we sit with the breath,
The mind will naturally start to drift.
When the mind does drift,
It is only our responsibility to become aware that this has happened.
In the moment that we become aware,
We will attach a gentle label to whatever thought object has arisen and then return to the body.
The first label is desire.
Labeling something with desire is for any thought object which carries with it the nature of attraction and craving.
Any future or fantasy that we have projected for ourselves,
Anything that we're hoping for in the future,
Anything that we're holding on to,
We give the label of desire and then return back to our body,
Becoming aware of the breath in its entirety again.
Our second label is aversion.
Aversion is for any thought object that carries with it a repulsive quality.
A repulsive quality is disliking.
Disliking a sound,
Disliking a thought,
Disliking a person.
We may even dislike our own feeling state.
Do we have an aversion against our own feeling state?
If we recognize that we are in this state of dissatisfaction or repulsion,
We simple label this as aversion and then continue with the same thing,
Becoming aware of the breath.
The last label we will use is noise.
Noise is for everything else.
Thoughts that don't have any hugely craving energy and don't have any kind of repulsive energy as well.
Noise can be any kind of mental distraction that interrupts our stillness.
In the same way,
We label and then go back to experiencing sensations of the body or sensations of the breath.
As we sit in meditation,
It's quite common for the same energy to try and pull focus of the mind again and again.
Some kind of disturbance reasserts its energy,
And this can be quite fatiguing.
But our object has not changed.
Our object is still to see when this has arisen,
Note it,
And go back into the experience of the body.
If these thoughts do continue to persist in the mind and call to our attention,
We can give ourselves some grace.
Instead of getting upset with ourselves and thinking of ourselves as bad meditators,
We can deploy a different kind of energy on these persistent thoughts.
Maybe it's humor and thinking,
Oh my gosh,
I can't believe I'm there again.
I can't believe I'm back into this thing.
Or amusement of being kind of surprised.
Oh,
I'm there again.
How interesting.
And if these things still continue to come up and distress ourselves,
Instead of becoming upset at ourselves for experiencing this distress,
We can hold some love and compassion for ourselves just as we would for a close friend.
If a close friend was experiencing something difficult and persistent,
We wouldn't get mad at them for it.
We would say,
Oh,
I see that you're struggling right now,
And that's okay.
It's okay to be struggling.
That's where I am right now,
And there's nothing wrong with that.
Continue to sit,
Pay attention to your breath,
And label thoughts as they arise.
Regardless of where our mind ends up or whatever energies remain feeling unresolved,
We can reflect on our wholesome intention of sitting down for meditation.
We cannot expect instant enlightenment for ourselves.
All we can do is continue practicing sincerely,
Letting go of our attachments and continuing to practice regardless of whether our feeling state is pleasant,
Unpleasant,
Or anywhere in between.
In one of my favorite books,
The Noble Eightfold Path,
Bhikkhu Bodhi concludes his summary of the Buddha's teaching by stating,
The only requirements for reaching the final goal are two,
To start and to continue.
Now having dedicated ourselves to a meditative practice,
All that is needed of us is to continue.
Whenever you're ready,
Open your eyes and gently resume your day.
