Let's start by looking at our posture.
Take a moment to settle in nicely.
Make sure your back is straight.
Try to make the posture as comfortable as it can be.
When you feel like you've settled in,
You can close your eyes,
If not already.
So when we sit to meditate,
There are many different qualities of mind that we might want to bring to the practice.
Some circumstances we can't really control,
We might go and sit and sometimes be tired or agitated.
And regardless of circumstances,
It's worth remembering that meditation can be a really valuable tool.
Regardless of how we feel,
This is a tool we can keep in changing circumstances.
This is even true for daily life and not only when formally sitting on the cushion.
There are some aspects of meditation though where we have a bit more control.
For example,
We can have intentions when practicing and formulating clear intentions can be really helpful.
Another facet where we have some control is the amount of effort that we bring to the meditation practice.
And whilst meditation is a different activity than,
Let's say,
Weightlifting,
We might still wonder what the proper level of effort is.
So in this guided sit,
We'll try to explore how effort feels and how we can try to apply the right amount of effort at the right time.
So let's begin this exploration by looking in.
Is there a sense of effort right now?
Maybe there is.
For example,
Just keeping the posture can require some effort.
But maybe there isn't really that sense of applying effort.
And this makes sense because we haven't really gone with clear instructions so far.
We're just looking in,
Seeing what's there.
Now,
Let's do a small experiment and see how that affects effort.
We'll try to watch the next breath and count up to 10.
So starting with the next inhale,
You count one.
And then as you breathe out,
You count one.
That's one cycle.
And then as you breathe in again,
Count two.
And then as you breathe out,
Two again.
So we'll do that for a minute or two.
And whilst you're doing this,
Keep monitoring how effort feels.
So two practices.
Counting the breaths and monitoring the amount of effort that you're having to apply.
Keep watching the breath coming in,
Going out.
Counting the breath cycles.
And meanwhile,
Feeling the sense of effort.
Is there effort?
Is it light,
Moderate,
Strong?
And how does that feel?
But keep watching the breath as well.
All right,
Let's drop that for a moment.
Feel the sense of dropping the meditation object.
Doesn't mean you have to look elsewhere,
But you don't have to look at the breath.
In a sense,
You're dropping that effort.
Now let's take another meditation object and see how that compares to the first,
Which was watching the breath coming in and going out and counting with it.
So now we're going to look at body sensations in a specific part of the body.
We're going to look at sensations in the little finger of the left hand.
So we're moving the spotlight to body sensations in the little finger of the left hand.
And as we do that,
We're gently monitoring the amount of effort that requires.
There might be effort related to just finding sensations there or moving attention there.
And once we are watching that region,
There might be effort related to sustaining attention there and not getting attracted by other parts of the body or thoughts.
Now we'll keep watching body sensations,
But move to a different part of the body.
Again,
As you move,
Monitor how effort plays out.
So we'll move attention to the body sensations at the back of the head.
Watching body sensations in the region in the back of the head,
Right above the neck,
And sustaining it there.
Now take that area where you are watching body sensations and make it smaller and smaller until there might be no sensations in that small region,
But you're just watching.
The region could be as small as a quarter.
So you're pinpointing a region in the back of the head,
Watching body sensations there,
In a very small region about the size of a quarter.
All right,
Now move back to the little finger of the right hand,
The other little finger,
And watch body sensations there.
Now again,
Make that region smaller and just focus on the area around the fingernail.
Watch body sensations around the fingernail of the little finger of the right hand.
All right,
Now drop that completely.
Okay,
Let the tension be at ease,
Move freely in the body.
There's no need to direct attention anywhere now.
Now what happened to effort now compared to when we had explicit meditation objects?
If there's still some effort,
Could you drop that completely?
Even to the point where you can stop meditating,
You're just here.
No effort required whatsoever now.
How does it feel to really do nothing in the most fundamental way?
So in meditation practice,
Effort will be one of the tools that we use to steer ourselves throughout a sit.
And depending on circumstances,
We should not aim to apply an even level of effort.
Just like if we were going down a river in a small boat,
Sometimes we might need to row harder to keep going,
Or sometimes we can let the current just carry us.
And developing a right effort in meditation doesn't mean always applying high effort,
Or always having meditation be effortless.
Rather,
It's about being able to use effort appropriately,
Depending on circumstances.
Sometimes we need to row harder.
Sometimes it's softer.
Sometimes we might not need to row at all.
