How to be when you meditate Once you are settled and have regulated your breathing at the beginning of a meditation,
We can all follow instructions quite passively.
If we are too passive the mind will find any excuse to wander and look for trouble or distract you with thoughts that it finds more entertaining.
Continue to adjust your posture when needed,
Especially if you are uncomfortable or sleepy.
There is no need to force anything to happen and be perfect with any of this.
We must not try too hard.
Keep your breathing soft,
To the point that you may not hear it.
Soften your belly and soften your chest when you can,
Noticing when you get tense.
Remember that it is all about awareness of what is happening inside and outside and not to try and create something you think it should be.
If you are happy and relaxed,
Or if you are finding it difficult and your body is tight,
This is what is happening right now in the present moment and we can allow whatever it is just to be there.
When we lose our focus and our mind distracts our attention,
Which it always will,
Then we accept that,
Smile because we noticed,
And then bring our attention back to the support of breathing or sound.
Refocus on the tip of the nose too,
As this helps to direct the mind and prevent it from moving around too much.
This is a lifelong progress of losing it and bringing it back.
None of us can escape that truth and so stop trying to achieve anything when we are meditating.
We are letting go of these ideas and developing patience and tolerance of how things are.
If we notice pain in the body we can imagine breathing in and out of these areas,
Or perhaps speaking to that part of the body with words such as soft,
Soothe,
Allow.
And there will always be times when we feel we cannot continue with the meditation,
And that too can be useful.
We can give up trying to meditate and just sit there having given up and notice how that is too.
We must be kind in these moments,
So no need to beat ourselves up for finding things difficult,
If anything it is a good thing because we are aware of it.
At the end of any meditation allow yourself some time for doing nothing,
Resist the urge to move or to work straight away,
Remembering that we are training our mind to rest,
To be able to sit in the midst of what is going on.
