Diving Into The Ocean

Meditation can be something that is precious to us and we really look forward to it. Instead of a difficult training of the mind, we show that it is like exploring a meadow with curiosity, interest and freedom. We come out of our usual habits and see ourselves with new eyes. For example, the body becomes less of an object that we own, and more of a flow of energy and a mystery. Mindfulness can be less of a mind-gym, and more of an invitation to remember who we are, and the experience of coming back home to ourselves, to the simple caring presence: Here I Am.

This class is intended to shift our view of mind and thought within meditation practice. Thought is often regarded as a distraction and disturbance to our meditative concentration, samadhi. It can be if we are entirely lost in the stories. However, we can be kind to the mind, befriend thought, and be a fair witness to the stream of consciousness. We can see thought as an entirely natural life process in the mind, just as sensations are to the body, arriving and passing constantly and playfully. As we do so, we give more space to an awareness that is not thought but gives rise to them, yet is undisturbed by them, like clouds which do not disturb the sky.

In this class, we will explore and practice how meditation is not only for immediate benefits such as calming and centring but can make a radical shift in how we look at things and live our lives. Experiences, whether pleasant or unpleasant, can not only be regarded as visitors but also as our teachers. especially if they are patterns or narratives of mind and heart. We will learn about and practice the Three Characteristics, or The Three Jewels. Experiences, even if rather sticky, like the judgemental mind, can still be clearly seen as arising and passing by themselves, leaving us much freer and lighter. As we step out of them, we step into a more problem-free basic awareness.

The hints of the liberated mind in meditation include a sense of stillness, the welcoming of appearances which come and go and do not disturb us, and totality as background. We can also describe it as a big mind, which is bigger than the dualities of liking and disliking, and also expanded and spacious. These hints give us a direction in our practice. We will practice this in meeting the subtle places in the body and also our emotional life, that tends to sweep us away. We will explore how to work with feelings and emotions within a meditative context, giving them space, yet knowing them to be empty and passing.

One of the keys to consistency and depth in our daily practice is experiencing meditation as joyful and not at all onerous. Stopping and gathering ourselves into the now, meeting our basic lived experience is primal and can be a source of deep happiness. It is similar to the practice of refuge, namely the sense of being held by our spiritual life, which is our shelter amidst the storms. One source of concentration, samadhi, is happiness, perhaps more than struggle. If mind-body content comes up that seems disturbing or distracting, we can watch them as they pass by and observe the return to spacious ease.

Lovingkindness and the other brahma viharas, namely compassion, joy and equanimity, are basic to mediation practice but are often practised separately. There is a tendency for meditation to be dry and to define mindfulness as being very minded rather than heartful. But we can discover that the act of paying attention to our life is basically kind and caring. If there is difficulty mediation can be like embracing a crying child within and seeing its needs. Awareness is universally friendly as it connects us with everything that we observe. It is helped by welcoming and allowing whatever arises

Meditation can jump us out of the ordinary mind. We can find ourselves in a much more spacious and limitless world, yet at the same time, we know great intimacy with it. There can be moments of grace, and realization, moments when we let go into a bigger awareness. We ourselves can become lighter and freer as a result. Visitors do arrive, all the usual content of mind, of heart, of narratives and our stories, but they are seen against a background that is big enough and open enough to absorb them and let them pass. Meditation can be less about fixing anything or doing anything and more about just being available and aware of what arises by itself.

Sometimes it may not be easy to keep our practice going, especially in the midst of a busy life. Here we will offer some well-tried ways to firmly establish our motivation and faith, which helps us to cherish the practice. These include the sense that diving into our inner world is an adventure, different all the time, that we can see meditation as finding our refuge and recognizing its benefits. When we dive into the ocean we can delight in the strange fish we meet there. This class will also review the various directions taught in this course, and suggest some model tracks for a meditation session.