Training The Puppy - Meditation For Beginners

This short practice begins with an explanation of meditation and continues with a short meditation. There are many misconceptions about meditation, that it is not appropriate for calm people, That the goal is not to think. I recorded this practice to help beginners develop the right habits from the beginning, and the truth is that we all need to remember the basics sometimes: how to start practicing; why even practice, and how not to practice.

Transcript

Start where you are There is some misconception about meditation You are supposed to be calm, Happy, Content Without any thoughts But as I said this is a misconception It's like saying going to the gym is for strong people Actually meditation is for everybody and you just start where you are So you don't need to sit in any special way You don't need to lie down, Stand up or sit in a full lotus position You just need to be comfortable and not slouching But neither should you be stressed or sitting too up straight So just sit comfortably And let your eyes shut Now notice What do you feel in your body? Is there anything that stands out? Maybe some pain Some restlessness, Some ease Do you feel your knees? Maybe a headache? Anything at all is just fine Surely you can feel the weight of the body Pulled down by the earth You can feel the contact of the body with the seat or mattress beneath you It's easy isn't it to just notice this weight? You are already meditating We bring our mind to rest on the body Because it helps it's stopping the constant thinking, The drifting thoughts And maybe you can also feel inside the body somewhere a movement of in and out The feeling that we are used to call breathing Where is your breath most noticeable right now? Can you rest in that feeling? Just for one breath, One breath at a time Maybe you can feel the breath touching your nose or filling up your chest Maybe your belly Breathing in, I know I am breathing in Breathing out, I know I am breathing out In, Out, In your own rhythm You probably noticed that after half a breath or one breath or two breaths Your mind wanders That's ok because that's what minds do The brain needs to manufacture thoughts, That's it's job, So there is no problem with that So the minute I notice my mind has wandered I just pick it up like a little cub And gently I bring it back and place it on the breath Like I am trying to train the cub to stay So I do it gently, I don't want to frighten the cub I want him to learn And I need to take my time for it to learn Because it's just a little cub, So I place the breath, I place the mind on the breath I rest it there and feel the movement of in and out In and out So I am going to leave you for a few breaths on your own And each time I notice the breath I just note breathing in, Breathing out Gently with no pressure straining the cub So gently in your own time you can open up your eyes And that's it, That's meditating So it's very important to remember that this process of getting lost in thought And letting the mind wander and noticing this moment that you have wandered That's a wonderful moment, Because that's a moment of awakening You notice something So each time that happens, Congratulate yourself and even you can feel this awakening moment And then gently you keep bringing the cub back, Training the cub This process of remembering and bringing back, That's the meditation itself That's the training, That is not a disturbance to the meditation This is a very important point to remember So keep practicing one day at a time, Even if it's a short meditation like this And slowly the cub will develop to be a very powerful wolf or dog or lion So we'll meet later. Good job.