So if you'd like to settle yourself down into a comfortable posture for your meditation practice.
For those of you sitting on a meditation mat,
Then sit cross-legged with your right leg over your left leg.
And if you're sitting on a chair,
Then sit with your back fairly straight.
And either way,
Your hand should be resting palm-opposite your lap,
With the index finger of your right hand touching against the thumb of your left hand.
Try to make sure your body is in a fairly upright position,
Without slouching forward nor leaning too far back.
So that both your circulation and your breathing are relaxed and unimpeded.
Because everything about the meditation ought to be relaxed.
If you are unnatural in the way you're sitting,
Then it will be hard to sit comfortably for very long.
Even if you are sitting in a lazy way,
Ultimately you'll end up with aches and pains.
And close your eyes very gently.
Close your eyes so that your eyelids are just touching very gently together.
Making sure there's no pressure around your eyes.
Closing your eyes in just an ordinary way.
And at this point you might like to make a mental scan down through the whole of your body to make sure each and every muscle is properly relaxed.
Looking at the top of your head and scanning down through the whole of your body.
Relaxing each and every muscle as you go.
So down through your face,
Relaxing all the muscles,
Your jaw,
Letting your shoulders drop.
Relaxing both arms,
Forearms,
Hands and fingers.
Relaxing the whole of your torso,
Chest,
Trunk and abdomen.
Muscles of your back.
Both legs all the way down to your feet and your toes.
If you still notice any places in your body where tension still seems to linger on,
Then do your best to relax it as far as possible.
Having relaxed our body,
We can turn our attention inward to relax our state of mind.
And in this respect,
We must let go of all things and not be attached to them.
Not being attached to our physical body.
Not worrying about anything to do with our physical body.
Our body is just like a location for the mind.
A place to establish the mind or a pathway towards peace of mind.
In effect,
Our body is only transient.
Sometimes it's like we have our body on loan.
So ultimately our body is something that we don't need to obsess about.
Really,
The more important thing,
Especially for our sense of well-being and for our pathway towards spiritual knowledge,
Is to free our mind of thought.
And really you can say that all the good things that we cultivate in our lives contribute towards freeing up our mind,
Unburdening the mind,
Allowing the mind to travel towards a better version of ourselves.
If you're looking for a sense of meaning in life,
Then you could say that that's why we're really here on this quest for wisdom in our lives.
We try not to be caught up with things which hold us back from this quest.
Thinking about our appearances,
Appearances of others,
We allow the mind to let go of all of these things,
Unburdening so the mind can find its true focus.
At this point in our meditation,
We might like to bring our mind back within the space of our body,
Possibly to a place down at the very center of our body,
Somewhere around our solar plexus,
Which is a particularly important place inside ourselves,
Because it is to do with how the mind becomes established from the point of conception onwards,
Right to the time when body and mind must separate after death.
Again,
It's from this point that the two go their separate ways.
It's also the place where the mind wakes up in the morning,
And the place where the mind can go to sleep at night.
But apart from that,
Especially from meditation,
It's a place where we can gain freedom from our mind,
Where we can break free from our physical constraints.
This is particularly important for the mind,
Setting out on a journey inward,
In search of wisdom or enlightenment.
Meditation is mostly about establishing our mind at the center of the body,
As an anchor for the mind,
Where if the mind wanders,
It can return to this point at any time.
We gradually build up a familiarity with this point at the center of ourself,
Until at a certain point,
The mind will be able to go through the center,
Along an inner trajectory of the mind,
That brings the mind to deeper dimensions of reality.
Sometimes we find it easy to keep the mind in place,
In which case we just let the mind settle at that point,
Almost using our own sense of intuition to keep the mind in place.
For those who are still unclear about exactly where the mind needs to be,
Then it may be better to start out with some sort of image in the mind,
As a sort of point of reference,
An anchor to keep the mind in place.
Once the mind becomes properly adjusted,
Then whatever we start out with will become a sort of sphere inside of ourself,
A sphere that expands outwards,
Becoming softer,
Revealing at its center a pathway which opens up to lead our awareness inward,
Something that is referred to as the shared spiritual path,
A single pathway that leads towards peace of mind.
If we find there are still thoughts cropping up in the mind,
We do our best to ignore them,
At least not to elaborate on them,
Allowing the mind to calm down into silence and quiet,
Until at a certain point the thoughts will disappear altogether,
Leading to a state known as a standstill of the mind.
And if our mind is not yet at a standstill,
Then we have to pretend that the mind is already at the center of the body.
It's almost like faking it until we make it,
Bringing the mind to the center to build up a sense of familiarity until it's ready to stay there all by itself.
And even though our awareness might not be exactly at the center of the body,
The fact that we allow our mind to be free of worry at this point,
And continuously with a balance of lightness,
But also focus,
Before long the mind will find its own way to the center.
Once the mind comes into balance,
Then it will find its way precisely to where it needs to be.
In the beginning of our meditation there will not be a sense of brightness apparent.
We may have a feeling there's spaciousness inside us,
Almost as if our awareness had become light in weight and more at ease.
Sometimes we may feel as if we could almost float,
As if there's a sense of spaciousness inside.
Sometimes it's as if our breathing becomes more refined.
Sometimes it's as if we are all alone in empty space.
Often there's a sense of expansion which accompanies this state,
As if our whole awareness seems to expand in one direction or another.
Our awareness expands upwards,
We may feel that our whole body is expanding,
As if we were so tall we might reach the ceiling.
At other times it may feel as if it's contracting,
Almost as if our body were being pulled downwards towards the ground in front of us.
Other people feel as if they are suddenly falling,
With a lurching feeling at their center similar to a plane in clear air turbulence.
If it's less refined than that,
Sometimes we may feel as if the body is swaying,
As if we are rocking in a boat or in a cradle.
We may merely feel that the hair on our body is standing on end,
As if our heart rate suddenly became more elevated than usual.
For others it's as if the body loses feeling,
Or it may be as if our legs or our hands have become numb or disappeared.
If we come across any of these sorts of feelings,
So-called special hindrances in our meditation,
We should recognize them all as being symptoms of the fact that meditation is on the brink of progress.
We should continue to maintain our sense of mindfulness,
To keep ourselves on track.
And at the same time we shouldn't get too excited about such experiences,
Certainly not to the point of elation.
If the experiences seem untoward,
Then we shouldn't be afraid of anything,
Simply maintaining our mindfulness to the point where the wisdom breaks through to the point of equilibrium.
You come to the point where there are no more thoughts anymore.
It would be almost as if you cannot think of anything,
Even if you were to try.
It's very different from when we started out in meditation,
Where we couldn't stop our mind thinking.
For some people they may be worried by the apparent sensation of not breathing anymore.
Even though you might feel perfectly happy in your meditation,
There is a temptation to think that because you're not breathing,
Then there's some sort of risk involved.
But in fact the body is getting all the oxygen it needs.
You may find that when your mind is steadfast at the center of the body,
Your body will set itself up into a perfect posture for meditation.
Even though you're aware of what's going on around you,
Nothing in the outside world,
Even the sounds and sensations,
Will disturb your peace of mind anymore.
Once you reach this sort of place in our meditation,
Sooner or later the mind will drop through the center.
Often you come across a sphere arising in the mind going in the opposite direction,
Bright and clear.
These may vary in size,
Sometimes small like a star in the sky,
Sometimes medium sized like a full moon or a shining sun,
Sometimes much larger.
Things known as the sphere of the initial path.
To rise at the center,
Then we know that this is what it is.
And it's recognized as a trailhead,
The path that will lead towards peace of mind or attainment in meditation.
And if we're lucky enough to come across such experiences,
Then it should be something that we try to maintain the whole of the time.
Not just during our meditation,
But whether we're standing,
Walking,
Sitting or lying down,
Eating or whatever task we may be doing,
We should maintain it the whole of the time.
Reflecting at the center of our body to maintain the state of mind.
Whether our eyes are open or closed,
We should try to see it in our mind's eye the whole of the time.
So if we can maintain it in this way,
Then it will be something that allows us access the pathway towards inner attainments.
Something that we can build up upon for the rest of the life remaining to us.
For now we keep our mind on track lightly and gently,
Without using force,
Without trying to rush the process.
Simply doing what is comfortable for us,
And being okay accepting of the experiences that arise at our own level of progress.
We continue in this way,
Lightly and gently,
Just for a few more moments now in silence,
Until we come to the appropriate time.
If you find your mind wandering off on to other things,
Each time you realize,
Simply bring your awareness back again to the center of your body as before.
Bring your awareness back as many times as it takes to build up that sense of connectedness between your mind and the center of the body.
If thoughts arise in the mind,
Do your best to ignore them.
Or if ignoring them does seem ineffective,
Then you may make use of that traditional mantra,
Hearing the sound of the words Samma Araham,
Samma Araham,
Samma Araham,
Coming up from the center of the body for as long as it takes to pacify those thoughts in the mind.
As the inerogate disappears,
You can conjure up a new one,
If it changes,
Then you just follow it in its new form,
And your practice will become one of observation,
Observing with equanimity whatever arises in the mind,
Following the way in which the imagery in the mind evolves as time goes on.
We find that the real skill of the meditation is learning how gentle we can be with the mind.
If we think that we're already being gentle,
But we still haven't come across a sense of lightness in our practice,
We might try going down to 10% of the effort that we are using to apply the mind before.
If you still haven't come across a sense of lightness in the mind,
Then go down to 10% of that again,
Until you're sure that you have really come across a feather-like touch in your meditation.
Keep our mind on track at the center of the body in this way,
Lightly and gently,
Just for a few more moments now in silence,
Until we come to time for some loving-kindness meditation.
So we continue to maintain the mind gently at the center of the body.
The whole of the time,
Always connected with that positive energy from the inside that imparts us with a sense of joy,
Refreshness,
And energy,
Bringing us a feeling of being wide awake and very much alive.
With the awareness resting at the center of our body,
We take this positive energy that we have built up for ourselves,
And we're going to spread it first for ourselves,
And then for the happiness of those around us.
Spreading the energy as loving-kindness and happiness from within to those around us.
So resting the mind at the center of the body,
We spread the loving-kindness outwards in ever-widening circles into the atmosphere,
Purifying the environment around us,
Further and further outwards in all directions,
Like an aura or a halo extending outwards to all living beings,
With the wish that all beings be well and happy,
As we spread that loving-kindness further and further outwards to all the people we know,
Those we don't know,
Those who are still strangers to us,
To non-human beings or sentient life,
With the wish that all living beings live in peace and harmony,
Know only happiness and be free from suffering,
Further outwards to cover the whole world,
Extend the wish that all the people in the world be well and happy,
Free from suffering,
Free from illness,
Extending loving-kindness outwards into the galaxy around us,
Filling the whole universe with loving-kindness and happiness,
Originating from the center of our body.
And at this time you might like to think of loved ones of ours who have already passed away,
Of our ancestors,
Grandparents,
Wherever they are to be found,
With the wish that they too be well and happy,
With the wish that all have the opportunity to discover the same inner peace and happiness that we have built up for ourselves in meditation.
We continue to make good wishes for ourselves or others,
Spreading loving-kindness now for the last few moments of our practice in silence.
