Concentration Practices: Building Stability of the Mind

Across many different meditative traditions, various forms of concentration practices form the basis of meditation practice. Concentration practices focus the mind and bring it to a place of stability and stillness. This allows us to become more fully present, and it also allows us to become more grounded in our true nature of love, compassion, and wisdom. This is a 23 minute talk followed by a 20 minute guided meditation.

Transcript

Today,

I thought I would speak about the importance of concentration and concentration practices.

Concentration practices are common in many traditions and are often the foundation from which you build upon to engage in other meditative practices.

The reason for this is that we have to be able to focus the mind in order to then be able to direct it.

And so we see this in yoga,

In Buddhism,

In Taoism,

In Sufism.

In the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali,

Yoga is defined as yoga's citivritti-narodaha,

Which roughly translates to yoga is the stilling or restraining of the fluctuations of the mind.

And so even if you look at asana practice,

The different yoga poses,

It begins simple and builds upon it becoming more complex.

But ultimately,

Part of the purpose of those asanas is to instill concentration and focus.

As the poses get more complex,

Your mind has to be very still and focused in order to maintain that posture.

In Buddhism,

They will often start with what's called shamatha or calm abiding practices.

In these practices,

You focus on something.

It could be focusing on the breath.

It could be focusing on a certain point within the body like the upper lip or the lower dantian area.

It can be focusing the eyes on a symbol or a letter and just trying to maintain the focus on that object.

In Taoism as well,

Often they'll start with focusing in the lower dantian or focusing on the breath.

In Taoism,

This is often what we refer to as leading to the silt settling.

The metaphor being that when the mind is very active and caught in fluctuations,

It's like looking into a pond or stream where the silt is all stirred up.

You can't see clearly through that water.

When we engage in these concentration practices,

It allows the silt to settle and the water of the mind and consciousness to become clear.

When we're able to concentrate and focus and still the mind in this manner,

It allows us to move closer to perceiving ourselves as we are and reality as it is.

Because whether we realize it or not,

Most of the time,

Most of us are caught in various levels of delusion because the mind is perceiving from a place of past experience,

From traumatic events and how we responded to those,

Our defense mechanisms,

Judgments.

The mind is continually flitting from thing to thing.

This is why they often compare the mind to a monkey.

It's easy for the mind to just jump from neural synapse to neural synapse without ever becoming still.

But as long as it's doing that,

Then we aren't able to actually be present.

Because to be present means to perceive through the senses of the body,

The sense organs,

The eyes,

The ears,

The nose,

The tongue,

Experiencing each moment as it is in a precognitive state before the mind enters and starts layering those judgments and wishes,

Attachments,

Aversions,

All of which pulls us into the future or the past and away from the present moment of experiential reality.

And so in order to still the mind,

We need to practice.

We need to engage in concentrative exercises because the mind is like a muscle.

And if we don't practice and exercise it to cultivate the ability to concentrate and to focus,

Then it's an unruly muscle that's just going all over the place.

So that is why concentrative practices are often the base of many meditative traditions.

Because once we learn and cultivate that strength of concentrating the mind,

Then the mind becomes the servant of the soul,

The servant of consciousness,

Of divine awareness experienced through us,

Through our limited individuated being.

Otherwise,

The mind is in the place of the master and things run amok.

And this does take practice,

Particularly in modern times where we are inundated by external stimuli,

By the news,

By advertisements,

By internet,

Radio,

Social media,

All these different forms of information and data coming at us.

It becomes very easy for the mind to get caught by the outer world,

By feeling like we must do something,

That we should change this or control this or try to exert our will in some way to make things be how we would like them to be.

But ultimately that's coming from the sympathetic nervous system response,

The fight or flight.

And ultimately it's from fear.

And so it takes a great degree of discipline to make the decision and follow through to let all of that go for a little bit and just focus on the breath,

On a point within our body,

On something to focus the mind so that it is right here,

Right now.

And as we do so,

We touch into that peace that we always carry within us,

Regardless of what might be occurring in the outer world.

And as we ground within that peace,

We find our inner power,

Our inner strength,

Which ultimately leads to our freedom.

Because while often we might think that freedom is doing what we want,

When we want,

And having things be how we want them to be,

That is not freedom.

That's a form of liberty in the material world.

True freedom comes from within.

It comes from having a degree of agency over how we relate to all that we experience.

As I said,

This takes practice and discipline and commitment.

And especially when we begin,

It can be very difficult because many of us have had years or decades of not practicing,

Of not using the mind in this manner.

And it would be like not using our bicep for the last 30 years of our life,

And then suddenly trying to do a bicep curl.

At first you're going to struggle even to lift your hand or your arm.

But eventually,

As you persist and continue with dedication,

Soon you'll be able to lift a one pound weight,

And then a five pound weight,

And then you'll be able to lift even more.

And it's similar with the mind.

At first it can be very difficult.

And the mind will encourage us to give up and say,

Oh,

You can't do this.

Why are you even bothering?

There's so many more important things to do.

And that's where we have to have discipline.

That even in those moments when we don't want to,

We have to make a commitment to ourselves to practice.

It's also important to be aware that for many of us,

When we first begin engaging in meditative practices,

Or even if we've been doing it for years,

When we first sit down each time to practice,

It can be common for the mind to seem even more active,

As though the act of sitting to meditate has somehow exacerbated the issue of the mind.

And that's another reason the mind will use to say,

See,

This isn't working.

It's doing the opposite.

We should just stop this.

But actually,

That is a sign that the practice is working.

And it's not that the mind is actually become more active.

What's happened is that we've paused enough that we're actually becoming aware of what's happening in the mind all the time,

But we're just not aware of it.

Because we're not present,

Because the mind is taking us in the past or future.

And so we don't realize how much activity is happening,

How many hundreds or thousands of thoughts are happening each moment,

Each minute.

And so when we first begin to practice,

It's natural for it to seem like the mind is more stirred up.

And we have to just continue practicing.

Allowing that to be there,

But not getting drawn into it as best we can.

And bring our focus back to the object of concentration.

And we'll get carried off of it.

We'll get distracted.

We'll go down a little rabbit hole.

And that's okay.

And when we notice that,

When we catch ourselves that we've lost focus on the object of concentration,

We just gently guide the mind back to the object of concentration.

And again,

At the beginning,

Maybe we're lost in thought trains for 30 seconds or a minute or more.

And then we bring it back.

But as we continue to bring it back,

We begin to strengthen that muscle of the mind.

And it becomes easier and easier.

So soon it's only 15 seconds that we're lost in thought before we come back to focus on the object.

And then it's five seconds.

And then it's one second.

And then it becomes less and less.

And we begin to rest in that stillness that arises when we are able to maintain our focus consistently.

When we gain stability in that focus and concentration,

There is a stillness and a quiet and a peacefulness that we experience.

As we gain stability in that concentration,

It becomes easier to be aware of our natural state,

Of the love and compassion and wisdom that is our true nature.

And it's not that we cultivate the natural state.

The natural state is always there within us.

The issue is that it's often obscured because we're caught in those vacillations of the mind.

And so as we cultivate that stability to rest in stillness,

We become aware of our natural state that is always there within.

And we just haven't been in touch with or conscious of.

And then that stability that we cultivate,

That strengthening of the muscle and the mind allows us to gain greater stability in resting in our natural state,

In returning to our natural state when we get thrown off by experiences in the world,

In relationship,

In work.

And as we soften and relax into that state of presence,

It brings forth all of our natural beauty.

And we're able to share that with others and the world.

And we're able to end up impacting the world without trying to impose our will on the world,

Just from it naturally flowing out from us.

As I said,

It's the fluctuations of the mind that keep us in an obscured state.

And this too is often recognized in different traditions.

So as I said,

In Taoism,

They'll often use the metaphor of the silt settling.

And so when the silt settles and the water becomes clear,

We can perceive clearly our true nature and the nature of reality.

In Buddhism,

They use the metaphor of clouds obscuring the sun.

And so as the mind settles,

The clouds clear and we begin to perceive the sun.

When it's a really cloudy day and we don't see the sun,

We still know that the sun is there.

And it's just obscured.

And it's the same with our true nature.

And so as we drop into that stability of stillness,

We begin to see the sun more and more clearly as the clouds clear.

This metaphor is also really apt because when we drop into that stillness,

We also touch into our inner light.

And we realize that our true nature is light.

I've talked in the past about how it's easy being human as we get caught by everything that's happening in the outer world to think that the way to make things better is to point at what's wrong,

To point at the darkness.

But you don't get rid of darkness by focusing on it.

You get rid of darkness by increasing the light.

And so as we focus on that light within that arises out of that stillness,

Which we experience from entering into a concentration and focus,

That light that arises will clear the obscurations even more within ourselves as well as within the world around us.

And we begin to realize that we are all impermanent,

Complex,

Continually changing beings.

That we are all part of an underlying unity that is encapsulated in this level of reality in individuated forms that give the illusion of separation of self and other,

But that underneath that,

It is still all one.

And as I said,

We use the sense organs to cultivate this ability to focus and to concentrate.

And that's because the sense organs are the mediators between the mind and the objects of the external world that we apprehend with the mind through the sense organs.

And so the sense organs always perceive in present moment.

It's only when it's interpreted through the mind that it gets drawn into these other aspects of fluctuations of judgments of past and present,

Etc.

Generally we start with concentration with an object.

Eventually once we've developed a strength of the mind that we can maintain stability of focus on an object,

Whether that's the breath or a physical location within the body or something that we are using our eyes to focus on.

Once we've developed that strength,

We can move to concentration without an object where we begin to rest in the stillness itself and concentrate on experiencing that.

And while ultimately the purpose of these concentrative exercises in these different traditions are to help us reveal our true nature and move towards our natural state,

They also have many other benefits.

As we cultivate that power of concentration and the mind becomes more still,

It improves our focus on anything that we direct our attention to.

So it can be good for studying or learning something new.

It can be good for having greater focus in listening,

In dialogue,

In conversation with friends and loved ones.

This level of concentration begins to still the mind and is extremely helpful for anxiety,

For calming worry.

It can help with attention deficit disorders.

And so there's many other benefits from this.

So for the meditation today,

We will mainly do concentrative practice that will use the breath as well as potentially focusing on certain areas of the body,

Perhaps the philtrum,

The area between the base of the nose and the upper lip,

Possibly the lower dantian,

The energetic center that sits two to three inches below the umbilicus in the middle of the lower abdomen.

Just remember that as we do this,

It's natural for it to be challenging at first.

And so it's important to have self compassion and be gentle with yourself and just keep gently guiding the awareness back.

With repetition,

With practice,

It does get easier.

At the beginning,

Sometimes we just have to have a little bit of trust or faith that it will get easier,

Even though it might seem like an impossible task.

So if you will,

Please find a comfortable and stable posture for meditation.

You can be seated or lying down.

The most important thing is that you have a stability beneath you that supports you in such a way that you can let go of any unnecessary tension,

Holding or guarding.

If you're seated,

It's important to make sure that the knees are below the hips.

If you need to prop yourself up more,

Then go ahead and do that.

It's important to start higher if the hips are not super open,

And then you can lower over time as the hips open and relax.

But if the knees are higher than the hips,

It creates constriction and prevents smooth flow of energy and blood circulation through the hips to the lower abdomen and down through the legs.

Make sure that your torso is upright if you're seated and that your spine flows with its natural curves.

Check that the shoulders are relaxed back and down and that the head is resting over the shoulders and spine.

For many of us,

This may entail guiding the chin towards the back one or two inches.

Once you arrive in your posture,

Begin to bring awareness to the natural movement of the breath.

It might be long or short,

Choppy or smooth,

Shallow or deep.

Simply observe the natural movement of the breath.

Begin abdominal breathing,

With each inhalation allowing the abdomen to gently expand,

And with each exhalation allowing the abdomen to gently contract.

As you continue abdominal breathing,

Allow your awareness to gently move through your body,

And with each exhalation,

Try to release any unnecessary tension.

Now,

Bring your awareness back to the movement of the breath.

Begin to follow the length of the inhalation and exhalation.

Notice the moment that the inhalation begins.

Follow the entire duration,

Moment by moment,

Of the inhalation.

Now notice that there's a moment that the inhalation ends.

There's a slight pause.

Then there's a moment that the exhalation begins.

Follow it for the entire duration,

The exhalation.

Notice the moment the exhalation ends.

And again,

It does not need to be long or short.

Simply follow the movement of the breath,

Trying to observe it ever more closely.

If thoughts come in and you get distracted,

Simply guide the awareness back to the breath.

Simply following the breath.

Now,

Continue breathing,

But bring your awareness to the philtrum,

The space between your upper lip and your nose.

Focus your awareness on this space.

You may notice sensation as the air passes by on the inhalation and exhalation.

Try not to get too drawn into the sensations moment to moment,

And concentrate your awareness simply on this space.

If the mind gets distracted,

Gently guide it back to focusing on this area between the upper lip and the nose.

Now guide your awareness within.

Notice if there's a greater sense of stillness,

Of silence.

Allow your awareness to rest in the stillness.

Bring awareness to the physical body.

Feel the stability beneath you,

Supporting you and holding you up.

And the air around you,

In which you are immersed like a fish in water.

When you are ready,

Maintain a connection to the stillness within and to the movement of the breath.

I encourage you gently and slowly to open your eyes,

Taking in the world around you,

Perceiving from this place of stillness.

To develop concentration is a practice.

It's an exercise.

It takes dedication,

Commitment,

And regularity.

We don't go from not running at all to deciding we're just going to go run a marathon.

We don't go from not lifting weights to picking up the heaviest one.

Need to build up to it.

And at the beginning,

It can be very hard if it's a muscle that we've never used,

If it's something that we've never done.

And so we have to be gentle with ourselves,

Even while maintaining the discipline and commitment to continue practicing.

And just like running a marathon or lifting a heavy weight,

You don't start there.

And it's often best to start with much smaller amounts more frequently as you build up.

And so there's no need to try to start with an hour of concentrative practice.

In fact,

For most people,

It's best to start with three to five minutes or maybe 10 minutes,

Five to 10 minutes,

But multiple times a day,

At least daily.

Twice a day is better.

Three times a day is even better.

If you have the flexibility to do more sets throughout the day,

That's fantastic.

So doing shorter amounts of time,

First of all,

Makes it easier to fit in and easier to commit to doing without feeling overwhelmed.

But it's also feasible for the muscle of the mind that is not yet developed.

It starts slow,

And then with practice,

It gets easier and easier to extend.

And as we begin to have experiences of the stillness,

Of the peace within,

Of the beauty of our true nature,

It brings greater motivation and passion to continue practicing.

So try to carry this with you.

And if you're interested,

Make a commitment to yourself to practice.

We all have this within us.

We all have the potential and the capacity to attain enlightenment,

To live and experientially exist from the natural state of wonder,

Of love,

Compassion,

And wisdom of our deepest humanity.

And it makes life so much more meaningful and worthwhile.

We can each become that light that shines brighter and brighter,

And in so doing,

Clears away the darkness.

Thank you all for joining me today.

Reviews

This resonated deeply within me. Thank you for sharing this kind and sincere guidance.
🙏✨

i found a track of yours i’d not heard before. thank you for this moment of mindfulness 🙏🤍✨🌹🦋🌈

Great talk and meditation. You guided both parts of the practice with so much clarity and a soothing presence. Thank you. 🙏🏽

🖤 > 🤍 From darkness to lightness by pointing the mind in the right direction. Your language is so clear, concise and tangible. Truely motivational. Thank you.

Wonderful guidance and such a calming meditation.🙏

You are such a great teacher Thomas! Loved this talk/meditation. Shared it with my peeps. Thank you! 🙏✨

Thank you Thomas for great reminders of the beauty & simplicity meditation is, I will share this with friends & folk who often struggle when beginning their journey within, hope you’re well sending love from the Southern Hemisphere ✨

Thank you Thomas for sharing about the importance of practicing concentration. Meditation in various forms has become the moments I cherish the most during my day. During your talk, it’s the word “light” that has puzzled me a little. What does that word mean? During our meditation together there came a point when I slightly sensed more light inside of me, a slightly brighter inside (as my eyes remained closed). That’s when I felt my sense of separation dissolve and I sensed the connection with everything. Kind of like looking at a starry night and not being able to look at the light from the stars individually but rather as one light. I’m curious to know how you define light, what you mean about light taking away darkness, if after your years of practice you actually experience light inside of you in the literal sense of what the sun provides us when it rises over the part of the earth we live in. So grateful to have you literally shed more light into my spiritual practice. 🙏

Thank you Thomas, each of your talks/meditations is a precious gift 🙏💛

Thank you for your continued support for your practice. To know the peace, stillness and light of our true nature is all. Love and Light always Sue