Meditation: 2 distinct formats to choose from
MIND TETRAD MEDITATION FORMAT 1 - Structured Anapanasati sit exploring the mind
Same foundation as last week:
1. A few minutes to arrive generally in your body and set mindfulness to the fore. Connect with a kind quality of attention that has an intention of letting things be known as they are, free from judging and trying to force a change in condition (letting go of any obligation to make it better or worse)
2. 5-10 minutes breath awareness (instructions 1 & 2)
3. 5-10 minutes body awareness (instructions 3 & 4)
Then, continuing with an overall awareness of breath and body as a foundation, train yourself:
4. OPTION IF YOU’D LIKE TO CULTIVATE MORE SAMATHA/TRANQUILITY: 5-10 minutes noticing piti (rapture) & sukha (bliss) (instructions 5 & 6)
OR MOVE DIRECTLY TO:
5. for 10 plus minutes practicing “Sensitive to the mind I breathe in, Sensitive to the mind I breath out” (instruction 9) (see the blog list of tips for what you can explore in this instruction)
END WITH
6. Just reading out loud instructions 10, 11, and 12 (gladdening, steadying and liberating the mind) and sitting with the resonance of those words for a minute or two without trying to do anything in particular.
MIND TETRAD MEDITATION FORMAT 2 - Less structured Anapanasati sit exploring mind
Follow steps 1-3 above until you establish a basis of mindfulness in the body.
Then, letting the breath and body awareness be a thread of mindfulness in the background, proceed directly to:
“Sensitive to the mind I breathe in, Sensitive to the mind I breath out” (instruction 9) (see the blog list of tips for what you can explore in this instruction)
• Tip: If you get distracted spend some time going back to simple mindfulness of breath and/or body and when you feel the mind is steadied open up to “Sensitive to the mind” again
END WITH
6. Just reading out loud instructions 10, 11, and 12 (gladdening, steadying and liberating the mind) and sitting with the resonance of those words for a minute or two without trying to do anything in particular.
Led meditation from Week 4:
RESOURCES FOR WEEK 4:
SOME THINGS TO EXPLORE IN PRACTICE THIS WEEK AS WE MOVE INTO
"Sensitive to the mind I breathe in. Sensitive to the mind I breathe out."
Is the mind open or contracted? Clinging or letting go/freeing?
* Can you recognize a contracted, afflicted mind? How does it
manifest? What's the sense of that in the body and mind?
* Tip: The classic formulation is attachment, aversion and
ignorance.
* Can you recognize open, flowing, free mind? What's the sense
of that in the mind and body? How does it manifest?
What is the difference between being aware/mindful of thinking and mindful of thinking?
* Tip: You can use simple noting "Thinking" to become aware of a
thought arising in the field/space of body/mind awareness.
o It might help to use more specific labels to help
register quality of a thought that you manage to notice
("planning", "story", "memory", "fantasy",
"self-judgement", etc.) but don't let labelling become
too predominant and overshadow a direct felt sense of
the energy and manifestation of thinking itself. If you
get caught up in labelling and finding the right label
becomes an obsession then drop the labelling or go back
to using the simple flag "thinking."
What's difference between focusing on and sensing the thoughts and their nature rather than proliferating the thought content and associations?
* Tip: Some ways to explore the nature of thoughts:
o Noticing their impermanence (that they come and go)
o Where do they come from? Where do they abide? Where do
they go?
o How does the thought manifest in the body? Does it?
o What is the feeling tone accompanying the thought
(painful, pleasurable, neutral) and how does that in
turn condition responses and reactions to the thought?
o Does clinging (contracted mind) arise in reaction to a
thought? What's that like? What's it like to cut
clinging and simply be aware of the momentary arisings
(the waves in the mind)?
o What's the difference between identifying with and being
ruled by thinking (as "true" or "me")
Do you ever discover a gap between thoughts (much like the gap between an in-breath and an out-breath)? If you do, what's that like? Who are you then? How is it?
* Tip: You don't need to be stimulating thinking all the time to
explore it. There may be times when naturally the thinking
subsides and you are back to resting in that foundation of
breath-body awareness. If that occurs you can simply be openly
aware and mindful should a thought arise but not waiting for
thoughts. Simply being aware of it as it is - thus.
Talk from Week 4:
Q & A from class:
Links for those who want to download talks from web:
Led meditation
Teaching
Q & A from class
