Programs > Joy of Living Meditation Group Program

Series II: Calming the Mind - Meditation

Part I – Posture & Open Awareness

Points to Consider
Resting in open awareness involves letting the mind relax into a state of alert presence. The mind doesn't have any fixed reference point, but neither is it distracted or lost in thought. There is no need to block any particular thought, feeling, or experience. Simply rest in the present moment, allowing whatever happens to occur.

Questions for Discussion

• What's the difference between "spacing out" – getting lost in thoughts and feelings – and resting in open awareness?
• Does resting in open awareness mean that we bring our awareness to whatever arises in the moment or that we that we rest the mind without directing the mind to a particular object, yet without blocking any experience? What is the difference between these two?
• What is the relationship between awareness itself, which is present in each and every moment, and states of vivid clarity, openness, and bliss, on the one hand, and feelings of dullness, lethargy, and distraction, on the other?

The Seven Point Posture
1) Legs crossed or feet firmly on the floor if sitting in a chair.
2) Hands resting on the knees or in the lap one on top of the other with thumbs gently touching.
3) Spine straight.
4) Shoulders relaxed and chest open.
5) Neck tucked gently inward.
6) Mouth natural, either closed or slightly open, with tongue resting on the palate.
7) Eyes relaxed, either open or closed.

The key points are to keep the spine straight and muscles relaxed.

Daily Meditation Practice
On the cushion: Notice the difference between being spaced out and being relaxed, yet present. Come back to open awareness again and again, resting for short periods, many times.

Off the cushion: Pick a day to bring meditation into daily life. Form the intention to rest the mind in open awareness as often as you can anytime, anywhere. Remind yourself of this intention whenever you change activities, or pick moments to remind yourself of this intention ahead of time, i.e., during breaks, meal times or each time you get up.

Reading: Joy of Living 132-141; Joyful Wisdom 146-148

Part II – Meditating with Sensory Experiences

Points to Consider
Anything can be taken as a support for meditation, regardless of whether our experiences are pleasant, unpleasant or neutral. By including all experiences in our meditation practice, we eventually learn to approach everything we encounter as an opportunity to deepen awareness.

Questions for Discussion

• How do we usually relate to sensory experiences? What is the relationship between the information we take in through the senses and thoughts and memories?
• How is meditating on a sensory object, such as sound, different from the ordinary awareness we experience all the time?
• Once we become used to taking sense experiences as a support for our meditation practice, how might we respond differently when we encounter challenging situations like physical pain or sounds, images, and smells that we find unpleasant?

Daily Meditation Practice
On the cushion: In each session, pick either sounds or the physical body as your object of meditation, which ever is easiest for you. In a relaxed way, alternate between periods of open awareness and whichever focal point you have chosen.

Off the cushion: Turn some of your meals into mediation practice. As you eat, make the intention to be aware of the body during this time without focusing hard or fixating. Use the physical sensation of eating as a support for your meditation practice.

Reading: Joy of Living 142-157; Joyful Wisdom 148-159

Part III – Meditating with Thoughts

Points to Consider
Much of our waking experience is dominated by an array of thoughts. These transitory thoughts and fleeting impressions provide a rich basis for deepening awareness. Meditation is not about stopping your thoughts. Rather, it is simply a process of resting the mind in its natural state, which is open and naturally aware of thoughts, emotions, and sensations as they occur.

Questions for Discussion

• How do we typically relate to our thoughts? How is this different from taking them as an object of our meditation?
• Do thoughts always accurately reflect what is occurring in the present moment?
• When you passively observe a thought as it arises, what happens? How is this likely to impact experiences in relationships, at work, and in other common activities?

Daily Meditation Practice
On the cushion: Alternate resting in open awareness with periods of watching thoughts. Observe how this affects your experience of thoughts.

Off the cushion: Form the intention to be aware of your thoughts when you converse with others and notice how this affects your interactions.

Reading: Joy of Living 158-167; Joyful Wisdom 159-163

Part IV – Meditating with Emotions

Points to Consider
Emotions, especially negative ones, are actually the basis for wisdom. If we indulge difficult emotions or try to repress them, we inadvertently end up reinforcing them. Yet if we observe them with open, spacious awareness, these very same emotions can become powerful sources of spiritual growth and insight.

Questions for Discussion

• What are emotions? Take specific feeling, like anger. What are its component parts?
• When you observe the various aspects of an emotional response, such as thoughts and physical sensations, how does that change the way you experience the emotion? Do emotions still have the same power over the mind when observed?
• In meditation, are we trying to avoid or do away with "negative" emotions in favor of "positive" emotions like love and compassion? Do we take a different approach when a positive emotion arises vs. when a negative emotion occurs?

Daily Meditation Practice
On the cushion: Observe moments of emotional reactivity. Look to see how the mind responds to different experiences as they arise, such as pain or discomfort, sounds in the environment, or the restlessness that can occur while meditating. Do not try to change or "fix" the emotion, simply let the emotion be and observe it with a spacious mind.

Off the cushion: In conversation with someone, watch the emotional reactions that occur during the interaction and observe how this impacts what you say and do.

Reading: Joy of Living 168-171; Joyful Wisdom 163-167