In the book, Everyday Enlightenment by Dan Millman, he offers some more tips about meditation and how it works:



* Sit in a balanced, stable, comfortable posture with your spine straight and your shoulders relaxed. (Recommended postures range from a variety of cross-legged postures, to sitting on the knees, to sitting on a chair, or even lying down).

* Keep your eyes closed or half-open; experiment to find what works best for you.

* Keep your tongue on the roof of your mouth.

*Relax and breath with your belly.

* Choose an object of attention. It may be a mantra or chant, the act of counting or watching your breath, visual images (internal or external), internal or external sounds, or, in the practice called mindfulness or insight meditation, noticing whatever sensations, emotions, images, or thoughts arise spontaneously in your field of awareness.

* There are different and equally valid views on how long to sit. Some say as long as you are interested in sitting. Others say a definite time, perhaps setting a timer with a bell. You may wish to set a minimum time such as ten or twenty minutes, or start simply, with three to five minutes and work up from there. Experiment as you would for any other practice.

(While the author doesn't go into any detail about the aspect of keeping the tongue on the roof of the mouth, it has been taught to me that one of the reasons is because at the roof of our mouths, we have a minor chakra.)

MEDITATION FOR INSIGHT
(chapter on Tame Your Mind)

(Insight meditation involves noticing (being mindful) of the thoughts, images, inner and outer sounds, voices, emotions, physical sensations...as they arise without casting judgment.)

"The beauty of insight meditation is that you can do it any time, in everyday life, with your eyes open, using whatever task is at hand as your meditative object. This is the key to understanding all Zen arts, including serving tea, arranging flowers, calligraphy, archery, swordplay, and other martial arts. All are forms of meditation. In fact, anything you do in daily life with real attention is a means to tame your mind."

(Again, the author does not go into any particular practice or exercise for this type of meditation but here are some suggestions I have taught to my students:

For an experience in mindful awareness, take any task you are performing and be aware of the actual action taking place, for example, if you are washing dishes, become aware of the muscles involved in the actions, the sound of the water, the temperature of the water, the soap bubbles...any and all things associated with the task at hand and nothing else...a total experience in the task.

Or, we can go another way, which is one of my favorites to do as it also helps with heightening sensory perception. With this practice, I choose a spot somewhere, usually a room I have dedicated to meditation, and I lower the lights and have the space as quiet as possible. I will sit or lay down and relax with three deep breaths. From there I do nothing but listen. If thoughts come into my mind (as they will always do), I try to ignore them and re-focus on the silence.

It's pretty amazing what you can hear and feel within what we consider as "silence."

Give these things a try and let me know how it went for you...what was your experience?

Have a great weekend everyone!
Dragonflower