Lesson
1
Reflection
"If
what a tree or a bush does is lost on you,
You are surely lost. Stand still."
– David Wagoner
Exercise - Sitting Meditation
If we're always hurrying around and never stop to take a moment and check out the landscape, internal or external, we lose touch with what's going on. We lose perspective and get carried away by unconscious responses.
Find a place, preferably a cushion on the floor, where you can sit comfortably upright with your hands relaxed in your lap. Set a time, starting perhaps with 5 minutes and increasing over time.
As you sit, count your breaths, starting with one, going to ten, and then starting over again with one. As thoughts take your mind away from your breath, simply notice and then return to the breath. If you lose your count, start again at one.
There is no wrong way to do this; it is not a competition. Simply sit still and continue to return to the breath.
Meditation is one of the oldest and most dependable methods for self discovery and spiritual path, and therefore a fine place to start.
Simply sitting, being aware of your breath, and noticing what takes place in the process allows you to see everything that happens in your head – all those things of which you’re normally fairly unconscious.
You get to notice all the "noise." You hear all the voices that normally drive your actions willy-nilly. Seeing them clearly, you can sort out what is true and helpful and what is not.
As you sit still, ignoring the itches and twitches of the body, you develop the ability to be with whatever happens, without needing to avoid or fix it.
And as you practice noticing your breath, you find a place of peaceful centering. You can return to that place anytime the affairs of the day try to overwhelm you, by simply returning to the breath.