Wake Up

Many people think that meditation is about stopping their thoughts. But it isn’t true. Meditation isn’t about intentionally stopping your thoughts. Thinking is simply what our minds do. It’s just that we notice it when we begin to sit in silence.

Meditation teaches us how to stop chasing our thoughts. We see beyond our circumstances and gain a more spacious view of our lives. We become more relaxed, and better friends with ourselves. Over time, our inner world settles, both on and off the meditation cushion.

The point is that meditation helps to make us more comfortable in our own skin. Our perspective grows, and we become more open-hearted, open-minded, flexible, generous, and wise. This is what is often called our True Self, Higher Self, or even No Self—in other words, who we are beyond our ego. The more we operate in the world from our True Self, the more we can act with some level of sanity. So, instead of indulging in reactive behavior, we learn to choose kindness and compassion instead.

Here’s how it works: This meditation focuses your mind on one thing—your breath. You could also focus on a candle flame or an inspiring object like a picture of a spiritual teacher. 

1. Choose a quiet place to sit on a cushion with your legs crossed. Or, if you prefer, it’s fine to sit on a chair. If you do use a chair, it’s best to sit upright with a straight back and not slouch. 
2. Begin with a relatively short amount of time, say, ten minutes. It helps to use a timer so that you can relax your concern about when to end and simply do the mediation until the timer sounds.
3. Place your attention on the object you have chosen or on your breath. Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche gave the teaching to focus your attention on your out breath only. So, you breathe in naturally, then place your attention on the feeling of your breath leaving your body through your nostrils or the contraction of your lungs. Relax with the out breath, and then repeat this again and again.
4. As you do this, thoughts will naturally arise, but this is not a problem. Remember, the goal of meditation is not to stop thinking. Simply notice the thoughts, label them silently in your head as “thinking,” and return your attention once again to the out breath. 
5. Settle into the feeling of your breath and notice what arises until the end of your session. This meditation technique is timeless and beneficial and we have great confidence in sharing it with you.

• Khandro-la Kunga Bhuma - Tibetan Buddhist master, spiritual guide, and Oracle for the State-of-Tibet-in-Exile
• Tsoknyi Rinpoche — Tibetan Buddhist master and spiritual guide
• Daniel Goleman —  Read bestselling author of Altered Traits and Why We Meditate
• Jeff Carreira — Nondual awareness and contemplative practice
• Sharon Salzberg — Meditation teacher and author | Pioneer of lovingkindness practice in the West
• Jack Kornfield — Co-founder of Spirit Rock Meditation Center | Renowned teacher of Insight Meditation and Buddhist psychology

• Ken Wilber: Integral Meditation: Mindfulness as a Way to Grow Up, Wake Up, and Show Up in Your Life
• Ken Wilber: Showing Up for Life - Future Thinkers Podcast