Meditate Anywhere Anytime

We have learned to meditate on the dance floor. We regularly notice moments of open heartedness. We can dance keenly aware without any ego commentary for several seconds, perhaps even entire minutes at a time. This is all good!

The next step is to bring this practice into the rest of our lives. This is the bridge between dance and life. Better to meet all of life fully, cheerfully and productively than to only live for the weekend.

The actual instructions for meditating during daily life are no different from the instructions for meditating while dancing. We notice moments of freshness, and we let them continue for as long as they continue. The main challenge is to remember to notice!

Any moment of contact with basic goodness is a moment of meditation.

All other moments are not meditation. We are sleep walking, wandering in subconscious gossip. Being distracted from basic goodness ruins everything. The goodness of our life is wasted moment by moment. It doesn't have to be this way!

Any moment of wakefulness no matter how brief is real contact with the awakened state of our enlightened nature. They are mini moments of enlightenment. One by one they dissolve our ego and confusion.

Meditate in short sessions, repeated many times.

When we notice a moment of freshness, it doesn't help to deliberately try to extend it. Trying to extend a moment of freshness isn't really freshness.

So the instruction is to notice many moments of freshness, one after another. If they happen to continue, fine. It not, fine too! There are plenty more on the way.

Do not fall into the trap of judging your meditation. When you realize that you have been wandering in confusion just return to openness and be happy to be awake again and again.

Meditate in Your Living Room

Pop a cd in the stereo. See if you can get a groove on! Dance for as long as the freshness lasts, then stop.

Meditate in Your Bedroom

There is nothing higher to achieve than the spontaneous perfection of our natural state just exactly the way it is right now. This is called "resting meditation". Resting in natural wakefulness without any manipulation or correction of our state of mind.

Sit upright on a pillow, cushion or chair with your eyes open. Be aware of your environment and how you feel. Pay gentle attention to your out breath. At the end of the out breath you may notice a moment of emptiness or open heartedness, a gap in ego's commentary. Just relax during the in breath.

If you find yourself lost in thought, think "thinking" to yourself and come back to the awareness of the out breath. Do this again and again.

Do not attempt to suppress your thoughts! Trying to stamp out thoughts is just another manipulative fixation and will not work. "I must stop thinking" is... a thought! One thought is fighting another rather than resting in natural awareness.

Recognize that thoughts are simply thoughts! Stare right at them and they will dissolve into a moment of fresh unfixated awareness. This moment of recognition is instantaneous and effortless, and usually quite brief.

Moments of fresh awareness will alternate with periods of being distracted by thoughts. Do not deliberately try to extend the moments of openness. As soon as you notice yourself lost in thought recognize freshness. Do this again and again, alternating between the two states many times.

Sometimes a moment of open awareness will continue on for a while by itself with no effort on our part. When this happens there is no need to pay attention to the breath as a specific focus. Just hang out in thoughtfree awareness for as long as this lasts. Open up and rest loose. It is quite pleasant and not a big deal.

After a while, get up and do something else. No need for long grueling sessions. Better to have several short sessions throughout the day.

Here is a more detailed meditation instruction page by Sakyong Mipham Rinpoche.

Meditation Study

I highly recommend reading several pages of Carefree Dignity every day. It is one of the best meditation texts anywhere, readable and profound.

Meet a Meditation Master

Anyone is welcome to attend one of their week long "Introduction to the Nature of Mind" retreats. It is one thing to read about it but quite another to have the enlightened nature of your own mind directly pointed out to you by a realized meditation teacher in person. This can lead to complete confidence in our meditation practice.

Here is their current retreat schedule.

Meditate Right Now

The main challenge is to remember to recognize freshness. Make a commitment to recognize as often as possible. This commitment is the essence of the spiritual path.

If you keep this commitment you will become enlightened and shine like a beacon of sanity in this world of confusion and suffering.