Arnie Kozak, Phd

Meditation Made Simple: Seven Considerations to Get You Started

About the AuthorArnie Kozak, Ph.D., is a Licensed Psychologist and a Clinical

Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychiatry at

the University of Vermont College of Medicine. He is the

founder of the Exquisite

Mind Psychotherapy

and Meditation Studio

in Burlington, Vermont

(exquisitemind.com). He

has practiced vipassana

(insight) meditation for

over twenty years and is

the author of Wild Chickens and Petty Tyrants: 108 Metaphors

for Mindfulness and The Everything Buddhism Book. Arnie is

on the teaching faculty of the Barre Center for Buddhist

Studies. Visit Arnie’s blog, Mindfulness Matters, for daily

inspiration and meditation support.

Table of Contents

You Already Know How To Meditate ...................................... 4

Meditation Is Neither Complicated Nor Mystical ................... 5

You Do Have The Time: If You Are Breathing You Can Be Meditating ............................................................. 6

You Can’t Do It Wrong .............................................................. 8

Your Religion, If You Have One, Is OK With This ................. 9

You Have Everything You Need To Start Right Now ........... 11

What Comes Next? ................................................................... 13

You Already Know How to MeditateThere are thousands of techniques that may be considered meditation. This guide will describe mindfulness meditation.

Meditation through the skill of mindfulness is native to all of us. We all have the capacity to become absorbed in the moment, and we usually do so when special circumstances are in place – a beautiful sunset, a magical moment, or a crisis for that matter.

Practicing meditation makes this native skill available in every moment, even in the most ordinary of moments. You don’t have to wait around for gorgeous sunsets; you don’t have to arrange your life to catch things just right.

Mindfulness is right here, right now, and if you practice meditation you’ll be able to access mindfulness (the fruit of meditation) in any moment – even the boring ones, the difficult ones, the crazy ones, the ordinary ones.

So, relax. You already know how to do this. You’ve just been too busy to notice. You don’t even have to relax – just be who you are right now, and you’ll be OK.

Meditation takes this native capacity and gets it into shape just as you would lift weights to get your muscles in shape. Meditation will get your brain in shape (and there is a growing body of scientific evidence to support this).

As you know, when you lift weights you don’t get into shape instantly. It takes time. Likewise, training your mind will take time to see the benefits of improved concentration, increased appreciation and clarity of your sensory experiences, and an ability to cope with even the most difficult circumstances with ease. There are other benefits as well, such as being less reactive, more engaged, and generally happier.

Meditation Is Neither Complicated Nor MysticalThe instructions for meditation couldn’t be simpler: Pay attention to what is happening now. When your attention moves into the future or past or starts talking about the present, bring it back. Repeat as necessary. Got it? Not too complicated. Focus. Get distracted. Return your attention. Repeat.

Something called “awareness” can notice and redirect attention. And that is what we cultivate when we meditate – awareness. Awareness is psychological, not mystical. It’s a faculty that we all have, and, as noted above, we all have the ability to be mindful in some circumstances. Meditation will make mindfulness available in all circumstances. There is nothing mysterious about this. Nothing that can’t

be observed directly, right here, right now. In fact, if we start to talk about things that we can’t observe right here and right now, then we’re not talking about mindfulness meditation. Mindfulness meditation is simple, portable, and durable. We can take it everywhere and it holds up to any circumstance and challenge. We don’t need to get into the ineffable, the unknowable, or the sublime to be awake in our own lives. We just need to be breathing.

You Do Have The Time: If You Are Breathing, You Can Be MeditatingMeditation can happen in any moment of your day. It can happen while you are taking your shower, walking to work, and eating your lunch. And, it can be a formal practice where you are doing nothing other than meditation.

The fact of your breathing is something that is always happening now. If you are not breathing, then meditation is the least of your concerns! Our lives are overburdened by commitments and stressed from information overload and the demands of living in the Information Age. “I don’t have the time to meditate,” is a familiar refrain.

Well, you do have the time; if you are breathing, you have the opportunity to meditate. In any moment, you can bring your attention to what it feels like to breathe right now, even if this is just for one cycle of the breath – in and out. Do this for a few seconds, or even a few minutes. Your day could be punctuated with moments where the simple, natural, and physical process of your breathing becomes the focus of your attention. Of course, if you can devote some dedicated time to it, even better. There is no magic number when it comes to the time to spend meditating. Even a few minutes are better than none at all. Twenty minutes is a popular target, and

if you are ambitious, forty-five; however, as few as eight minutes may be enough to change your life.

Paying attention to breathing has certain advantages. You could, of course, pay attention to anything, but if you choose your breathing, three benefits follow. First, the breath is ubiquitous and portable. You don’t need any props or special conditions (other than being alive). And you can’t forget to bring it with you. You don’t need a special mantra or object to carry with you. Second, breathing brings us into our bodies and our bodies live in the now. Our

bodies don’t generate stories about the future and past. There is a vast wisdom in our bodies, and our breathing helps us to get acquainted with it. Finally, every breath we take is colored by our emotional state of the moment. So, if you are paying attention to your breath throughout your day, you’ll have your finger on your emotional pulse, so to speak, and be at the ready to step in if things are moving in a direction you don’t want things to move. So, if you are breathing, you can be meditating!

In fact, anything you do throughout your day can be an opportunity for meditation. Getting into the shower, brushing your teeth, driving to work, walking from your car to work … whatever you do in your day is source material for meditation.

Meditation can be piggybacked onto whatever you are doing right now. Of course, it might not be a bad idea to devote some time to meditation in the same way that most Americans devote some time to American Idol and about twenty more hours of television programming each week.

A study from Harvard revealed that we are often not giving our full attention to the activity at hand (hey, no big surprise, really). Some activities, like sex, got about 70% of attention; other activities, like personal grooming, got about 30%. Where was attention? Anticipating the future, reviewing the past, passing judgment on the present. The more time study participants spent away from the present moment, the worse their mood. In fact, starting your day off in this way, anticipating the future while taking your shower and getting dressed on automatic pilot might cast a negative shadow over your day.

So, why not give your full attention to these activities? If you do, you’ll be starting your day with meditation instead of rumination and you’ll feel better as a result. Besides, you’ll be getting your brain into shape too, and you don’t have to spend any extra time to do so. (Okay, perhaps a little time because you won’t be rushing around like a decapitated chicken.)

You Can’t Do It WrongOne of the most frequent complaints I get from my meditation students is the concern that they can’t meditate because they can’t concentrate. They can’t clear the thoughts, clutter, and commotion from their minds.

Relax. The goal of meditation is not clearing the mind of thoughts or making it a “blank slate” (at least not mindfulness meditation). The goal of meditation is not to relax. Imagine pressuring yourself to relax? How is that going to work out? Relaxation is a fairly reliable by-product of meditation, but it is not the primary goal. Just pay attention to what is happening now, without preconceptions, agendas, and conditions, and see how you feel. You just might feel relaxed.

Meditation is a process, not a product. In fact, we ourselves are processes, not products. When we treat ourselves like products, we’ll only be frustrated. Likewise, meditation is about paying attention to the process, and since most processes are neither good nor bad, whatever is happening now can be okay. There is a real opportunity here to “go with the flow” – the process of what is happening now.

If your thoughts are racing, notice racing thoughts. If you’re laden with regret or worry, notice regret or worry. You’re still meditating; you’re not doing it wrong! The difference is that you are aware of these things, and, with practice, you can make choices about where your attention goes and get skilled at disentangling attention from stories that are distressing.

Meditation is not about attaining a special state; it’s about paying attention. It’s not about achievements or outcomes. Rather it’s about noticing whatever is happening without judging that as good or bad; without generating opinions about it. Relax the opinions and real relaxation may not be far behind.

Your Religion, If You Have One, Is Okay With ThisMeditation is not religion. Or at least it doesn’t have to be. All religions have a meditative tradition, but meditation is just about paying attention to what is happening now. Religion doesn’t own attention. You do.

Meditation is not necessarily spiritual either. There is a strong tradition of secular meditation in the West that started in 1979 at a university medical center. Patients started paying attention on purpose to their experience to cope better with chronic illness and pain. No religion whatsoever.

If you are a person of religion, don’t worry. Meditation, at least mindfulness meditation, is not in

conflict with your beliefs. A study found that people who practiced mindfulness became more of whatever they were already. If you are Protestant, you’ll be more Protestant. If you are Catholic, you’ll be more Catholic. If you are Jewish

you’ll be more Jewish. If you are Muslim, you’ll be more

Muslim.

Since meditation is giving our full attention to whatever it is we are doing now, this

increase in piety makes sense. If you pay more attention to what is happening in church, you’ll get more benefits. Simple as that.

While meditation and mindfulness are often associated with the Buddha or Buddhism, there is nothing essentially Buddhist about meditation. Meditation existed long before the Buddha and he did not invent it. The Eastern traditions don’t own meditation. Again, you own it.

The simple fact that we have a brain that works in particular ways has more to do with meditation than anything Eastern or esoteric.

However, people in the Buddhist traditions have been practicing these techniques for 2500 years, so they know a thing or two about how to do it. There is a rich tradition of practice and a deep literature to fascinate, inspire, and guide.

If religion or spirituality is not your agenda, that’s okay too. Meditation is at its core psychological. As a psychologist, I’ll admit that I’m biased, but there is a lot of evidence to support this notion.

God and spirit can be involved but they don’t have to be. That gives you infinite (no pun intended) flexibility.

You Have Everything You Need To Start Right NowYou can meditate anytime anywhere. You don’t need any special conditions. Wherever you are right now is just fine. You can be on a crowded train, waiting for a bus, or in a quiet monastery. All of these geographies are equally compatible with practice. And meditation can occur in any moment. You don’t have to wait until your mind is clearer or things are calmer (as if that might ever happen). You don’t need any props. While it can be helpful to have a setting and some accouterments for practice, these are not required.

Make a space for practice. It can be helpful to have a dedicated place for meditation. If you don’t have an entire room, a part of a room where your meditation cushion can go will suffice. To devote some of your home’s real estate to meditation announces your commitment to this practice and facilitates it at the same time.

A proper cushion (usually called a zafu or gomden) can help you to get into a comfortable posture with your hips above your knees. You can put your zafu or gomden on a padded mat, called a zabuton.

As mentioned earlier, some meditation is better than no meditation. Try to sit for at least a few minutes every day. Start with ten minutes and build from there to twenty minutes, thirty minutes, or more.

A timer can help to provide some structure to your practice and relieves you from worrying about how long to sit. Just set the timer beforehand for the desired number of minutes. You can also use guided meditation recordings that are a specific length.

Sit upright in a dignified posture without being slumped or rigid so that you can breathe without restriction. Your eyes can be open or closed. Closed eyes tends to limit the mind wandering. If you practice with your eyes open, keep your gaze soft about a foot or two in front of your body.

Place your hands palms down or up on your thighs or fold one hand on top of the other. Or, if you prefer, clasp your hands and place them in your lap.

Now here’s how to do it:‹ Start by noticing. ‹ Don’t try to change anything.‹ Notice where your attention goes. It can be in any one of nine different places according to time frame and pleasantness.

Past Present FuturePleasant Reverie “I like” AnticipationNeutral Random Random RandomUnpleasant Regret “I don’t like” Worry

‹ When you notice your attention in any one of these nine places, gently return your attention to something that is happening now. ‹ What is happening now?

The activity of the moment includes:~ What we see~ What we hear~ What we smell~ What we taste~ What we feel as sensations in the body including, breathing.

Thoughts, images, and emotions can also be activites of the moment

when we can attend to them as events rather than following their meanings, but this is difficult. So, we start our mindfulness practice by attending to the more concrete sensations of now.

For example, focus your attention on breathing, and when your mind wanders to one of the nine places mentioned above—and it will—gently bring it back to the noticeable sensations of breathing.

Repeat as necessary.

If you have a lot of repeats, that’s Okay

Remember, there is NO way to do this practice wrong. In fact, the more you have to return attention, the more mindfulness you are developing. This is an important paradox and can be a touchstone for encouraging yourself to persist.

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I invite you to give yourself permission to do this practice and permission to do it imperfectly. That’s the human way. Don’t get hung up on things needing to be quiet or following a correct technique. So long as you can bring interest to whatever is happening now, you are practicing meditation. And if you can bring fascination, even better.

What Comes Next?Okay. So you think this meditation stuff is kind of cool, and you are ready to try it or you’ve been doing it more or less every day for a while and you’d like to take it to the next level. What now?

The Pure Life Meditation website has many resources to guide you in three simple steps: learn, find and shop. First, to learn more about meditation, you can read about meditation. There are many wonderful books on the topic by renowned teachers. You can read in the Eastern tradition or the Western, whatever draws you closer.

If you’d like something innovative and accessible, try my book, Wild Chickens and Petty Tyrants: 108 Metaphors for Mindfulness or my primer on the Buddhist traditions, The Everything Buddhism Book. These are good places to start. For a complete selection of meditation titles, look in the SHOP section of PureLifeMeditation.com for a bookstore that can engage you for many days to come. Of course, reading is no substitute for

practice, but reading can orient you to what is important and help to overcome blind spots that are inevitable along the way.

If you want to sit for extended periods, having the right cushion can make all the difference. Visit the SHOP section of PureLifeMeditation.com for a full line of meditation cushions specifically designed to improve your meditation experience. Of course, you can sit in a chair if you prefer. What matters most is your intention and attention, not your posture.

Finding a teacher or a practice center is a good next step once you’ve gotten going. Practicing with others helps to support practice, and having a place to go can enliven your practice experience. A qualified teacher can be a guide on your path to self-discovery. So, explore the FIND section of PureLifeMeditation.com to find a teacher in your area, or plan a meditation adventure to a retreat center.

You can listen and download a series of guided meditations from my page on the Pure Life Meditation website (when available) or from the Learn section of the Exquiste Mind website. There are ten hours of different practices. These will keep you off the streets for a while!

The LEARN section of PureLifeMeditation.com has many additional resources for guiding your meditation path. You can also read my blog, Mindfulness Matters.

Explore the Pure Life Meditation website for other great learning resources and to find a teacher or practice center near you. While you’re at it, outfit yourself with the gear to take you on the next part of your journey.

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Copyright © 2012 Arnie Kozak, Pure Life Meditation