Basic Practices

The basics of meditation form the foundation for advanced spiritual practices and contribute to overall well-being.

 
Here’s a summary of key points for effective practice:

Focused Attention: 

The core of meditation is developing a single-pointed focus, known as 'ekāgratā' in Sanskrit. This means concentrating your attention as you would focus sunlight with a magnifying glass.

Integration into Daily Life: Practice should be woven into daily routines rather than reserved for specific times. Utilize moments throughout your day—whether at home, work, or while travelling.
Simplicity Over Complexity: Effective meditation doesn’t require elaborate setups or expensive aids. A few minutes of focused practice can be highly beneficial. Start small—one or five minutes—and expand naturally.

Acceptance and Persistence: 

Expect your mind to wander; gently bring it back to focus without self-criticism. Regular practice, even if inconsistent at first, will yield greater benefits over time.

Variety in Practice: Different meditation methods share the common goal of focused attention. Experiment with various practices to find what works best for you and feel free to combine them.
Explore different practices through the provided links and adapt them to fit your lifestyle and needs.

Eating Meditation:

We love to eat, so let's apply our meditation practice to our meal times. Taking it one step at a time, let's start off with a single piece of food - whatever you have handy, but for example perhaps a single grape...

Become aware of the mind's desire to eat the food
Feel the sensation of reaching for it, aware of its color, texture, shape, smell and size whilst holding it
Put it against your lips, feel the sensation, then place it in your mouth, note the juiciness and flavor, the feeling as you bite into it.

Place total focus on the awareness on chewing and swallowing the 'grape' (or whatever)
Repeat from 2

While you were doing this all your problems were forgotten as your focus was entirely on the act of eating. Obviously the same can be applied to drinking etc. It is amazing how our body and senses react differently to greasy 'fast' food and wholesome fruit, vegetables, nuts and cereals etc.
Experiment and enjoy!

Object Gazing:

The practice of object gazing is ancient. The focus of attention is placed on a suitable object and kept there to the exclusion of all other physical or mental input.

Once again, the obvious benefit of this is that whilst the attention is placed on the object and kept there all other worries and concerns cease to exert their influence.

The object itself doesn't really matter as long as it doesn't stir up feelings or emotions of past traumas or troubled times. It could be a candle, vase, rock, tree, flower etc. It wouldn't be advisable to spend thirty minutes gazing at your husband's urn on the mantelpiece for example. The object needs to be a neutral thing.

This practice can be done just about anywhere at almost any time. Your position doesn't matter if we are just getting the feel of the practice for a few minutes. After a while you can try sitting down in a room with a specified object (vase, flower arrangements, ornament etc) for a set period of time. Needless to say, this practice does not involve gazing at the TV.

Total focus is given to the object and any thoughts or feelings about the object should be set aside for the meditation period.

Sound Meditation:

Meditation on sound is also known as Nada Yoga. Though we are just skimming the surface and adapting one pointed focus to bring about a sense of peace and calm. As a basic practice one may tune into any of the internal or external sounds available.


One may focus on suitable relaxation music, the internal sounds, perhaps the sound of the buzzing noise in one's own head (if you can hear it). The general external noises of everyday life such as a baby crying, traffic noise or a plane flying by, someone speaking to you or addressing a group or audience etc.

Total attention should be placed on the sound and all else set aside for after one's practice. When the attention wanders or the mind tries to comment on the chosen sound then one should gently bring it back.

There are virtually no limits to this practice. There are usually sounds that can be heard somewhere, they are perfect opportunities for a budding meditation practice.

Biofeedback

Meditation practice aims at working toward stilling the mind and finding peace within. This may be one's goal and purpose for practice, for others it is a beneficial side effect at the beginning stages of a spiritual or transcendental path. Using biofeedback is a direct way to see if your practice is having the effect you want.

What is Biofeedback?

Biofeedback gives you (feeds back) information about your physical condition (biology). We already have 'biofeedback' monitors in our homes even now. Your bathroom scales and mirror are types of biofeedback monitors where the scales feedback information about your body's weight and the mirror feeds back information about your appearance.

They don't change your weight or appearance but give you enough information to see if you need to do anything about it yourself. You might want to lose or gain a little weight or fix up your appearance if you don't like what you see in the mirror.

How does it work?

Your body is talking to you all the time, telling you how relaxed or stressed you are, but the signals it is sending are too small to be noticed. Biofeedback simply amplifies those signals and gives you the information in a form you can understand. Then you can adjust your meditation techniques if you need to for maximum effect, or just continue on if you are doing it right.

But I already know when I am stressed!

Usually we do know when we are really stressed, but those of us who live the western life are generally stressed even when we think we are relaxed. It is not until we practice a relaxation technique connected to a biofeedback monitor that we find out how stressed we really are. Stress rises quickly and dissipates slowly, this is an evolutionary principle as part of the fight or flight response.

If multiple stressors arise throughout the day the body is never allowed to return to its normal condition as one cause of stress begins to subside another takes its place, never allowing the body time to fully recover. The result is that we accept an elevated stress level as the new 'normal' condition for the body and the mind.

I can relax when I sleep!

Sometimes we can have a great night's sleep, other times sleep can be just as stressful, if not more so than the waking state. When either waking or asleep the body does not know the difference between a real or an imagined threat - even a dreamed threat.

The body will act in exactly the same way as if the threat were happening to it as a physical reality. Recalling a near miss in a potential accident, or an argument with someone has the same effect on the body if it happens in the waking state, as an act of recollection, or in the dreaming state.

Whatever the mind experiences is reflected in the body as either a stress response or relaxation response. It does not matter when the stress occurred, how far back in the past it occurred, or whether we are awake or dreaming when we recall the stressful event, it has the same effect on the body right here and now.

I already practice meditation, I don't need biofeedback.

That's great! You can verify the results of your practice with a biofeedback monitor. Several years ago I worked with a qualified yoga teacher who saw me for a biofeedback session. She asked me if she could try her meditation methods on my equipment to see the results. I agreed. She sat in front of the monitor and over a forty five minute period, she tried her methods.


Her results grew steadily worse. She finished her session with more stress than when she started. At the end of her session I sat next to her, while she was still connected to the monitor. She told me she had tried everything but she couldn't seem to relax.

Exasperated that nothing had worked she then said "I give up!" It was at that moment, when she said she gave up, that a relaxation response appeared on the monitor and grew steadily. This was a special moment for her which she would never have realized, had she not tried a session on a biofeedback monitor.

She learned that meditation is more than just technique, it is attitude as well. We need to understand and profoundly know what is going on inside of us to successfully practice meditation. Biofeedback is an excellent tool for doing so.

What biofeedback monitor could I use?

We don't need the complex expensive biofeedback monitors that measure brain waves, muscle voltages etc. For the meditation practitioner a reliable source of information about how stressed or calm you are can be obtained by a simple 'peripheral temperature' monitor that measures the temperature at one fingertip.The fingertips get colder when stress is present and warmer when relaxation occurs. So measuring the fingertip temperature can actually help your meditation practice. The monitors measure temperature in tenths of a degree centigrade or fahrenheit so they are ideal for giving you a reasonably accurate indication of stress or relaxation responses. The monitors are small and can be easily carried in your pocket or purse.

How much is a 'peripheral temperature' monitor?

Anything with the name 'biofeedback' on it usually costs hundreds of dollars at least. However a similar item that is as accurate and calibrated exactly the same as an expensive biofeedback temperature monitor and does the same job will only cost you a few dollars. These are called 'indoor-outdoor' thermometers (also known as 'fridge / freezer' or 'fish tank' thermometers) and are available from eBay or your local store.

For a few extra dollars one can buy temperature monitors that have upper and lower limit alarms that can be set to keep you within a specified range. It is up to the practitioner what use they would find for those additional functions.

How do I use one?

You use the 'outdoor' or external lead. Make sure there is nothing stuck to the sensor, if there is, peel it off or remove it. Tape the sensor at the end of the lead to a finger pad and rest your hand palm up so there is no pressure where the finger meets the sensor. Turn the monitor on and watch the temperature raise or lower until it stabilizes at your fingertip temperature.

How do I use it for meditation?

1. Attach the sensor to your finger while seated comfortably
2. Wait until the finger temperature stabilizes
3. Write down your start temperature
4. Practice your method for your chosen time
5. Write down your final result

If your finish temperature was warmer than your start temperature your meditation practice was beneficial and your results were good.

If your finish temperature was lower than your start temperature you were more stressed when you finished your practice than when you began, so you will need to review your practice and make adjustments.

Points to remember:

Don't sit near or under an air conditioner or heater
The more stable the room temperature, the more accurate the results
Keep your hand palm up. Putting pressure on the sensor or moving it away from the finger will give false readings.
Practice where you won't be disturbed, even the feeling someone will enter the room will create measurable tension.
Don't forget to record your start temperature or you won't know what gains or losses you made.

Further Assistance:

The above is an introduction on how to develop a simple, cheap biofeedback practice to assist your progress in meditation. If you would like to know more I would be happy to assist you on the forum. Then we can discuss how to calculate percentage gains etc for long term practice results.