Five Steps of Meditation

Okay, so let's meditate for a few moments, chapter 2, then get into chapter 3, and then we'll slide into chapter 4, and then we'll slide into chapter 5, and then we'll be at chapter 6. So you can sit up for this part, you can lie down for this part. I would recommend though, be learning how to do it sitting up, but if halfway through you get tired and you'd rather lie down, just quietly slide down onto your back, it's okay. If you'd rather start this. And I'll be talking through some of this, at a certain point I'll just zip it and be quiet. Okay. So just practice listening to the words a little more attentively than normal say. I usually talk about meditation as having five steps. It doesn't have any steps, really.

But still, it's helpful to be talking about it sequentially like this. Step one leads to step two. Step two leads to step three, etc. And therefore, the trick on this, the big secret is always start with step number one and get into it and get into it and get into it and watch how the subsequent steps begin to flower. Step one is get the alignment of your body just right so that you're as comfortable as possible.

I usually begin by tipping forward so that I can wriggle the buttocks backwards. Maybe just try this, tip forward, wriggle the butt back. When you do that, you'll feel that you're on the frontal edge of the sitting bones. As you then bring the torso up to vertical again and gently bring your belly backward towards the spine, you'll feel how both sitting bones just plug evenly into the floor. And as you plug the sitting bones into the floor, your attention is down there at the floor where you're making contact with the floor.

And just begin to snuggle your seat into the floor for a few moments. Just snuggle. Let it feel like you're sitting on the beach in the sand and you snuggle your seat into the sand and you get perfectly contoured support. Notice also that as you're snuggling your seat into the floor, it's not just your seat that jiggles and wobbles, but your whole body is gently wobbling. And so I bring the belly backward towards the spine, plug the sitting bones into the floor and then snuggle.

Feel the whole body wobbling gently. And I just let myself wobble here for about a minute or so. And starting from the floor, just little by little, bring your attention up through the center view. Wobble through your belly. Wobble through your heart, your chest, your shoulders, your neck, your head.

And just bring your attention all the way up to the very top of your head, the crown of your head. And mentally feel around for any sort of sensation there at the top of your head. Let all the scalp muscles relax. And as you relax the scalp muscles, you'll get this subtle feeling of opening up there. Let the top of your head begin to open.

Let it open a lot. Let it feel like you're merging with the sky of mind. And then you let the wobble settle down and just relax down through your head into your shoulders. Slide your awareness down your arms, relaxing your hands. Bring your awareness down through your torso, your belly, your hips.

Relax down through your legs and your feet. Just so you're washing yourself clean, all of this is step one, getting the alignment of your body just right so that you're skillfully as comfortable as possible. Watch little adjustments that you're making, little tweaks of alignment so that you're actually comfortable. Step one leads to step two. You can feel it happening in the room already.

Step two is you settle into it and you practice being still. In simple words, practice not moving. At any point, though, you can move. You can shift your alignment. If you start getting uncomfortable, just fix it.

But you fix it so that once again you're as comfortable as possible so that you can once again settle into it and practice being still, motionless. Practice sitting still without holding yourself still. Conscious immobility. This is cool as you get into it. Don't move and don't move and don't move and don't move.

But move whenever you need to. But then don't move and don't move and don't move. But also don't hold yourself still. Practice sitting absolutely still without holding yourself still. The only way to sit absolutely still without holding yourself still is to let go thoroughly.

And so be gently busy letting go and letting go. Releasing tension wherever you notice it. Step one is get your body just right so that step two you can sit quietly. And then notice you're sitting here absolutely motionless. No voluntary movement.

And yet, wow, there's a tremendous amount of subtle involuntary movement happening. Most notably the ripple of your breathing. And so step three is as soon as you become aware of the fact that you're breathing, gently fasten your attention on the ripple and feel the ripple of your breathing rippling through your quiet and relaxed body. As the moments go by, minor misalignments will start being felt as being uncomfortable. Fix them.

Grow tall. Relax. And again, feel the ripple rippling. Relax. Relax.

Relax. Relax. Relax. Relax. Now you've got another minute and a half.

If you can get more grounded, do. If you can grow a little taller, do. If you can relax anywhere more, do. Practice getting as tension free as you can be. And notice the gentle ripple of your breathing.

Notice that you can feel the ripple in your nose. You can feel it in your belly. But notice you can also feel the ripple in your elbows, in your legs. In fact, it's possible to feel the ripple everywhere. Last few seconds really get as tension free as you can be.

And then you just let your head come down towards your chest. Open your eyes, get used to the visuals, and then you let your head come up.