Steps

The primary step is to Train in the practice of mindfulness meditation through reading, course participation, and engaging in daily personal practice.

Course

My initial course offering, “Meditation Made Manageable“, consists of online sessions where meditation instruction is given, readings reviewed and discussed, and questions asked (and ideally answered!).  Sessions will progress from basics to finer points such that by end of the course you will be able to transition into a regular practice of your own.

Readings

During each course session, we discuss excerpts from Start Here Now by Susan Piver.  This slim yet comprehensive volume covers all aspects establishing a sustainable meditation practice, and provides a lot of useful background information like what meditation is (and is not), common misconceptions, benefits, and types.

Daily Practice

One of the keys to establishing a regular practice is to practice regularly, daily if possible. So if on some days we can only manage 3-5 minutes, that’s perfectly OK, the important thing is we practiced!

“If you are not training your mind, someone or something else is.”  — Pema Khandro Rinpoche, Tibetan Buddhist teacher, humanitarian and scholar

This step on the path keeps our meditation practice vital and dynamic as we share our experiences and challenges and listen to those of others in a supportive group setting.

Group Practice

Practicing meditation as a group on a regular basis can help strengthen and deepen your practice as you meditate with others.  Check out the “Dudes Abiding” community page for information on how this first Mind on Breath community works.

Sharing

Sharing our accomplishments and challenges allows us to recognize that we are not alone on this path, which can bolster us through difficulties and help us recognize and celebrate how far we’ve come.

Support

Supporting one another on the path by meditating together, listening to each other, and sharing our thoughts and experiences strengthens our personal practice as we help others to do the same.

“When people join groups where change seems possible, the potential for that change to occur becomes more real.“  —Charles Duhigg from The Power of Habit: Why We Do What We Do in Life and Business

A third step toward developing a sustainable meditation practice is to fine-tune three key aspects of it, among others:  our space, our routine, and our posture.

Space

A comfortable, clean and relatively quiet space in our home can be set up such that we are able to easily and simply show up and practice.  We might include objects in our space that have special meaning to us and help make it a place where we want to spend time.

Routine

The process of building a sustainable meditation practice is synonymous with building a new habit (or strengthening an existing one if one already has a practice). And the core of any habit is the routine associated with it, which is why we focus on tuning key aspects of our practice routine like time of day, place, duration and frequency.

Posture

Establishing an effective posture for meditating is another aspect we can tune as our practice develops. One goal is to be sitting up straight, whether on a cushion on the floor or in a chair, though if there is pain associated with either of these positions, others can be explored as pain should not be part of our practice.

I offer one-on-one coaching sessions to help you fine-tune your meditation practice. For information on cost and scheduling, please get in touch with us.

“It’s the little details that are vital.  Little things make big things happen.“  — John Wooden, one of the most revered coaches in the history of sports