Now you are ready for one of the main practices, developing single-pointed focus, or ‘concentration’.
If the relaxation part of the meditation goes well (and it will not always, but that’s OK), you will be feeling the benefits of absorption as your body feels comfortable and you may have already begun to be focused as your awareness will have mostly narrowed on to your body alone. Now it is time to take it a step further and focus single-pointedly on an object of meditation.
For this exercise we shall use the sensations at the tip of our nostrils as our object. Partly because it is an easy, always available, neutral object; partly because it is a safe object (you will not get, or aggravate, lung); and partly because it has been scientifically proven that using the breath as the object of meditation can reduce stress.
Withdraw your attention from the rest of your body
And place it onto the face alone. Then withdraw your attention from the face and place the whole of your attention on to the sensations around the nose and the top lip.
Choose which sensations are best for you… sometimes it is the air flowing over the top lip; or it could be the warm air going out and the cool air coming in through the nostrils, or there could be other sensations you can feel either on the top lip, around the tip of your nose and nostrils, or inside your nostrils. Either of these will do as a placement of your full awareness in single-pointed focus.
Since, when we usually become ‘absorbed’ it is when reading or watching something we are interested in, it is a good trick (to at least pretend) to be keenly interested in what is happening at the focus point.
Each time your mind wanders
And you start thinking about something – no matter what it is or how important it is (smells of smoke or the sound of your fire alarm, etc. are exceptions) – as soon as you notice, let go of the thoughts… and refocus.
Sometimes, especially after many sessions of practice, you will be able to go straight to the object of meditation and settle into single-pointed focus upon it. However, even after years of practice you may need to go through the process above – gathering your awareness back into the room, back onto the body alone, then to the face and finally to the point of focus. I still do this even though admittedly it is now extremely quick most of the time.
Exert some effort to keep your mind in place
Do not sit tight on it, as it is the ‘process’ of the mind wandering and you bringing it back continuously that harbours most of the results. Controlling the mind with an iron grip is therefore counter-productive, however, a little effort in keeping focused will be of benefit.
You could use the full session just on this practice. As I’m writing about a meditation for developing mindfulness as well as concentration (single-pointed focus), after a few minutes you may be ready to go in to the next part of the meditation, mindfulness, which I shall explain in part 5 of this series on how to meditate.
You are sitting comfortably, with a straight back (but not strained or stiff), and have dedicated your karma from the meditation to a good cause. 
You have clarified your intentions to develop single-pointed focus, to develop mindfulness, to do this for no less than (say..) 7 minutes, and to give yourself a mental ‘holiday’ for this time period.
Now it is time to let go of the outside world and gather your awareness away from everything outside your room, including everything in the future and everything from the past. Gather your awareness away from the room and place it on to your body. Take three deep breaths, and on the slowwww out-breath allow and feel your body relax. You can either go from head to toes or toes to head. If going from head to feet, reverse this list:
Take a breath in, and as you slowly breath out say to yourself,
“relax, release and let go“
while you allow and feel your feet and toes relaxing
It is the same procedure for all the muscle groups:
- ankles
- shins and calves
- knees and thighs
- pelvic area (including the buttocks)
- lower abdomen and lower back
- abdomen, stomach and middle back
- chest and upper back
- shoulders
Now the torso and lower body is relaxed (at least partially), you can think about your
Take a breath in, and as you slowly breath out say to yourself, “relax, release and let go” while you allow and feel your hands and fingers relaxing. Take another breath in, and as you slowly breath out say to yourself, “relax, release and let go” while you allow and feel your hands and fingers relaxing even more… until they feel light and fluffy, like cotton wool (or very relaxed and the awareness of your fingers is less defined).
You can now allow that fluffy feeling to travel up your
Take a breath in, and as you slowly breath out say to yourself, “relax, release and let go“.
I usually want to do the shoulders again as this part of the body is renowned for holding on to stress. Then I’ll carry on:
- neck and the back of the head
- jaw, lips, ears, cheeks and brow
Finally, do a quick scan of your body and if you find any discomfort, take a breath in, and as you slowly breath out say to yourself, “relax, release and let go” while you allow and feel that part of your body relaxing.
You are ready to develop consentration (single-pointed focus) in meditation, which I’ll explain in the next part of this series on how to do a meditation practice.
Preparing the mind for meditation
There are lots of ways to meditate; from walking meditations, to visualisations, to using mantras, etc. So before I get into this topic, I’d like to mention I’m not giving you the definitive explanation of how to meditate per say, but a practice for developing single-pointed focus and mindfulness specifically. Again, there are many ways to achieve this goal, so I’m simply giving you the best way I know how to achieve it from my own experience.
In the last post I told you about creating a conducive external environment for meditation, which includes our posture. In this post we complete our preparations by creating a conducive internal environment within our mind.
Begin with a happy mind
I’ve noticed that Buddhists begin their meditations with a dedication, or developing love and compassion, both of which create a happy mind. How? They dedicate their meditation by saying something like:
“May this meditation be a cause for… May everyone be happy; may no-one ever be separated from their happiness; may everyone attain the happiness of being human and higher; and may everyone attain the bliss of full enlightenment!”
When I say this, I imagine everyone being lifted out of suffering and into an ecstatic state of bliss and happiness. This makes me feel happy and I dwell on the happy feeling knowing I’m ready for meditating.
Other meditating traditions also promote getting oneself into a good mood when sitting down to meditate. You can try remembering a good day from the past, or imagine a wonderful holiday destination – whatever it takes to help you feel happy – then dwell on the feeling. If you really cannot shift the negative feelings, do not worry as these will usually shift when you get into your meditation, so a positive intention is helpful.
Do a simple dedication so the good karma created by the meditation will be a cause of more good karma (like the one above, or whatever you feel comfortable with).
Set your intention
Finally, make a clear intention to meditate for a specific number of minutes (5-10 minutes is plenty to start off with), and affirming anything you may want to think about can wait till you’re finished!
You can also set your intention (or ‘goal’ for this meditation) to develop concentration (single-pointed focus) and mindfulness.
Now you are all set for your meditation, which starts with a body relaxation. I’ll describe this in my next post, the third in this series on how to do a meditation practice.
Preparing for meditation
It is excellent you have the wish to meditate as there are many benefits to meditation and some of these have been scientifically proven.
I may write a bit about the benefits of meditation in another blog post but for now, since you already have the motivation to meditate, I’ll just dive straight in to the HOW of meditation. This is the first of a series of posts explaining how to do a meditation practice.
Before you get into your meditation, you will want to create a conducive environment and get yourself into the right posture. First find a quiet place to meditate then sit or lie in a comfortable position.
1. Find a quiet place to meditate
Obviously having a quiet place where you will not be disturbed is an ideal, but the closer you can get to quietude, with only natural sounds (wildlife, birdsong or water), the better. In a place where there is human made background noises you may want to use a soothing CD to blot out the excess.
If you decide to use a CD, make it one with no voices on it, and one with a rhythmic melody that flows and doesn’t change too suddenly. Things like whale sounds, chimes and gongs, or some mellow classical music may be right for you.
2. Sit or lie in a comfortable position
When meditating you will not want to fall asleep so it may be best to sit. Either way, you need to get yourself comfortable, with your back fairly straight. There is no need to sit cross-legged, unless this is comfortable for you, as a chair is OK. A comfy chair or sofa may seem ideal but if you keep falling asleep (even after months of practice) then a less comfy alternative may be best.
Some people say we should not have our back supported so as to reduce drowsiness when meditating but to me this is more advanced and although you may fall asleep lots in the beginning, this is just the release of stress and therefore is OK. After a few months, if you are still falling asleep every time then change to sitting, or onto a chair instead of the sofa, or sit without supporting your back. The important thing is the straight back, but without being stiff or making yourself uncomfortable.
Now you have sorted your environment and sat down you need to set your intentions and try to develop a happy mind ready for meditation. These are explained in the next post, the second in this series on how to do a meditation practice.
Whether it is in meditation, or when you are working and playing, the skill of mindfulness is to notice if you are distracted from your intentions.
How to develop your mindfulness
It is a good idea to have positive intentions during the day, then also intend to become aware at any point when you digress from your intention. At first, you may find you only notice after the event. By practising this intention of positive attitudes (eg: acting toward harmony, acceptance of self and others, looking for the positive in situations, banishing negative minds and choosing happy thoughts instead) and intending to be mindful so as to catch yourself before your mind takes you in the old-habitual direction, you will find you are noticing quicker and easier as time passes.
WARNING
There is also a good chance you will go through a stage where you feel you have gotten WORSE and your mind has become terrible, when in fact you are simply noticing more often how your mind so easily and habitually wanders to the negative.
DO NOT WORRY!
This, believe it or not, is NORMAL. And the fact you are noticing means your skill of mindfulness is gaining strength which means you are on your way to gaining more control over what it does – yippee! Unfortunately, this often hits people when they are still in the noticing after the event stage. Not a good feeling, but please be happy that this is just a part of the process and if you keep up the mindfulness you shall be in a far, far better place than if you drop it and sink back into sleep-walking through life oblivious to the havoc your mind is creating. Much better to recognise the benefits.
Mindfulness in meditation
As far as I can see, there are two main practices to develop mindfulness in meditation although every meditation relies upon this skill.
One is during single-pointed focus (or placement meditation), when mindfulness is used to notice when we have become distracted, and at deeper levels it helps us notice subtle sinking (sleepiness) or excitement (distractions).
The second is when we are simply being aware of what our mind and awareness is wandering to, without becoming involved with what is perceived.
In my next post I shall describe how to do a full meditation practice to develop concentration and mindfulness.
