Still Mind
30 Day Meditation Course
Jerry Kuhlman
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Smashwords Edition
Published by Jerry Kuhlman on Smashwords
Copyright 2012 by Jerry Kuhlman
All photos Copyright 1976 thru 2011 by Jerry Kuhlman
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Dedication
This book is dedicated to my first teacher, Lex Gillan, who gave me the interest to start, and the enthusiasm to continue. He’s a genuine yoga and meditation master.
When I was just out of college, in the mid 70’s, my neighbor, Marilyn, asked if I’d like to attend a free yoga class with Lex. Marilyn was a cutie. I accepted. I immediately liked how the women outnumbered the men, my initial incentive. I became a fixture in class. Marilyn lasted a couple of classes, but I stayed the course. A short time into it, though, I began to realize that something more profound than meeting “chicks” was going on. My body felt different, looked different. My eyes were brighter.
As time passed, I began to love the poses and felt a certain sense of accomplishment when I nailed them. Lex was a taskmaster, and very enthusiastic in the way he presented the teachings, wide-eyed and beatific. At the same time, he sprinkled his classes with meditations. Those were not so easy. Sometimes students would rise and file out of the room to escape the terror of sitting with themselves in meditation at the end of class. Lex threw us curves, springing the meditations on us in the beginning or middle of class, mixing up the techniques, tricking us into taking the first small steps toward the mirror of meditation. “If you’re not meditating, you’re not practicing yoga”, he would say later, and, “It’s not about the arms and legs, it’s about your inner landscape”.
I slowly took to it, and, in time, with the variety of techniques that he presented, I began to realize that the whole process was much like a carpenter reaching for the right tool to do a job. Here’s a heart opening technique when the world seems down on you. When you’re having trouble focusing on the task at hand, try this little concentration technique. Or use this breathing method for relaxation. And so on. And the more you use these tools the better you get with them.
Straight-forward, I know, but this is a big key to beginning and sticking with a meditation practice. Thich Nhat Hanh, the famous Vietnamese Buddhist monk, was asked in one of his talks how he stayed interested in meditation. His reply was that he would find a technique that worked, and he would use it until it quit working, then he would find another technique. If one technique quits working, try another. Never quit trying.
I’m deeply appreciative that Lex Gillan passed along his box of tools, a variety of techniques of the world’s many traditions. A number of them are included in this course. I pass those and others on to you.
... Jerry Kuhlman
Table of Contents
Getting Started
We are what we think. All that we are arises with our thoughts. With our thoughts, we make the world. ~Buddha
Since I began the practice of meditation, I’ve come up against many walls that have hindered my progress, and at times, stopped my practice completely. Whether it be bodily discomforts, one’s internal chatter, or the distractions and discouragements from the world around us, there are many readily available excuses to bail out of a meditation practice. When we first sit down to do it, meditation can seem like a simple concept, and it is. We sit, we breathe, and we focus in a relaxed manner, yet it can be very difficult to establish a consistent practice.
The benefits of consistent meditation practice are many and well documented. The scientific community has connected meditators to various instruments, and the findings have been amazing. Meditation lowers blood pressure and reduces stress. It boosts the immune system, helps control pain, and can be used to stabilize one’s weight. It has been shown to have an overall mellowing effect on our minds and bodies, but at the same time it increases our alertness. It is a unique state, unlike any other that we are used to. While sleeping, we are relaxed yet unengaged. In a highly alert state, we tend to be much less relaxed, and often edgy and nervous. With meditation, we can reach a balanced state of mind and body that produces a deeply relaxed feeling yet increases our alertness at the same time.
Many of the most powerful benefits are less tangible. Meditation enhances creativity, slows down the aging process, and induces deep sleep and peace of mind. So why isn’t everyone doing it? You don’t need a special outfit, new sneakers, or expensive equipment. All it really takes is a comfortable way of sitting, a small amount of instruction, and an open mind. But, as I will keep repeating, it can be difficult at first.
The idea behind this course is to keep the aspiring meditator engaged for 30 days, then hopefully beyond, thus establishing a habit of the practice of meditation. I’ve seen many students leave weekend meditation workshops or longer retreats excited by the possibilities, but they often fail to establish the habit of daily meditation. The real benefits happen when we practice at least once or more daily, but it takes some time to feel comfortable with it, and further time still to begin to enjoy it. It's subjective, as you will discover, but some people seem to feel a sense of big progress in a short period of time while it takes awhile longer for others to reach their comfort zones. Have patience, and have faith that a regular, disciplined practice will in time change your life for the better, in ways that are sometimes hard to imagine, helping you become more productive, focused, caring, and of great help to those around you.
The Program
The StillMind.net Course simply consists of 30 different meditation techniques. The idea is to establish the habit of sitting in meditation every day, though, don't beat yourself up if you happen to miss a day, just pick up where you left off, one day's instruction at a time.
The amount of time you spend in meditation is up to you, but I suggest starting with a short amount of time, 5 to 10 minutes, and, only if it feels comfortable, increase that time steadily. Try to maintain the same amount of meditation time, or slowly add to it. A very rough suggestion is to eventually work up to at least 30 minutes, but that could take longer than these initial 30 days. Remember that we’re shooting for quality over quantity. If you are truly focused on your meditation technique, a moment can be an eternity.
I will comment daily on certain aspects of meditation in the sections called “Conceptions and Misconceptions, along with my ideas at to what meditation is and is not. The first question that tends to pop up is, “Am I meditating now?”. I’ll attempt to define meditation, though, no matter how long we practice, there will be successive and deeper levels of understanding. Consider this. If I were to ask you what a Coke tastes like, it would be hard for you to give me a precise understanding of that taste. The only way I can truly know the taste is to experience a Coke. How do you know if you’re in love? You just know. Meditation is vaguely similar, as it’s a hard concept to understand and to explain. We might say that a true explanation only comes with experience, and is beyond words, but I'll try to point you in the right direction.
There will also be suggestions for bringing small meditations or reflections into your daily affairs which you’ll see in the “Mindful Moments” section. As simple as they may seem, if we string together a few mindful moments every day, we've accomplished a great deal.
Don't underestimate the simplicity of these methods, as a few moments of mindfulness each day can grow into an entirely different way of life. The eventual goal is to bring mindfulness into your day to day, hour to hour, minute to minute routine, making awareness and presence in the moment a fruitful part of your life.
All 30 of the daily meditations have audio versions to be used to guide you through the techniques. Use them as you see fit. It’s a matter of personal preference, whether to read the technique and proceed from memory or be guided by audio prompts.
Please, if you have any questions, don’t hesitate to contact me at jkuhlman@me.com. Clearing up misconceptions or questions quickly can go a long way toward keeping your frustration level low. Now let’s get started with a few basics of meditation.
The Basics
How to Sit
Many people have asked me why we should sit up to meditate as opposed to being in a reclined position, which is so much more comfortable. The main reason is to keep from falling asleep, and to remain alert. In the beginning though, comfort is of utmost importance. Lots of people give up meditation quickly because of the bodily discomforts they encounter trying to adopt a sitting position that is foreign to them. So, for starters, use any sitting position that is comfortable for you, but be open to fine tune the way that you sit as time goes by. Always assess the state of your body. Make note of any tensions or pains that you might be experiencing, and constantly adjust your posture to see if you can find relief. The more stable, and relaxed your sitting posture, the more comfortable your body. It took me the longest time to find a way to sit comfortably. I continued the practice, hoping I would experience the long-term benefits eventually, but at times, I was uncomfortable to the point of distraction, and those bodily discomforts still creep up on me from time to time, as they do with everyone. On the other hand, I can truthfully say that enduring or “sitting with” certain discomforts actually makes them go away. It’s a fine line.
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Ways to Sit
Attempt to sit up straight, without the support of a wall or the back of a chair, if at all possible. The idea is to own your physical body. By relying on a support to keep the back straight, we eventually tend to relax into a slumped position.
Ideally, we sit on the floor, but if that’s not possible for you, sit in a chair, making sure that you’re balanced on the front edge without back support, feet firmly on the floor.
When you sit on the floor, use a cushion or pillow for comfort and to raise the hips to a position above the legs. If the knees point upward in a position higher than the hips, blood will eventually run out of the legs, and a "needles and pins" sensation ensues. The height of the cushion or pillow should be high enough to bring the knees down toward the floor and take any roundness out of the lower back. This is important. Work with it, adjusting the height of your cushion until you reach a balance. If your back is rounding, most likely, you need to elevate more, while over-arching can be lessened by elevating less. The lower back should be straight or slightly arched. Rounding or over-arching of the back upsets the natural curvature of the spine and indicates that the spine is out of balance and leads to discomfort.
When sitting on the floor, experiment with the following cross-legged positions:
Burmese Position - this position is attained by placing the legs parallel to one another, tucked in as tightly as possible. For comfort, switch legs from time to time.
Half Lotus Position - start with Burmese and raise one foot to let it rest on your opposite thigh. Switch legs from time to time, if necessary, for comfort.
Lotus Position - This, the most difficult, yet most stable, of the cross-legged positions, is attained by resting each foot on the opposite thigh. Very few people can sit in lotus comfortably, sometimes due to inflexibility, sometimes due to a person's particular anatomy or body geometry. Again, switch legs as necessary.
For variation, or if the cross-legged positions are not working for you, try the following:
Prayer Position - this position is attained by kneeling with the tops of the feet and the shins flat on the floor. To relieve any excess pressure, place a cushion between the legs at a height that is comfortable. Another variation is to use a meditation bench. Yet another, less-used variation is to curl your toes under while sitting on your heels, though, few people find comfort with this last variation.
After sitting in the cross-legged positions for many years, I injured my knee, and for awhile, I was forced to use the prayer position. It was a nice discovery. I've since taken to using a variety of seated positions. By using a sitting position in which the spine is kept straight, and the posture stable and balanced, we can eventually reach a comfort level where we forget about the body for progressively longer periods of time. This may take awhile, so be patient. Continue to experiment until you find your way of sitting.
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A Few Pointers
Imagine a book balanced on the top of your head as you gently push it up toward the ceiling in an unforced manner. This will help keep your lower back straight or slightly curved inward. Try to keep this posture not only in meditation but when driving, watching TV, and sitting at your desk. As the Zen masters say, by just taking the correct posture, you are in the right frame of mind.
Pull your chin in slightly, the ears should be in line with the shoulders, and the tip of the nose in line with the navel.
Gently touch your tongue to the area where your top teeth and gums meet. This prevents excessive salivation, which can happen when you’re totally relaxed. Relax the jaw by keeping the teeth slightly apart.
In the beginning, keep the eyes closed. Let them soften and relax. When we do this, the eyes naturally roll inward and upward, thus slightly gazing in the direction of the “third eye”, the area between the eyebrows. Don't force this by staring at the third eye, just relax the eyes, and let them go where they will.
Let the relaxation in the eyes move downward through your body. Notice the shoulders. Let them loosen, and release any tensions in that area of your body. The arms should naturally drape down. Place the hands, either palms up or down, gently on the tops of your thighs.
Let the belly soften and relax. When we do this, the abdominal area naturally drops a bit, and rounds out. Picture the round and relaxed nature of a baby's belly.
As a final check, before beginning your focus on a particular technique, gently sway side to side and back and forth until you reach a balanced position. Imagine that your spine is a stack of coins, perfectly balanced. Often, when we experience different aches and pains, the root is an unbalanced spine, so be mindful and attentive to the balance of your spine being mindful to keep the spine straight but relaxed.
Now breathe in a natural, unforced manner. This is our posture and attitude for meditation.
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More Pointers
Set aside a quiet, special place in your home to use for nothing but meditation, even if it’s just a 2 ft by 2 ft square area.
Set aside a specific time of day to meditate. If in the morning, make it as close as possible to the time you wake up. For nighttime meditations, make them as close to bedtime as possible. Morning meditations can go deeper since your morning mind is clearer and not clouded by the “stuff” that’s built up during the day. Until you have a practice going, it’s good to have specific times set aside and stick to them. It’s like tuning an instrument at regular intervals. There’s a Buddhist saying: "If the string is too tight it breaks, too loose, and it won't play." We are striving for balance.
Again, until you get a practice established, try to sit the same amount of time or more each day. Try to be consistent and slowly build it up. Try to avoid lengthening the time too quickly. The quality of the meditation is more important than the amount of time spent. Try to devote your time in meditation to the technique at hand and avoid just thinking. Keep returning to the point of focus. If you continue to find yourself drifting in thought, and not really attempting to return to your point of focus, cut back on your time, and see if that helps. It might be helpful to set an alarm clock during meditation, preferably one that is not too “alarming”. By using an alarm clock, we're not focused on how long we've been sitting in meditation.
Remember that meditation should eventually be a somewhat pleasant experience, but, at times, especially in the beginning, there can be resistance, and it can come in many shapes and sizes. Just be aware that resistance will happen, even with experienced meditators, and that it often shows up in the form of aches and pains. Acknowledge that it’s happening when it does, and let it go. It will pass.
The meditation experience is different for everyone. Try not to judge your progress. Some people can have immediate epiphanies, then a long dry spell. To others it can seem like a colossal waste of time. Whatever your experience, try not to be overly encouraged or discouraged. Know that consistent practice will bring transformation. It’s difficult for the beginner to know if he/she is really meditating. At times, it could feel like nothing’s happening, where at other times you might have feelings of great success or failure. Try to simply focus on the meditation technique at hand, and not on whether you’re making progress or not. The more joy you take in your perceived successes, the harder it will be to deal with your perceived failures. The very essence of meditation is arriving at a balance between your perceptions of success and failure, or, in fact, suspending the dualistic nature of success and failure, realizing that there's a fine line between the two.
There's no success like failure, and failure's no success at all. ~Bob Dylan
Day 1 -30
Day 1 - Body Scan Meditation
Tension is who you think you should be. Relaxation is who you are. ~Chinese Proverb
To begin with, we will do a simple, but very effective technique known as Body Scan. Your attention will move over different points in your body. In holding your focus on each point for a short amount of time, your mind and body will release and relax. As with most techniques, the exercise can be done many different ways, but to choose one of the simplest, we will exhale into each point.
Start by sitting upright in a position that is comfortable for you. Focus first on the rhythm of your breath. When you are comfortable, at the beginning of your next exhalation, lock your attention onto your toes, holding your focus there through the exhalation and the following inhalation. Be aware of any sensation that you may be experiencing in your toes, while at the same time remaining tuned into your breathing. Imagine each breath flowing into your toes for two breath cycles, counting each cycle as it passes.
After completing the two breaths, move your attention to your ankles at the beginning of the next exhalation, and so forth, moving through the points in succession as follows: 1) toes 2) ankles 3) shins 4) knees 5) thighs 6) hips 7) the hara (about 4 inches below your navel) 8) the belly 9) the solar plexus (that area right below the sternum) 10) the heart 11) the throat 12) the third eye (the area between your eyebrows) 13) the crown of your head. When you lose your concentration, gently go back to the focus of scanning these points in your body. It’s no big deal if you lose focus. As humans, we’re made to think. We all lose our focus in varying degrees, and drift off on one of our thoughts, so it’s a natural part of life. The goal of this technique and of meditation in general is to continue returning to the point of focus.
As we become aware of the sensations of each specific part of our bodies, we, in turn, let go of those sensations as we proceed to the next point. As we let go of the sensations, we let go of the muscle, too, releasing its accumulated tension. Imagine breathing that tension out of your body, along with your body’s fatigue, while you breathe in a relaxing vitality.
A variation on this technique is to imagine a point of light, the color of your choice, settling on each point for one or more cycles of the breath. You might try the scan by imagining healing heat flowing into the different points in your body, especially the parts that are in need of healing. You might vary the number of breaths per point, or vary the number of points, adding or subtracting as you wish. Or you may choose to move to the next point on the inhale instead of the exhale. It all works. It’s up to you to determine the best approach for your particular circumstance in this particular moment. There’s a classic version of this technique that scans 61 points in the body, but 13 points are plenty.
Do this technique for 5 to 10 minutes. For starters, avoid the temptation to take this meditation longer than 10 minutes. Tomorrow if it seems right, try for 15 minutes. Slowly build your time.
Again, I don't encourage meditating in a reclined position, but this method can be used to great effect in a reclined position and is an excellent way to deal with insomnia. If you are finding it hard to sleep one night, use this technique. Avoid the temptation to let the mind drift. When the mind is flipping through random thoughts, tensions and anxieties build. Keep in mind the task at hand, which is to keep returning to your point of focus, and relaxation will come. However, make note that relaxation is not the goal. It's merely a nice by-product of the process.
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Day 1 - Body Scan Meditation (Audio Version)
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Day 1 - Conceptions and Misconceptions
Instructions on how to meditate can be deceptively simple. Sit. Concentrate on a point of focus. If you lose your concentration go back to the point of focus. Simple, right? But, just try doing it and you immediately find that halfway through the first inhale you're going through your grocery list, arguing with your boss, or on vacation in Cancun. The mind can run away like wild horses over a hill. We quickly learn that it takes patience, the kind of patience it takes to train a puppy or keep track of a 6 year old at the zoo. Remember that meditation is not something that can be forced. It’s very important that you gently return to the point of focus with the patience that you might have in dealing with a puppy or a child. You drift, and come back, drift, and come back, drift, and come back. Drift 10,000 times, gently come back to your point of focus 10,001 times.
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Day 1 - Mindful Moment
I’ve heard from long-time practitioners of meditation that their preferred times to meditate are sunrise and sunset, and I agree. Alas, most people can’t always organize around those two times of day. The next best thing is to visualize. Start by visualizing tonight’s sunset. Take a moment of time in the latter part of the day, close your eyes, imagine that you're in a pristine place where you see the largeness of the sun just before it drops below the horizon…the spectacular colors of the sky slowly fading to dark…meditate briefly on the cycles of life…the energy and vitality of the day…the rejuvenating restful nature of the night. Use this technique to refresh and reset at any time during your day.
Day 2 - Soft Belly Meditation
Softening becomes a call to the heart that it’s safe to be alive in the body once again. ~Stephen Levine
As a culture, we Americans, along with our western world neighbors, tend to hold lots of tension in our bellies. With our emphasis on the lean look, we are taught at an early age to suck in our guts. Also, on a psychic level, the belly is an area where we hold feelings of fear and anger. In fact, we might fairly say that tension equals fear. By consciously softening the belly, we are taking the first step toward opening the heart and letting go, of tension, of anger, and of fear. Physically, when the belly softens, the up and down movements of the diaphragm are lowered, literally allowing the heart more space in which to operate. Do you feel the heart also relax as you relax your belly? Try it. That physical opening of the heart in turn leads to its spiritual and emotional opening.
Today we will be doing a soft belly meditation. Start by taking a few relaxed breaths. As your breathing comes into a steady rhythm, bring your awareness into your belly. Notice the expansion and contraction of the body while breathing, and with it, the corresponding rise and fall of the belly, filling with each inhalation, emptying with each exhalation. Notice any sensations in your belly…how it feels moment to moment. Letting the belly fully soften to receive each full breath, notice the beginning and end of each inhalation, a slight pause, then the beginning and end of each exhalation, then the slight pause before the beginning of the next inhale, as the cycle repeats itself. Rising and falling, like the tides of the ocean, the rising and setting of the sun, and the many rhythms and cycles of the universe. At times, we find that distractions pull us away from our focus. Just be aware of the distraction, and return to the soft belly receiving each breath.
Rising belly, falling belly. Soft belly, open belly. Expansive belly, receptive belly. Thinking will arise unexpectedly. Just watch it come and go. And return gently to the rhythm of the breath moving in and out of the belly, letting go of all tension, fear, anger, grief, and opening to your true nature. Opening the heart. Making contact with the true self. Continuing the moment to moment awareness of thoughts, or sounds, or sensations…arising and dissolve with the flow of the breath…in and out of the soft belly.
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Day 2 - Soft Belly Meditation (Audio Version)
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Day 2 - Conceptions and Misconceptions
As much as I will be discussing different techniques, meditation is really a way of life, not just a technique. It's a way of being present and in the moment with yourself and the world around you, clearly perceiving what's going on. It's about being able to witness our various states of mind without getting wrapped up in them. If there is a goal in meditation, it might be to come to terms with where you are in this very moment, acting appropriately with whatever life throws at you, without the prejudgments of the past or the expectations of the future.
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Day 2 - Mindful Moment
Enlightenment might be defined as that point in time when your mind is not interfering with your true inborn wisdom. Flocks of birds migrate with the guidance of inner compasses, navigating with precise accuracy. In a similar fashion we possess an inner knowing that can guide us through life. Take a moment at some time during the day to ponder the concept that all of us are already enlightened, that we have all the inner wisdom that we need to lead us through life. It's just for us to realize it, and tap into it.
Day 3 - Counting Meditation
First there must be order and harmony within your own mind. Then this order will spread to your family, then to the community, and finally to your entire kingdom. Only then can you have peace and harmony. ~Confucius
Every meditation technique is, very simply, just a focal point where you concentrate the mind. Regardless what the origin of the technique might be, whether Buddhist, Christian, Jewish, Sufi, Zen or whatever, there are two basic types.
There are guided techniques, in which the focal point changes. One of the best examples of a guided technique is prayer since what you are saying in the prayer is changing. And then there are concentration techniques, in which the point of focus never changes. Mantras, the act of saying a word or phrase over and over, are an example of a concentration technique. Generally speaking, guided techniques are said to open the heart, while concentration techniques develop sharp focus.
Both types work, but a guideline is that if you are right-brained, or more artistic in nature, you might be more inclined toward guided techniques. If you are more analytical, you may lean toward concentration techniques.
The two big pillars of meditation are: 1) Opening our awareness while gaining wisdom and perspective as to what we are doing here. Answering the questions: “Who am I?” and “What is life all about?” This is a function of the mind. 2) Developing our sense of compassion and acceptance toward ourselves, our fellow humans, and other living creatures. This is a function of the heart.
Over time, the ideal is to have an open heart and a still, focused mind. The Sufi poet, Rumi, said, “Keep your head in the heavens, but tie your camel at night”. Meaning don’t be so caught up in the spiritual that you fail to take care of day-to-day affairs. Keep a balance in your life.
Here's a quick little test. Clasp your hands in front of you by interlacing your fingers. It is said that if your left thumb is on top of the right, you are right-brain dominant, and vice-versa. Don’t get carried away and pigeon-hole yourself one place or another. Some of us can be perfectly balanced between left and right, and still go one way or another with this little test. The point is that we all tend to sway in one direction or another from time to time, and on any given day we might find that one technique works well and another doesn’t. The main thrust of this program is to supply you with a portfolio of different ways to meditate, so that when one method seems stagnant or doesn’t work, you can turn to other techniques. The more you practice each technique, the more familiar you become with its effects. Just as a carpenter gets better at using his tools by practicing, a meditator becomes more adept and proficient with different techniques and their effects by using various techniques in different circumstances. For instance, if you were to wake up with a scattered mind, you might try a technique that develops your concentration. If you're feeling angry, a heart opening technique might be best. It's for you to experiment and become familiar with your responses to the different meditations.
In other words, the more you practice the better you know what tool to pull out of your bag for each particular circumstance. This does not mean that you should vary the technique just for the sake of variation, but to be aware that roadblocks in your practice might be solved by trying another technique.
With that bit of perspective, let’s launch into the meditation for the day, a concentration technique. One of the first things we learn to do as children is count. It’s so engrained in us, it’s automatic. What could be more simple. What we’re going to do is sit upright, and for a couple of minutes, we’ll breathe….let the body breathe itself, don’t force it. Remember to scan the various checkpoints in your body. Soft eyes. Loose shoulders. Relaxed belly. Balanced spine. Then, on the in-breath, count 1, on the out-breath count 2, so for each breath cycle we say in 1, out 2, then, in 3, out 4, in 5, out 6, and so on. Count to 10 in this manner, then go back to 1. As simple as this may seem, this is a traditional Zen Buddhist meditation technique that’s been used for hundreds of years. Right off, it can show you how scattered your mind can be. When your mind drifts and you lose track, start over at 1. You drift and you come back, drift and come back to the focus of counting each breath. Do this for the same amount of time as your meditation yesterday, or if you feel comfortable, extend the time by no more than 5 minutes. Remember to be gentle with yourself. If your mind drifts, don’t get caught up in why it drifted or feel bad about it. Don’t judge, just gently return to counting the cycles of your breath.
Please note that variations are allowed. To further simplify, you may choose to drop the in and out, and just count 1, 2, 3, 4. You may use "breathing in 1, breathing out 2, breathing in 3, breathing out 4", and so forth. Or you may count in another language.
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Day 3 - Counting Meditation (Audio Version)
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Day 3 - Conceptions and Misconceptions
A common misconception of meditation is that you have to give up the things that you like. Not true. You can still have your Haagen-Dazs and be a meditator. However, with steady practice, the things in your life that aren't in your best interest tend to fall away. With practice, your inner wisdom is allowed to take a step forward, and you lean naturally toward what's best for you.