Introductory meditations

These guided meditations are not from any particular tradition, but could be seen as reflecting the perennial teaching inherent to many traditions. They have been created to help convey the practice that will lead to Samadhi, which is realization of your true nature beyond this limited form. Integral to this ancient form of meditation is the cultivating of the skills of concentration and inner surrender (mindfulness), which has been shown to have many side benefits such as reduction of stress, increased attention and cognitive abilities, increased compassion, tolerance, creativity, emotional intelligence, self awareness, ability to break addictions, and a variety of health benefits.

As we move through the practices we move from shorter periods of meditation to longer periods, and we move from using techniques to choiceless awareness. We move from mind fullness to mind emptiness, and to realizing the non-dual state or the Samadhi state which is beyond fullness and emptiness.

Practice in a comfortable position, sitting on a cushion, chair or meditation bench and make sure your spine is straight. Rest your hands in whatever position you like. Once you have found a comfortable position, make an intention to stay in that position for the whole meditation without shifting or moving. The eyes can be open or closed. If they are too open you may become distracted, and if fully closed your meditation may become foggy or dull. So adjust your practice accordingly so that your meditation is vivid and lucid.

In this series we start by narrowly focusing on the breath, which will help to cultivate presence and equanimity. Once you have practiced the first three meditations and you are able to stay with the breath at the nostrils for long periods of time, you can move to the next three meditations where we start to observe the entire field of changing phenomena throughout the body. Once you have practiced the intermediate meditations and are able to be with the field of changing phenomena, you can move to the last three meditations where we will start to observe consciousness itself.  These meditations can be seen as preparation for the longer 1 hour meditations in the Samadhi Guided Meditation Series.