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Monk Cheats Between the Bells
In my previous post Monk Cheats for Sitting during Meditation I passed along a few points on sitting comfortably. However sitting comfortably is only half the battle. Taming the mind is why we all start meditating in the first place.
Not all sittings are created equal … which is kind of the point of practice and meditation, I guess, but I digress. Getting through sitting blocks when your mind will just not settle is a challenge most of us face, particularly when beginning. Even after many years of practice there are times that you’re just not into a particular sitting block. Sure, after that long you can sit for 30 minutes in most any state of mind, but that doesn’t mean it is fun. Also, after a really good start, popping back out with 5–10 minutes left in a period can seem very long.
These tips work for both settling in initially or re-settling if you are waiting for the bell.
#1) Give yourself permission to sit badly.
In an Intro to Zen class right before they tell you a whole bunch of things to do to sit correctly, they will tell you that zazen means ‘just sitting’. The goal is to just sit there!
If you are sitting with a group, there will be plenty of people to tell you how to sit. Your inner critic will also have its own ideas that you got from books, the internet or friends. Plus you really want that non-dual experience, so you need to get it right. Bottom line, you will be busily uptight and trying.
Just give your self permission to sit badly. How hard can it be to sit badly? … not hard at all … and according to that inner voice you’re always doing it badly anyway. You will relax and then things can fall into place naturally.
#2) I am the breathe.
There are many standard techniques for meditators that involve the breathe. They are pretty tried and true — counting them, focusing on the diaphragm or the tip of the nose. I always liked focusing on the turning of the breathe after the exhale and before the inhale. If you think about that turning is a little death; because what is death, you breathed out but didn’t breathe in again.
