Hi and welcome to The Daily Insight.
My name is Hugh Byrne and I'm a meditation teacher here on Insight Timer.
This 10-minute meditation provides four key guidelines for mindfulness meditation practice.
In this meditation we'll explore these four guidelines for meditation practice to help us bring a kind and non-judging awareness to our experience and to return when the mind moves into thought.
The four guidelines are one,
It's like this,
Two,
Pay attention,
Three,
Welcome the guests,
And four,
Come back.
We'll discuss each of these and have a period of meditation practice.
The first guideline,
It's like this,
Invites us to open fully to our experience just as it is without judgment,
Clinging,
Or resistance.
The Thai forest meditation teacher Arjan Sumedho used this expression in his meditation,
Sadness it's like this,
Anger it's like this,
Itchiness it's like this,
Calm it's like this.
It's a recognition that this moment is just as it is and it's an invitation to meet our experience with acceptance.
It's like this,
Whatever comes up in meditation or in our life is not wrong,
It has come out of previous causes and conditions and meeting it with kindness and with acceptance is the first step towards making needed change.
The second guideline,
Pay attention,
Is a reminder to be here now,
To simply observe what is present.
You might bring your awareness to your experience right now and notice what's present for you.
You could name what you're aware of,
Coolness,
Tingling,
Warmth,
Tiredness,
Whatever's here,
Simply pay attention to it,
Be aware of it without judgment.
You can also pay attention by using the breath or another object like a mantra,
A word or a phrase,
Or the sounds around you,
Or feelings in your body as a focus or an anchor for your awareness.
So focusing on the breath simply being aware of the sensations of breathing in and breathing out.
The third reminder is to welcome the guests.
This expression comes from the Sufi poet Jalaluddin Rumi's poem The Guest House,
Where he invites us to welcome the guests.
He says,
Even if there are a crowd of sorrows who empty your house of its furniture,
Still treat each guest honorably.
He may be clearing you out for some new delight.
So the invitation is to meet whatever comes up as if it were a guest coming to visit and as much as you're able to meet what is here with a welcoming and friendly attitude.
This discomfort,
This itch,
Can I meet them with a welcoming and accepting attitude.
Rumi continues,
The dark thought,
The shame,
The malice,
Meet them at the door laughing and invite them in.
Be grateful for whoever comes because each has been sent as a guide from beyond.
The fourth guideline is to come back.
However experienced we are,
The mind will go off into thought.
This isn't a problem.
We're not failing at meditation when the mind is busy and active.
It's simply something to be aware of.
And when we notice that our attention has moved from the breath or other focus into thoughts,
Maybe into problem-solving or memories,
Worries,
Daydreams,
Snippets from songs,
We simply return our attention to our breath,
To our body,
To our present moment experience.
So these four guidelines,
It's like this,
Pay attention,
Welcome the guests,
Come back.
See if you can be in one or more of these states as much as you can while you're meditating.
So sit comfortably,
Relaxed and alert.
Let your back be straight,
Relax your shoulders.
Let your attention drop out of thoughts,
Come down into your body.
You might take a couple of longer,
Deeper breaths,
Relaxing and releasing on the out-breath.
And simply notice what's present.
Tightness in the belly,
It's like this.
Coolness.
Calm,
It's like this.
Noticing what's here,
It's like this.
And pay attention.
A second guideline,
You could focus your attention on your breathing just as it is.
Breathing in and breathing out.
Just paying attention to the sensations of breathing.
And whatever comes up,
See if you can welcome the guest.
Letting this moment be just as it is.
Making space for whatever is here.
Saying yes to what's present.
And when you notice your attention has moved into thinking,
Into planning or problem-solving,
Worrying,
Remembering,
Simply let your attention come back to the body,
Come back to the breath,
Come back to this moment.
Coming back,
Beginning again in any moment.
And finishing with this poem by Martha Possethwaite,
Clearing.
Do not try to save the whole world or do anything grandiose.
Instead,
Create a clearing in the dense forest of your life and wait there patiently until the song that is yours alone to sing falls into your open,
Cupped hands and you recognize and greet it.
Only then will you know how to give yourself to this world so worthy of rescue.
You might just take a moment to appreciate your effort,
The time you've taken to be present,
And if you have some time you might sit quietly for a few more minutes just being present with these four guidelines for mindfulness meditation.
You
