Understand Meditation and start practicing it today!

Today, due to the increase in mental afflictions caused by our modern way of life, meditation has gained more and more relevance. Therefore, many people have heard about meditation and its benefits, but despite being in the spotlight, the practice is introduced in a very superficial way. With this, some people become curious and read about it, but end up promising to practice in a future that never comes. Others start to practice, but when they encounter some difficulty and no short-term results, they end up abandoning meditation before it has brought solid benefits to person.

If you fit this description, don't be discouraged. It is very common for people not to start the practice because of a wrong understanding of what meditation is, and for people to leave the practice because of difficulties during the practice and a wrong understanding as well. You see, people don't meditate because they don't understand meditation, and once they start the practice, they may also abandon it due to misunderstanding and challenges during the practice. So the watchword is UNDERSTANDING!

Besides understanding, I want to highlight two other words: Deepening and Demystification. Understanding refers to accurately understanding the practice, deepening has to do with understanding the whole process that occurs before, during, and after meditation, in the short and long term, demystification has to do with taking meditation out of the mystical aura that Hollywood movies have created. These 3 processes happen together so don't worry if it seems like a lot to you. Meditation practice is very simple, but it can't be treated lightly because the proficiency of it can take a while to occur. But don't worry, with the right understanding of the practice and its effects, just practice, and the skill will improve over time. This little book has the intention of bringing a little understanding about the practice and can be the initial step for your journey of self-knowledge.

And remember, "A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step." - Lao Tzu.

My journey here

My name is Pietro Galupo and I decided to start teaching meditation because, at the beginning of my path, I beat my head a lot until I could understand what meditation is. There is a lot of superficial content and little assertive content available, so I would like people to get all the necessary information to practice correctly and not have to keep running after information without success. The Stone Path I followed, but you don't need that. In my journey I have studied and informally study many masters from today and the past, I also study some Buddhist traditions and their various schools, and philosophy, I have read and read many books on meditation, neuroscience, and various aspects of mind studies. I have also received blessings in some Buddhist lineages where a master of an unbroken lineage prepares and authorizes us to receive and study the millennial teachings. I hope that this study will be of great help to you and that with this knowledge you can have a happier and fuller life. For the parts of the text that are in capital letters, I recommend that you stop and think for a while about their meaning. Prepare yourself for a journey towards self-knowledge. Now let's get down to business.

Part One: What is not Meditation?

This question may seem strange, but it is very relevant. To understand what meditation is, we must first clear our minds of misconceptions about this subject. Many people believe that meditation is something religious and mystical and that to start meditating they will have to follow a religion or dogma to the letter. This is not so. Meditation works by itself and doesn't need dogma or creed to happen. It is very scientific! Meditation and science have been talking for decades, and Buddhist monks themselves consider it a science that studies the mind. Of course, over the centuries a culture has formed around it, but the religious practice has formed to support the main practice, which is meditation. If you don't want to follow any branch of Buddhism, that's fine. That is also a possibility.

Another mistake involving meditation is that meditation is to stop thinking. Once a guy asked Sadghuru how to get rid of the back and forth of the thinking mind, and he answers more or less like this, "It took Millions of years of evolution to get a mind with this kind of capacity, millions of years of tremendous work by nature so that today you have a mind with this kind of range, and now you want to stop it." And he concluded, "That will only happen after you stop your liver, your kidneys, your heart..." Reflect on that for a moment. We want to stop the mind because we don't understand it, we don't know how to use it, and because of this, it causes us suffering. If we can understand the mind and how it works, we can take advantage of it, and instead of suffering, we will experience fullness and happiness. The mind never stops working to protect you, and you should thank it for that. Therefore, meditation does not involve stopping thinking, but rather becoming aware of emotions and thoughts without judging them. We'll go into this in more detail later.

People also think that meditation is having some kind of mystical or psychedelic experience. The experiences of meditation are just mental experiences like thinking, dreaming, etc. They are not necessary for meditation to occur. It's like a side effect that may or may not happen. But don't use this as a goal or objective. The important thing is the practice itself. It is the practice itself that will generate lasting changes in the brain that will help you. Experiences are just a delight, but they are not lasting, at most, they will bring some insight into the workings of your mind. Use them as signs on a road indicating that you are on the right path, but if you don't have experience, that's fine too. I can count on my fingers the experiences I have had. However, persisting in the practice has given me many insights into my mind, and they have mostly occurred outside of meditation. That is a sign of results.

The next topic is about "I'm going to Meditate TO quiet my mind." and about "I'm not in the Head to Meditate."

Those two maxims cancel each other out. And people don't even realize that. Not being in a head to meditate implies that you are not in a CALM mind, correct? If you want to meditate to calm your mind why do you need a calm mind before meditation? Do you see the absurdity? One of these ideas must be wrong! Which one do you think is wrong?

...

Both of these ideas are wrong. Let's explore each of them a little more closely so that we can better understand the timing of meditation.

"I'm Not in the Head to Meditate"

Thinking that we need to be in a certain state to meditate is a common mistake. It is recommended to stop and look at the mind whenever we are confused and distressed. When we feel overwhelmed and run over by life, out of time, angry, frustrated, or any other deplorable mental state, it is recommended to stop any activity and turn to meditation. Meditation helps us to recognize our inner state whatever it is, but not get carried away by whatever we are feeling. And it gives us a pause for those emotions to pass or subside, and with that, we gain clarity in the face of whatever is going on. It's like a reconnaissance mission. The soldier goes into enemy territory, observes it, but doesn't engage with it. He returns to base with information, which was previously unknown, and his superiors think about the best approach strategy. Meditation is observing what is going on without getting involved, NO MATTER WHAT MENTAL STATE YOU ARE LIVING IN. Knowing what is going on with us in the field of emotions and sensations immediately weakens those feelings, even if we don't realize it initially. With this, we can decide what to do without letting our emotions speak louder. But we need some time to OBSERVE WITHOUT BEING INVOLVED for the effect to emerge. But here is a warning: If you do the practice intending to make something go away because of an aversion to the bad feeling, it will not work, and it is from here that the next sentence should be analyzed.

"I'm going to meditate TO calm my mind"

When you meditate to get some reward, either to quiet your mind or to make a bad feeling or sensation go away, meditation doesn't work. You can aim for something good for yourself with the practice, but only outside of it. You cannot have a goal in mind when you are in meditation. This implies wanting something that is not present. Not accepting the present is one of the biggest causes of problems for us. In Buddhism, it is said that attachment and aversion are the greatest sources of suffering that we create for ourselves. When you WANT something to happen, like the mind becoming calm, that is DESIRE (AFFECTION) is a need to change the present into something different, something that is in the future. When you sit down to meditate to eliminate ANXIETY or some other bad feeling that is going on, that is AVERSION, it is a denial of the present, it is denying what is. Since meditation is about being in and ACCEPTING the present, everything else becomes counterproductive. None of what I have talked about seems logical, and so your mind starts to think it is something religious emerging to the surface, but it is not. There is a good explanation for this. Everything that arises in our mind triggers a chain of mental events, that is, a reaction. When you decide to want or not to want something, it is a REACTION TO WHAT IS ACTING IN THE PRESENT, and it only makes your situation worse. Fighting or trying to change a mental event (THINGS, FEELINGS, SENSES) is like a fish caught in a net trying to get out of it. The more it struggles, the more trapped it gets. The more solutions you seek, the more you reject, or the more you desire something, the more mental events will arise and the more intense your experience will be. It's like trying to stop the ripples of the water with your hand. It's impossible. So, as I said above, when meditating you stay present to whatever is happening, observe everything without trying to change anything, like on a reconnaissance mission. If you leave everything as it is, WITHOUT TRYING ANYTHING, everything will eliminate itself. The water in the lake also becomes calm on its own, without anyone's interference.

"Enlightenment"

Now you may be asking yourself, "If I DO all this correctly, for how long will I become enlightened?" Another misunderstanding about meditation is the term Enlightenment. People think that enlightenment is something very magical and that an Enlightened person is very different from an unenlightened person. Enlightenment is not a special state, it is already present within us, but we don't know it. The moment you meditate you are enlightened, you are in a state of clarity. You may oscillate between awareness and distraction during the practice several times, this means that you are moving in and out of enlightenment. In the beginning, you will have micro-enlightenment. I will tell you a story about Enlightenment that I picked up on the internet. The Author is unknown.

-There was once a young man who was constantly seeking Enlightenment. He traveled far and wide to meet with wise masters, read many books, and practiced various spiritual disciplines. Despite his efforts, he felt that he was missing something. One day he met an old master who was sitting by the side of the road. The young man asked the master, "How can I find Enlightenment?" The master replied, "Enlightenment is like the sun. It is always shining. But sometimes the clouds get in the way and we can't see it. If you want to see the sun, you must first learn to push the clouds away." The young man was confused and asked, "How do I get rid of the clouds?" The master replied, "The clouds are the thoughts and emotions that confuse your mind. You must learn to let them go and be present at the moment. Only then will you be able to see the sun of enlightenment." The young man thanked her for her wisdom and went on his way feeling inspired. He realized that enlightenment was not something to be achieved, but rather a state of mind that could be accessed by letting go of all distractions and being fully present. From that day on, the young man practiced meditation and gradually began to experience moments of enlightenment. He realized that enlightenment was not a journey to a certain destination, but a way of life, a way of looking, and that the key to unlocking it was to be fully present. Free of distractions.

This story is a great way to clarify the subject of Enlightenment. We discover that it is a state which is present within us waiting to be accessed, and this state is one of pure consciousness. So if you are aware of whatever is happening, if you know that you are having thoughts, sensations, and emotions, this state is already the destination of your journey, it is already enlightenment. If you stay in this state long enough, the ripples of the mind diminish and you can see that this consciousness is pure, unlimited, and free of the distressing mental states it experiences. None of them alter it. This brings us relief from the difficulties we may be experiencing. An enlightened person is a person who is conscious at all times, without ever being distracted. This is the final goal of the practice, but it can already be accessed, at this moment even if for a brief time.

SUMMARY: In this first part we have covered some of the most common misconceptions about meditation. We saw that we don't need a certain state to meditate, and also that we don't need to change anything in our experience during meditation. That we just need to be present for whatever is happening without trying to change anything, and this state is already both the beginning and the culmination of the practice. It is a simple state that is accessible at any time in your experience.

Now that we know what meditation is not, let's move on to the next topic.

Part Two: What is Meditation?

As you may have noticed, meditation is about BEING AWARE OF WHAT YOU WANT TO BE HAPPENING WITHOUT TRYING TO CHANGE IT AND WITHOUT REJECTING IT. It is the practice of Awareness. It is taking a step back from your experience and seeing it in its completeness in a detached way. Once you become aware of what is happening in the present moment, that is meditation. The Moment you PERCEIVE that you were fantasizing about something and BACK to reality, that is meditation. As you notice that some thought pattern or emotion is present, it loses its force and begins to dissipate. How is this possible? All OUR MENTAL EVENTS ARE ILLUSIONS. They are no more real than a movie. They only bother us because we permit them. AUTHORIZATION is given AT THE TIME WE DO NOT PERCEIVE THEM EMERGING: a thought arises, which causes an emotion, which leads to another thought, which generates anger, etc... DISTRAINT gives power to mental events. Think of the moment when you are watching a movie in the cinema. You are apprehensive, you feel anger towards the bad guy, you are afraid of the dark room where the monster hides, you are moved by the drama of the victims and everything else, and you may even cry in certain parts. However, if you for a moment remember that you are watching a movie, THE ILLUSION (IMMERSION) ENDS. Some people when they feel intense fear in a horror movie, start repeating "It's just a movie, it's just a movie!", they relax the focus of the screen and open it to see and remember that they are in a room watching a movie and the fear passes. Have you ever been there? THAT'S EXACTLY WHAT HAPPENS WITH EMOTIONS AND THOUGHTS. Just as "SEEING THAT YOU ARE SEEING A MOVIE" ends the illusion of cinema, so does "SEEING THAT YOU ARE THINKING" free you from the discursive chain that has imprisoned you. You don't have to say they are a movie or anything else, simply perceiving them with the PURE PERCEPTION OF CONSCIOUSNESS, ENFRAQUES YOU WITH TIME, ELIMINATES THE ILLUSION. If you dedicate yourself to the practice, it happens over time. In the beginning, it is a little difficult to see because the rational mind will start bringing up arguments trying to "prove" to you that this thought you are having is a valid and important issue, that it should not be put aside, and that it should be solved now, etc... Start noticing these confirmatory thoughts as well. They too are illusory and will weaken once the LIGHT OF CONSCIOUSNESS RECEIVES ON THEM. The problems exist, but our thoughts about them, which usually INCREASE THE GRAVITY OF THEM VERY REALLY, do not exist. They are just SELF-GERATED SUFFERING. Think about it. See where it fits into your experience.

You already meditate, but you don't know it.

We all come into contact with meditation several times a day, but we don't realize it, don't recognize the awareness, and the next instant we are distracted again. In that instant when you realize and say "Wow! I was far away! I was thinking about the death of the heifer!", in that very instant when you realize that you were daydreaming, something magical happens: You realize simultaneously the thought and the fact that you are thinking. You SEE that you are having a thought. You recognize your mind during the mental process. This is called METACONSCIOUSNESS. But in everyday life, this doesn't last. The next instant you are already creating mental elaborations again. You fall into self-forgetfulness and return to the land of fantasy. The subject changes, but the illusory essence is the same. Consciousness is present all the time, but we quickly forget about it. Once you understand this deeply you will realize that everything becomes meditation, MEDITATION IS TRUE NATURE. The problem is that it is not easy to keep ourselves in it, so we remove ourselves from our tasks for a few minutes a day, decrease the stimuli in the environment so that there are fewer distractions, and sit and look at our minds at work. We practice meditation. With sitting meditation we train ourselves to remain in this self-knowing, this presence, this looking and over time it will become more present in daily life. It works like this: In daily life when we hear a sound, we blend into the sound, there is only the sound, and we immediately start thinking about the sound. If it is a dog barking in the distance, you imagine and see the dog in your mind. You ask yourself, "Why is he barking? Is everything okay?" You and your body no longer exist at this moment, you are not here, you are there with the dog. You are talking to the owner about why he is barking. Just like in the movie example, you have forgotten yourself and are involved in the story on the screen. In Meditation, when we hear a sound, there is the sound, but we also know that we are hearing a sound. It's taking a step back. That's the time when you realize you're watching a movie, and you dispel the illusion. When you engage with the stimuli in this way, you leave a space between you and the stimulus, providing freedom from it. It's like in the movie, if you know it's a movie, its power to frighten you is gone. You can do it now, right now, and see for yourself. Do it, try it. Open your attention outside yourself, perceive the stimuli, but maintain self-knowledge, a presence, and don't forget yourself. KNOW THAT YOU ARE PERCEIVING A STIMULUS. KNOW THAT YOU ARE HAVING A SENSORY EXPERIENCE.

Once you access this you will find that you cannot stay long in this state, which is your true nature, so we need to practice sitting in silence. Without practice, the flood of stimuli is too great and we end up being carried back and forth like a kite in the wind. This is why sitting practice is important, it is a training environment, a life training.

Some benefits of meditation

1st Over time you begin to find mental patterns, that is, you realize that the same thoughts and beliefs return to bother you. Once you put light on these patterns, they begin to lose strength over time. You will discover that they are nothing more than mental habits, chains of neurons that form a recurring memory.

Once you get good at this non-reactive approach of just being aware of mental events, this new way of seeing the world starts to happen outside of meditation as well. You start to realize that you are getting angry and this gives you freedom from everyday events. The problems are still there, but you begin to have more power of choice in front of them, and you stop reacting on automatic. This will make your life and the lives of those around you healthier. Your choices will also be more assertive because they are well thought out instead of impulsive. The benefits are many and varied, but I'll stop here.

3º You will also realize that there is an ever-present and unchanging factor in your experience. The consciousness. It is not altered by the content of the mind. In the afternoon it is the same as it was in the morning. Today it is still the same as when you were a child. By becoming familiar with this consciousness you will attest that it has never been affected by anything you have experienced. It is still the same. And this is very good. We recognize our undisturbed nature. Everything else is fleeting and leaves no trace on us.

Part Three: How to Meditate?

Body Position.

The time has come to put into practice what we have learned throughout the text. Let's start with posture and body position. You can sit in Lotus with your legs crossed, or sit in a chair if you feel more comfortable. The important thing is to keep the spine straight without forcing it too much. It's a mixture of relaxation and tension. You keep it straight through effort, but you still feel relaxed. In Lotus, the base of the spine is tucked into the hips (which are on a meditation cushion), and this makes it easier to keep the spine upright. The hands rest on the knees.

If you choose to sit in a chair, the spine should also be upright without too much tension, and the hands also rest on the knees.

The head is slightly tilted, with the chin close to the chest. The tongue should lie just behind the upper teeth, on the soft palate.

Keep in mind that we should not push our limits and that the important thing is to be comfortable.

Note: The body position will be discussed superficially because there is a lot of good content about it on the internet. The purpose of the book is to shed light on the essence of the practice, how to position the mind, how to understand what is happening during the meditation, and what we are doing at the time of practice. It is this part of understanding that is insufficient on the web.

Position of the Mind.

Once we have found a comfortable position we will position our mind. At first, we will meditate using the breath as the object of meditation. This approach can be used with any other object, be it smell, sound, touch, recitation of mantras, visualization, etc... Once you are seated and relaxed, let your breath flow naturally and observe it as you breathe. Observe your inhales and exhales. This observation is relaxed, just know that you are breathing. Don't focus too much. You still notice the world around you but also know that you are breathing. That's all. I don't like the words ATTENTION and CONCENTRATION. Here in the West, the meanings we give to them come with effort, and here, too much effort will be bad. So I say: It's not concentration, it's relaxed attention. You don't concentrate your focus on the breath to the point where you close yourself off to everything else. You are with the breath, but the PERIPHERIC PERCEPTION is receiving information from the environment and even from your thoughts. You just don't follow them, you simply stay with the breath. You choose the breath. Concentration occurs on its own after a while. It is like sleep, you don't try to sleep, you create conditions and sleep comes by itself. Here the approach is the same. You create conditions for concentration to happen by itself. Simply relax and don't let yourself be distracted as long as possible. Maintain your presence. After a while, you will end up being carried away by your thoughts, and soon after, you will realize that you got lost. Don't worry about it. When you do, simply come back to your breathing. Don't judge. Become aware that you have started daydreaming, and come back to your breathing. Don't create any kind of aversion to this fact (of having been carried away by the daydreams), the attitude here is one of equanimity, without attachment or aversion. Don't react in any way. Don't start an internal conversation about what you have just thought. Just be aware! Awareness is the key.

One moment you are conscious of the breath and the next moment you are lost, then another moment you discover (become conscious of) that you are "dreaming" and come back to the breath with minimal interference. Don't create any more thoughts about it. You realize it, come back. That's it. Just be aware without doing anything. Whether from the breath or from "thinking" what matters is to be aware. Pay attention to one thing: Once you realize that you are "lost in thought" you are no longer in that state, you are aware that you are having thoughts, and the illusion, of immersion, is over. That is the only rule, the key that opens all the doors. As long as you know (are aware of) whatever is going on, it's okay. While you are in the breath many stimuli may be surrounding you and dragging your attention. Notice this and come back. If the thoughts are very intrusive and carry you every few seconds, shift your attention to them. Don't turn it into a dispute. If they are demanding, give them a break from your attention. Look at them in a detached way, look at them knowing that you are having these thoughts. Stay like that for a while and then come back to the breath.

I once heard during an online retreat the master leave this question hanging in the air, "Can you sit without doing anything, but without being distracted?" That simple sentence hit deep within me. If you look at it you will see that it summarizes the teaching in a very clear and easy-to-understand way. It can be used to challenge a child, as a game, and he can understand the exercise. So as long as you know what is happening to you in the present moment, it is okay. Don't fall into self-forgetfulness. That's all.

Not everything is flowers.

Naturally, the moment we start meditating the mind starts bringing up important unfinished business from our daily life. Treat them as what they are JUST THOUGHTS. In meditation, any mental event should be treated as an illusion. Don't give them force and importance. You will notice that at certain moments you may be thinking about something trivial a few moments after an important issue has come up, demonstrating all the randomness of the thinking mind. So ALL THINKING MUST BE TREATED AS ILLUSORY. Even thoughts about practice should be treated as just another thought. Just unimportant mental events. Don't block them, but don't let them become an issue. Don't let them become "one thing leads to another". Just be aware that you are having a thought. Realize the mental event. Keep this understanding always as a guide for your meditation.

Another problem that arises in meditation is that the rational mind; the thinking mind; the problem-solving mind will sit with you to meditate. The problem is that the conventional mind doesn't understand meditation. It may understand it intellectually, but during practice that understanding doesn't work. And since this mind has always solved and calculated everything in its life, and it is this same mind that learned the concept of meditation before any practice, it thinks it will also actively participate in meditation. Since meditation involves abandoning any reasoning; any logic, the mind begins to generate doubts about the practice. It thinks that there must be something wrong. For it doesn't make sense for the practice not to involve any intellectualization on its part. Thoughts of doubt about the practice are more insidious than the others, and once they set in and turn into a conversation, your meditation is over. So be vigilant! When you notice a thought of doubt about the practice, remember that consciousness is clear and has no doubts. The doubt can only have arisen from the intellectual process, the thinking mind. Treat them as such. Just another thought. Every thought that arises should not be blocked, but also should not be followed, do not dialogue with them. Don't let them become an internal conversation. Remember: In meditation, all thoughts have the same weight, the same quality, and the same ILLUSORY characteristic.

How much practice?

In the beginning, do short 5-minute sessions. In the morning upon waking up and just before going to bed. If you have some time left during the day, do it too. Little by little you will see results.

The Big Secret behind all the practice!

And now I'll tell you a big secret. The whole practice of meditation implies to REPLENISH ATTENTION on something, be it the breath, sound, visualization, thoughts, etc. To rest your attention means to BE CONSCIOUS. That is why this book has this name because awareness is the essence of meditation. It is the awareness that rests on the object of meditation. It is AWARENESS that is the ever-present factor in all meditations. I read a quote these days that struck me: "The essence of the highest and most definitive teachings is in a single moment of awareness." Meditation is being AWARE of whatever is happening in the moment, without rejecting or altering it. At first, we rest our awareness on an object so that we have a reference point and support, but over time we abandon the support and rest on the very fact of being aware, and let thoughts, sensory stimuli, and feelings come and go without interfering with them. Moving into meditation without an object is undoubtedly a fundamental skill so that we can apply the meditation technique in everyday moments, without having to be seated. This is a powerful way to achieve benefits through practice. It is in daily life, in the traffic, at work, and during difficulties that we must have this detached look and presence. So after learning how to meditate with an object, the practitioner should begin to study meditation without an object. I hope you advance in the Practice and reap the fruits of it.

Final Thoughts

I hope this little manual has cleared up some of your minds about meditation and also motivated you to practice it. The book does not cover all the knowledge, but it is already a good starting point. If I had had access to this knowledge from the very beginning, I am sure my journey would have been easier, but without these difficulties, I would not have written this manual. You can start practicing from now on and follow your path of self-knowledge on your own if you have time to study.

Thank you for your time and willingness to read this far.

Until next time!