Short Intro to Mindfulness Meditation

Mindfulness meditation practice has long been mystified, but is it such a complicated process or a plain and simple one? The answer is the latter.

Meditation is one of the most simple practices one can ever do. It doesn't require you to know anything at all, it doesn't require thinking, or performing any complicated calculations. It might be said that it's a non-thinking state, however, mindfulness meditation is not entirely about that.

What is mindfulness meditation?

In the simplest terms, mindfulness meditation is clear seeing of a simple phenomenon. For example, clear seeing of what breath, thought, and emotion is. It's plain observation, without adding anything extra to the observation object. For example, if you are observing your breath, then you must not control it. You need to just let it go and run its course. If you are observing an emotion, the process is the same. You see the rise and fall of the emotion in the same way you watch the rise and fall of your belly when breathing. Meditation is observation, and nothing more. Let's go further. So how do you meditate?

How to meditate?

First of all, find a quiet space and sit down with your back straight. You don't have to sit in a lotus posture. It isn't a requirement, though Buddhists say that it can aid in concentration, however, for a regular person, I don't think it's even a good idea. Let's be honest, most of us cannot even sit in a traditional lotus pose, let alone spend 20 minutes like that without moving. If you are not a regular Yoga practitioner, I would recommend just sitting on a chair with your back straight. If you cannot sit without back support due to injuries or spine conditions, find back support but keep your back straight.

After you found a quiet space, the next step is to start the practice itself. Mindfulness practice is based on two mental skills. One is the focus, another is the mindfulness itself. These are two distinctive mental skills that should be treated like that. When used together, they form the basis for mindfulness practice.

Focus

Even though the focus is considered less important than mindfulness, it still plays a critical role in your mental environment. It is meant to slow down your thought processes so that any phenomenon could be observed with more clarity. If you develop good focus you will have fewer thoughts, and you will be able to observe each of them with less difficulty.

Mindfulness

Mindfulness is the ability to observe a phenomenon without affecting it. Watch the breath without controlling it, feel an emotion without making it stronger, observe thought without actually thinking it. There are no words to describe what mindfulness is. It can only be understood through practice. Through trial and error. After the first time of observing a phenomenon mindfully, you will understand what I mean, and doing it will become easier. The first few weeks might be difficult though.

Fusing focus and mindfulness into one

Let's find out what you should be doing with your focus and mindfulness during the practice itself.

First of all, start concentrating on your breath. You can either concentrate on the air stream entering and exiting your nostrils or watch your belly rising and falling. I personally like the latter one and will elaborate more on the rising and falling of the belly but the same rules apply to both of these approaches.

Watch your breath from the beginning to the end. Attentively observe how your belly rises. Notice when it starts, when it reaches its culmination, and when it ends and the out-breath begins. Watch this process as attentively as you can and without interruption but beware. If your focus is too intense you will start to intervene with your breathing and you will no longer be observing it mindfully. You will be practicing controlled breathing exercise, which is not mindfulness. You must let go of your breath and observe it at the same time. Notice how calm your body is and how perfectly it operates without failing. You do not need to consciously control your breath. Your body does it for you perfectly, so sit back and observe it attentively.

After you gain some focus and a thought or emotion enters your mind, switch your attention to the thought or emotion which broke your focus on the breath. Do the exact same thing as you did with your breath. Do not think the thought, but notice how it evolves. How it rises and falls into nothingness. After the thought ends, switch your focus back to your breathing and continue concentrating on your breath.

You should do the same with any thought, emotion, or physical sensation that breaks your focus. Never intervene with such processes. Let them be. Let them play out by themselves. Any thought or emotion will be destroyed by your mindful attention and with practice, you will be able to observe your breath with very little distractions. You will become calmer and it will become easier to face your daily life challenges.

The point of this practice is to transfer the same kind of mindful awareness to all your daily activities. Do things without controlling. Just let everything play it out by itself with minimal emotional heaviness. Do everything lightly.