Meditations
Wednesday’s Meditation
A bit of an amalgam of different techniques today with some breath meditation, leading into wider awareness of every sensation in this moment, into mantra meditation and finishing with a brief loving kindness practice.
This is the last of our current series of daily meditations. Tomorrow, the hope is to keep this going.
Perhaps by simply starting again at Day 1.
Day Fifty-Five
Loving kindness practice has us opening our hearts, uncovering our innate generosity and cultivating this kind part of ourselves.
Sending best wishes to various people, ourselves, and all beings.
Repeating the phrases may seem forced, saccharine, or just twee. Yet they have a subtle force and you are encouraged just to keep saying them and watching for surprising effects.
Day Fifty-Four
Back to mantra meditation where we simply allow the mind to repeat a syllable, a word or phrase over and over.
Listening in our mind to the sound of the mantra, and also listening to the silence between mantras.
In all meditation there is a balance between effort and yet not too much effort. In this more than most techniques there is even less effort required and we can simply trust that the mantra will do what it has done for people across all cultures for centuries.
Day Fifty-Three
Attention can be focussed on a single object like the sensation of breathing, sort of like a spotlight, or it can be more broad, taking in everything in this moment, more like a floodlight.
Today we are paying attention in this broader way, what is sometimes known as choiceless awareness, or open-field awareness noticing everything we are experiencing in the present moment.
Day Fifty-Two
Keeping focussed on the breath but this time counting the breaths.
In and out is one, and then try to hold focus up to ten.
If you get distracted, try to avoid the trap of judging yourself and instead notice what the mind does, let it go, and start again.
Day Fifty-One
Sticking with breath meditation this morning but adding in some ‘noting’.
As we notice the inhale we quietly ‘note’ to ourselves ‘breathing in’, and ‘breathing out’ with the exhale.
Still trying to let everything else fall away except being fully present in this moment with this breath.
Still practising being gentle with ourselves when we notice we’re distracted, and then starting again.
Day Fifty
This week we’ll do a different meditation everyday covering many of the different techniques we’ve covered over the seven weeks to here.
Today we go back to the classic breath meditation.
Focussing our attention like a spotlight on this breath, right now, and letting everything else fall away.
Also practising being gentle with ourselves when we notice we’re distracted, and then practising starting again.
More Daily Meditations
From January throught the beginning of March 2025 we posted daily meditations in sync with a weekly series of classes. The rest of the daily recordings can be found as part of the Winter 2025 Course and then the Daily Meditations page.
Breathe to Relax and Release
Meditation is often credited with helping people to relax and to release some of their tension. This does seem to be true for many people. Simply paying attention to our breathing seems to help.
Tension and stress have a funny relationship with our breathing. The more overwhelmed we feel, the shorter and quicker our breathing becomes. And the opposite is also true. Slow down and deepen your breathing and the tension lessens.
In this short and simple meditation we start by moving our attention to our breathing in a specific way. We slow it down, and deepen each breath. We move our attention into the present moment with a simple counting routine.
