THE PATH TO AWAKENING

The meditation I invite you to practice is inspired by the path of Shamatha. Through this practice, we cultivate two complementary qualities that naturally reinforce one another:

• Calming mental agitation:

With consistent practice, thoughts and emotions begin to settle. The fog of the mind gradually clears, allowing us to see that no “self” is needed to experience the nature of Awareness.

• Cultivating discernment:

As the mind becomes less agitated, our actions naturally become more calm and clear. By no longer generating negative karma, thoughts and emotions settle on their own, and meditation itself becomes less necessary.

How to Practice?

Two conditions:

• Adopt a comfortable position and allow your body to relax.
• Choose an object of concentration (the breath, an object in the room, a tree, etc.).

One objective:

• Immerse yourself as fully as possible in the nature of Awareness: empty, calm, and stable.

Two tools:

• The Lightning: When a thought arises, use the lightning to dissolve it before it has a chance to develop into complex reasoning that pulls you out of the meditative state.
• The Lasso: If you drift out of the meditative state, use the lasso to gently return to your object of concentration.

My Advice : 

• Let go: Do not seek any particular state of well-being, and avoid creating tension by trying to block thoughts.
• Forget the "self": Rest your attention on the object without any specific goal, and do not try to observe anything, not even yourself.
• The Lightning: Visualize a lightning bolt striking and dissolving each thought as soon as it appears. You may also use other images: a cliff (the thought falls into the void), an axe (the thought is chopped), skeet shooting (you hit the thought as a moving target), and so on.
• The Lasso: Sometimes the flow of thoughts is too strong, and reasoning pulls us out of the meditative state. This is perfectly normal. Above all, avoid judging yourself. Simply return your awareness gently and quickly to the object of concentration.

It is perfectly normal to encounter difficulties at the beginning of your practice.

The world we live in leaves little space for silence; we rarely have the opportunity to do nothing, to be alone with ourselves. This can feel unsettling, and it takes time to adjust. Let us be gentle and patient with ourselves.

Furthermore, the “self” is not used to taking a back seat. This is why thoughts may seem to run wild during meditation. If tension arises while practicing, it is simply the “self” thrashing about, resisting being forgotten. This is a natural process that gradually calms once we become aware of it.

 I share my feelings in the Facebook group The Path to Awakening to help others.