An Overview Of Meditation Practice And Theory

Thanks for your interest in this course. You can find this course on insight timer with a membership; otherwise, please contact me for more details.

This course is intended to introduce the concepts of meditation theory that most inform my own practice, in a brief and concise format- concepts that come up again and again in my live sessions, guided meditations, and discussions with students. It is my hope that a student who is brand new to the practice will take from this course a solid foundation to begin to practice from the first listen, and will deepen and benefit their practice through subsequent listens; and furthermore, to lead them to their own investigations of the rich world of spiritual theory. I also believe that some seasoned meditators may benefit from the distillations and connections drawn, to edify an already devoted practice. The course addresses a bit of the why and how of meditation, and hopefully begins to get to the what. One definition of meditation could be: setting aside time and space to cultivate the mind toward greater well-being; and further, to position ourselves to see more clearly what is true, good, and beneficial to our lives and the lives of the people around us. Each day will have a presentation of material followed by a short guided meditation. Please join me in this exploration of a skillful practice that I love.

I. Why Do We Meditate?

The first teaching considers the motivation behind meditation practice. It addresses the intention for well-being that underlies spiritual practice in the context of the three major categories of the noble eight-fold path: Widsom, Virtue, and Concentration. After the teaching, a short guided meditation will focus on the practice of establishing the posture of the body and the mind.

II. How We Meditate

This teaching goes into some detail about what we actually do in meditation, with an emphasis on working with awareness of the breath and body, and the cultivation of good will, which extends directly out of the intention for well-being established in the first teaching. The guided meditation that follows this teaching will build upon the first meditation, bringing in some of the new concepts learned.

III. What Else?

Having addressed the why and how of meditation, there were just a few things that still needed saying, so this is a kind of an epilogue to this relatively short presentation. The course is tied together with some reflection on the topics of mindfulness, concentration, and awakening, and will close with another short guided meditation inspired by these teachings.

Q & A– All questions and answers, and some comments, from the course classroom on InsightTimer are transcribed here. If you are not on InsightTimer but have listened to the course, I’d love to hear your questions and comments through my contact page. Any shared Q & A will remain anonymous.

Music by Oleksii Kaplunskyi https://pixabay.com/music/acoustic-group-forest-lullaby-110624

Image by Sasin Tipchai https://pixabay.com/photos/boy-monk-river-buddhist-water-1807518

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