Full Beginner to Pre-Intermediate Meditation Guide
Dear friend,
You probably know that Meditation is one of the most powerful skills you can possibly learn..
It enhances EVERY area of your life..
But here’s the problem..
95% never get past the first stage
So I made a guide to the first 4 stages..
From Beginner to Pre-intermediate
To help you on your path
If you have any questions - Don’t hesitate to reach out - Either on here or Twitter
I hope this guide serves you well and that it powers you forward to deeper depths of peace
Before we dive in..
Some general advice/mindsets when it comes to Meditation + Inner work to help you avoid the mistakes I made in 16 years of practice
1. Meditation (and Mindfulness) is a skill
As such apply the time-tested formula:
Time X Consistency = Results
2. The Untrained mind is chaotic:
Don’t expect to sit and access instant stillness and silence
This is like sitting at a Piano for the first time and expecting to rattle off Beethoven’s 5th Symphony perfectly..
It’s not going to happen
Your mind will be an ABSOLUTE mess..
And that’s fine
Because..
3. The mind can learn to be still
The mind loves to be still and collected..
The calmer your mind is - The more of your inherent potential you unlock and unleash
The process is similar to training a monkey to learn to sit still after it’s been given free reign for *insert your age here* number of years
It’s a gradual process..
But let me tell you - The juice is MORE THAN WORTH THE SQUEEZE
4. Keep it light!
Inner work, and life in general, greatly benefits from an attitude that is:
> Light
> Gentle
> Explorative
And can laugh at their own failings
This will take you a VERY long way
It should never be too serious..
Too heavy
Keep it playful
Keep it light
You’re exploring consciousness - Accept it as the grand journey that it is!
Finally..
The point of Meditation is to develop on-demand one-pointed tranquil concentration/awareness
This guide should take you about 50-60% of the way there
By taking this journey..
And eventually arriving at this point..
You’ll discover a huge amount about:
> How the mind operates
> The perspectives that you cling onto
> Habitual thoughts + behaviors + reactions
> How to use attention in a skilled manner
> How to relax the body and mind regardless of the situation
> How to access altered states of consciousness on demand
This guide talks about Meditation to a level that is lower-intermediate
This may not sound amazing..
But it will set you up with a solid foundation and stability of mind that will allow you to process trauma, self-limiting beliefs, access states of relative stillness and beyond
As such - It’s an incredible investment and allows you to springboard to deeper levels later on.
Anyway..
So let’s jump into the guide:
Part 1 - The Game plan:
Let’s discuss the game plan moving forward
This is not the ONLY method of Meditation..
But it’s the type that was incredibly useful for me
And it’s what I teach to my clients after 16 years of practice (with a slight variation here to keep it simpler)
It’s worked wonders for many of them too:
1. Choose an Object
Using the breath is a great place to start.
The specific type of Meditation I teach clients is a “loving-kindness” meditation
For now..
The breath is a great start point to help you develop a relatively collected state of mind
2. Apply Attention
Allow your attention to gently rest upon the breath
Allow yourself to smile (This releases “feel good” chemicals and uplifts your energy)
There’s no need to force things here
Lightly become aware of the sensations of the in-breath, the out-breath and any pauses in between
This is applied attention
3. Sustain Attention
Now your attention is applied..
Allow it to settle on the breath..
See if you can lightly sustain the attention here
To give you an idea of the amount of “force” required..
Imagine holding a block of jelly in a clasped hand
If you were to hold the jelly too tightly..
You’d crush it (this is akin to forcing your attention - Headaches and tension await!)
On the other hand..
If you were to hold the jelly too loosely..
Then it would simply slip out of your hand and drop to the floor
(This is akin to you losing focus and either falling asleep or drifting into a state of heavy dullness)
Sounds simple so far, right?
Let’s summarize quickly:
> Pick an object
> Apply attention
> Sustain attention
But what happens when distraction inevitably arises?
Well..
We have a simple framework for that too:
4. Relaxing out of Distraction
When the mind wanders..
It creates tension..
Your resistance to the movement and the tension then creates further tension..
The result?
We end up in a contracted, unpleasant state..
And the likelihood of you enjoying or even finishing your meditation is rather low
So in this case we apply another simple framework:
The 6Rs
When distraction arises:
> Recognize (The mind has wandered)
> Release (the thought)
> Relax (Stops the build-up of tension and feels good)
> Re-smile (When we forget our object, we lose our smile - Often bringing our energy down)
> Return (To your breath - Make this very gentle)
> Repeat (As required throughout your sit)
And that’s the game plan!
It all sounds rather simple, right?
If we were to sum it up at this point:
> Choose an object (breath)
> Smile + Apply attention
> Sustain attention
> Use the 6Rs when distracted
> Continue until the timer goes off
Now..
During your sits..
And depending on your skill level..
You’ll experience a range of sensations, thoughts, energetic states etc.
That’s what we’re going to get into now
The range of the experience that you’ll come across..
And how to navigate from a Beginner stage to a pre-intermediate stage.
It’s worth noting that the pre-intermediate stage is where A LOT of purification tends to occur.
Stage 1 - Establishing a Practice
There’s no way around it - This stage sucks…
This is where 95% give up
(Not just with Meditation but when learning any skill)
Think of this as learning your keys on the piano..
Learning your alphabet when practicing a new language..
The basics
The foundations
The core that will carry you on to deeper depths of practice
Thinking of this as a right of initiation..
A grand test of your mind and heart can help to build motivation..
Remember to try to keep things light + playful here!
That + some discipline will carry you through the first stage
What Kind of Dullness You're Working With - Falling asleep (Very likely)
What Kind of Agitation You're Working With - Mind wandering (happens constantly)
Level of effort - Highest
Goal - Develop a consistent daily meditation practice
Obstacles - Resistance, procrastination, fatigue, impatience, boredom, lack of Motivation
Intention - Your intention here is to put your effort into forming a conscious habit of sitting down and meditating every day
Key Skills / Method - Creating practice routines, setting specific practice goals (for example - Noting when you’re mind has wandered, relaxing and bringing it back, setting a goal to sit 10 mins a day etc.)
Mastery - Not missing a daily practice session. Do not procrastinate while meditating.
Recommended Sitting Time: 10 - 15 mins
Stage 2 - Mastering the Basics
You’re starting to get the general gist of Meditation
You can apply attention, sustain it there for a while and remember to use the 6Rs to come back to the breath much more than before, but you’re still often caught up in distraction.
You start to have a few “AHA!” moments of remembering and will start to experience the calming effects when a sit is successful..
But there are still a lot of times when you fall asleep, and get caught up in mind wandering
The space between getting caught up and noticing is starting to decrease a little
(Perhaps it was 20 seconds of getting caught up in thought before and now it’s just 10-15)
Because you’re developing introspective awareness (Awareness of thoughts, sensations etc) you may even think:
“Bloody hell, I’m thinking even more than before!”
It’s not that you’re thinking more, you’re just more aware
Cause for celebration - Not concern
Effort is still very high in this stage but the little glimpses of peace and stillness you get can motivate you to progress onward to more peaceful pastures
What Kind of Dullness You're Working With - Falling asleep (Somewhat likely)
What Kind of Agitation You're Working With - Getting caught up in mind wandering - (Happens somewhat often)
Level of effort - High
Goal - Intention - Shorten the periods of mind-wandering and extend periods of sustained attention to the meditation object (Using the 6Rs)
Obstacles - Mind wandering, monkey mind, impatience.
Key Skills / Method - Appreciate the “aha” moment (1st of the 6Rs - Recognize) that recognizes mind-wandering, while gently but firmly redirecting attention back to the breath. Then, intend to engage with the breath as fully as possible in a gentle, calm way
Mastery - You can sustain attention on the meditation object for 30 seconds or so at a time before losing attention on the breath. When mind wandering occurs, you quickly 6R back to the breath
Recommended Sitting Time - 15-20 mins
Stage 3 - Going Deeper
You’re starting to get some real juice from the practice now
You may start to notice deeper depths of calm in daily life
And an increased motivation to sit to explore these states more
There may still be some resistance to sitting..
But you’re really starting to see the benefits
Continue to rely on the 6Rs to guide you into deeper states of letting go
You’ve got powerful momentum now - Keep the ball ROLLING!
What Kind of Dullness You're Working With - Falling asleep (Sometimes happens)
What Kind of Agitation You're Working With - Forgetting the object (For a moderate amount of time)
Level of effort - High
Goal - Intention - Overcome forgetting and falling asleep + Make the sensations of the breath more vivid
Obstacles - Distractions, forgetting, mind-wandering, and sleepiness
Key Skills / Method - Develop stronger introspective awareness by labeling the beginning, middle, end and pauses of the breath. Combine this with occasionally “checking in” and scanning the body to notice dullness/agitation. Through this increased introspective awareness try to notice states of dullness or agitation before they get TOO strong and 6R out of them frequently
Mastery - Rarely completely forgetting the breath or falling asleep.
Recommended Sitting Time - 20+ mins
“If you haven't cried deeply a number of times, your meditation hasn't really begun.”
- Ajahn Chah
Ok - Things start to get really interesting here.
You’re able to sustain your attention on the breath long enough for some really lovely states of stillness to arise
It’s kind of like a pool of water that’s in constant motion becoming calm/still enough for you to see what lies at the bottom of the pond..
As a result..
You start to have a number of insights about yourself and the world
These insights may not always be pleasant..
But they can be really bloody interesting!
(Interesting enough to serve as quite severe distractions infact)
In this stage you’ll start to go through purification
This can come in the form of traumatic memories, visions/thoughts etc popping up and resulting in a powerful emotional/physical reaction
> Flashes of heat
> Shaking
> Crying
> Powerful movements of energy
Etc
Can all occur
As a result..
Major shifts at the level of identity will start to occur at this stage
Treating yourself with loving-kindness and allowing yourself to:
> Forgive
> Love
> Let go
Will serve you very well here!
What Kind of Dullness You're Working With - Progressive subtle dullness leading to strong dullness
What Kind of Agitation You're Working With - Gross distractions
Level of effort - Moderate
Goal - Intention - Overcome strong dullness
Obstacles - Distractions, pain and discomfort, intellectual insights, emotionally charged visions and memories
Key Skills / Method - Develop further vigilance/introspective awareness of sensations/thoughts and feelings that drag you deeper into dullness and distraction and try to correct immediately when you notice by using the 6Rs.
Allow yourself to let go. Sustain gentle attention
Mastery - Gross distractions no longer push the breath into the background, and breath sensations don’t fade or become distorted due to strong dullness
Recommended Sitting Time - 30 mins
From here - You can start to access to ever greater depths of peace, stillness and collectedness of mind
The benefits you heard about that motivated you to sit in the first place are now being experienced DIRECTLY
You’re becoming a skilled Meditator
Things will take on a very interesting flavor indeed at this stage and beyond..
And if you continue to practice diligently..
You’ll become an inevitable force of personal power + love
Please note - These Stages are based on the stages in THE MIND ILLUMINATED
(With some of my own twist as well)
I hope this serves as a helpful guide!
Thank you again dear friend,
Leigh