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Concentration
Concentration meditation builds up mind power.
After practicing concentration meditation, people report they feel calmer, happier, stronger, and more focused.
Sitting
Concentration meditation is most often done in a sitting position. It helps to choose a quiet location where you enjoy sitting.
You can sit on a chair. If you want to sit on the floor, you can use a position such as lotus or half-lotus. Or simply lay both calves flat on the floor, one closer to you than the other.
You may need to raise your hips by placing a support under the buttocks. You can buy or make a meditation cushion, but it needs to be stuffed with a firm material such as foam or kapok. A pillow off the couch would be too soft. You may be more comfortable if you have a mat under the cushion. A mat made from one-inch rebond foam covered in heavy cotton works well.
If you have bad knees you might find a meditation bench more comfortable. These low benches have sloping seats about six inches off the ground at the front and eight inches off the ground at the back. A pad over the seat makes sitting more comfortable. As with the cushion, you can use a mat to protect your knees.
Sit with your spine vertical but not tense. The lips can be almost parted. The tongue rests lightly on the roof of the mouth. Place your left hand, palm up, on your lap. The right hand goes palm up on top of the left. The two thumbs gently touch. Close your eyes.
Watching the breath
Focus your mind on the physical sensation the breath makes as it enters and leaves the nostrils. In-breath, out-breath. In-breath, out-breath.
Don’t force your breathing. Let it be natural. Just watch.
As soon as you find your attention has drifted away from the breath, notice this has happened, then gently return to the breath.
If your mind is very active, you might find it helpful to count the breaths until the mind settles down. Count from one to ten and then stop counting for a while. If you need to, you can come back and count from one to ten again.
Start paying attention to the quality and texture of each breath. Is it long or short? Shallow or deep? Rough or smooth? Each breath has its own shape.
To develop more intense concentration, you can separately pay attention to the beginning, middle and end of each in-breath and each out-breath. Again, whenever you discover your mind has drifted away from the breath, be gentle with yourself. Allow your mind to settle back on to the breath.
Twenty or thirty minutes is a good length of time to begin with.
Concentration meditation gives you mind power. You can use this power to make yourself more effective in everyday life. Or, you can use this raw power for mindfulness meditation.
Walking
To do walking meditation, choose a walkway about 25 paces long. Walk up and down, moderately slowly. Stop, turn around, and stop again at each end before continuing to walk.
Use the motion of the feet, and in particular the physical sensations in the soles of your feet, as the focus of your meditation. When your attention drifts away, gently and patiently come back to focus on the walking in the here-and-now.
Threads: Spiritual Practice