Start a Daily Practice that Actually SticksStart a Daily Practice that Sticks
Step by step instructions & resources to support your journeyInstructions & resources to support your journey
1. Start Meditating Daily
We have a lot of resources to provide you with, so here is some guidance regarding where to start. Meditating consistently to “shower your mind” every single day without fail should be your first goal. The checklist provided will give you 10 easy decisions to make to get started today. You can click on the list and any of the habit trackers for easy printing from your desktop.
“Simply Still” is our guided meditation app, and it is made for beginners: it has guided meditations only (no wisdom talks), is organized conveniently by length and category (emotions, morning, sleep, etc.), and has meditations starting from 1 minute up to 15 minutes max. It isn't on the app store, so use the buttons below.
2. Learn the Basics
This section provides you with an overview of the fundamental concepts to understand in order to practice meditation effectively. We have provided a written, visual, and audio summary in various formats to allow you to review the basics in the quickest and most convenient way possible. Feel free to come back to this section to refresh your memory as your practice progresses.
The 2 Pillars of Stillness
A written and audio summary of how to practiceA written summary of how to practice
To set the conditions that are suitable for the mind to become more still over time, we must find a balance of comfort and awareness
Comfort
- Relax your body via an upright, comfortable seated position
- Relax your mind like you are simply taking a mental vacation
Awareness
- Maintain a light, gentle awareness with a meditation tool
- Reconnect softly and slowly whenever the mind strays
An audio summary of how to practice
The 3 Tools to Maintain Awareness
use whatever of the following tools feels calming and natural or simply maintain the balance of comfort and awareness in your own favorite way….
- Lightly imagine a simple object like a crystal ball, the sun, or the moon
- Don’t mentally stare, just have a light internal gaze like you are looking past the object, seeing it in your peripheral vision
- Feeling relaxed is more important than the clarity of the image, so don’t push to see it more clearly
- If no image arises, you can lightly imagine the feeling of an object instead
- The center of the body is the "home of the mind" located 2 finger-widths above the navel along the central axis in front of the spine
- Rest your awareness here as soft as a bird's feather floating down to touch the surface of a still pond without even causing a single ripple
- If this feels unnatural or creates tension, simply relax your attention and anchor your awareness very lightly at any point or space in or around your body that feels most comfortable
- tip: familiarize your mind with the center by connecting your mind with this point lightly throughout the day
- A mantra is a calming phrase that we mentally repeat like music in the background of the mind to slowly soothe our thoughts into stillness
- “Samma” means right or correct and “Arahang” means a state of complete mental purity. So it’s like you are reassuring yourself that you’re using the right method to purify the mind
- Feel free to use any other combination of words that has a calming effect on the mind (i.e. “Clear & Bright” ; “Soft & Gentle” ; “Let it Go, Let it Be” ; “Relax & Release” etc.)
3. Deepen Your Understanding
The following list will provide you with options to deepen your understanding of the theory starting with the quickest and simplest, to the more time-consuming and comprehensive.
- A conversation between a host and the monks clarifying the practice
- Includes personal stories, basic teaching, a guided meditation, & answering common questions
- 3 & 10 session video introduction to all meditation fundamentals + 30 minute guided meditations each session
- Includes a manual if you would like to run as a retreat with friends at home
- Fill out the form to help us track how many people access this program and from where. You will receive a link to the free course upon submission.
- A book that serves as a comprehensive guide covering the essential building blocks of meditation practice in our tradition.
- Available in paperback, ebook, and audiobook.
4. Meditation Journaling
Another powerful tool that can help you identify your most effective tools to overcoming obstacles and unlocking more consistently deeper meditation is meditation journaling. The video provides a general overview of the practice, and then the links below provide you access to single journal sheets to print and fill out, fillable PDF’s with a more detailed introduction to enter information electronically, two types of Notion-based meditation journals for the more tech-savvy individuals, and a hard copy journal that you can order from Amazon and fill out. We hope you enjoy this transformative practice!
