Editor’s Note:

Shift in Attention. Meditation shifts our attention away from habitual, narrow patterns of thinking and feeling and toward more inclusive processes, such as the breath;

Inclusive Body/Mind Awareness. Buddhism views the mind and body not as separate, but as two facets of the same experience. Meditation stabilizes the body and trains the mind to maintain a relaxed, spacious awareness;

A Wholesome Intention. Meditation is based on an intention to seek well-being and the wholesome state of mind.

Meditation is not a quick fix. As with any serious life undertaking, it demands commitment and regular practice. The introductory practices described here are just the beginning, and they are not trivial. They represent a body of technique and collective wisdom that stretches back for millennia.

Posture and attention. Some teachers stress the traditional, cross-legged meditation posture. This posture confers many benefits, but what is more important is the underlying principal of physical stability. Whether on a chair or on a cushion on the floor, you should find a way to sit that can allow you to remain still and actually feel and sense your whole body as a single-connected entity. So, for example, if you sit in a chair, your feet should be on the floor, your hands should be folded in your lap, your spine should straight, and your head and neck should be level and balanced. The main point is to be quiet, and to be present.

In the Zen tradition, we meditate with our eyes relaxed and somewhat open. Although other traditions allow for closing the eyes, I prefer the eyes-open approach. Closing the eyes cues the body and brain to begin shutting down and preparing for sleep. It is an invitation to "go somewhere else," whereas the point of the meditations described below are to be fully present and awake.

Ikkyu, a famous Zen teacher, was once asked, "What is the most important principal of Zen?"

He replied, "Attention."

In the natural, relaxed state, our attention is soft and flexible, like a child’s. We see a flower, we smell its fragrance, and we watch a bee light on it. Our attention flows effortlessly from one impression to the next. But attention can also become narrow and constricted: this is what happens with stressful tasks. Meditation returns attention towards its easeful, relaxed state.

The following three meditation exercises can be done anywhere - - at home, on a park bench, at the bus stop or train station, at your desk at work or in a corner of the neighborhood café. They are simple, straightforward, and - - if done regularly - - effective. I call them Finding the Breath, Feeling the Body, and Imagining Well-Being.

Finding the Breath

Breath is a bridge-linking body and mind. When that bridge is in disrepair the mind races and the body tenses up. The practices of Finding the Breath restarts the rhythm and connection.

Begin by stabilizing your body in a chair or on cushion as described above. Next, notice where your attention is. Probably it is busy following certain train of thought, or solving a problem.

Gently, without forcing, uncouple your attention from that "freight train" of thought and let it gradually come to rest in the rise and fall of chest and abdomen, the passage of air in and out of the nose, the satisfying sensation of inhaling and exhaling.

Where is the quality of the breath. Is it tight or tense? If so, where is that tension? Let your attention move there and just feel the quality of the tension.

Notice the transition from exhaling to inhaling. Is it smooth or jagged? If it is jagged, let the attention move there and sense the quality of jaggedness.

Let the attention ride the rhythm of breathing, like a raft riding the waves. See if you can remain focused on the breath for 3, 5, or 10 breaths.

Notice how easily the mind wants to return to that freight train of thought. As soon as you notice that, gently coax the attention back to the sensations of breathing.

Don’t worry about how well you can do it. The main point is to maintain an awareness of everything that is going on - - attention, distraction, returning to the breath, forgetting about the breath. Remain aware of the whole process.

If you feel that you need a little help keeping the attention focused on breathing, you can try counting each exhale for 3, 5, or 10 breaths. And then start over with "1".

Don’t try to breathe any special way, or try to change the rhythm or quality of breath. Just tune into the breath, as though to a radio station. If the breath is tense, let it be tense. If it is quick, let it be quick. If it seems boring, let it be boring. In other words, let it be as it is, and notice that.

This practice turns the attention back to fundamentals. Whatever else is going on in our life, that we exist right now as a living, breathing being is the ultimate fact.

Feeling the Body

I recommend eyes open for this meditation also.

Once your attention is focused and stable on the breath, expand your awareness to sense your whole body. Start with your head, neck, shoulders, arms and hands, chest, and so on until you feel the shape of your body "from the inside." Try to maintain that inner sense of "whole body shape" by letting awareness and body inhabit the same space.

Then inquire, "What am I feeling in my body right now?"

Turn into the basic feeling tone of the body: Is it pleasant, unpleasant, or neutral?

When I ask this question of beginning meditators, they often respond not with a feeling, but with a thought. People say, "I’m distracted," "I feel upset about work," "I feel like a failure." Those are not body sensations, but interpretations of a feeling state. Try to locate the primary feeling state beneath the interpretation.

Examples of feeling observations might be:

"My body feels tense."

"My breathing is shallow."

"I feel relaxed."

I like the the term feeling tone to describe these sensations, to distinguish them from emotions such as anger and anxiety. Feeling tones are more primary, and more physical.

In doing this meditation, we need to set aside any notions that meditation ought to be a certain way, such as calm or pleasant. The purpose of meditation is to encounter what is actually so, regardless of how it is. If you are feeling tense and anxious, it is actually a positive thing to become aware and to feel it. It is unconscious tension that haunts and afflicts us. Once conscious, tension can begin to change and to dissolve.

Awareness of our body state can lead to a sense of release and gratitude for the fundamental fact of our aliveness.

Imagining Well-Being

Soen Nakagawa, a 20th century Zen teacher, once said, "If you want to encourage yourself, encourage others."

This meditation can be performed with either closed or open eyes.

This practice begins with the practice of finding the breath. Once you have a stable sense of your own breath, imagine that breath expanding to encompass a big empty space, like a warehouse or open field. Experience your breath as bigger than you - - expansive, inclusive, and generous.

Now in the midst of that open wide space, bring to mind another person and picture them as though they were standing or seated in front of you. This should be someone for whom you have a positive regard - - a family member, a trusted colleague, a good friend. Imagine the details of the person’s face.

Now imagine connecting your breath with the breath of that person. As you breathe, imagine them breathing with you and you with them. Join with their breathing - - which you know, somewhere, is actually going on. Work each inhale, imagine the other person’s inhale; with each exhale, imagine the other’s exhale.

Now, with each of your exhales imagine sending out feelings of encouragement and well-being to the other person. And with each inhale, imagine receiving the feeling-state of the other person - - just as though you had asked them, "How are you? and they told you. Exhale encouragement, inhale their feeling-state.

Stay with this breath connection as long as it feels comfortable. When you are ready to end, slowly allow the image of the other person to dissolve, and return to the feeling of your own breath occupying a big, empty space. The let even that image dissolve and return to your actual breathing.

You can also try this meditation using yourself as the other person (think of looking in a mirror), and wishing well-being for yourself. It may seem odd at first, but how often do we take the time to wish ourselves well? Try it!

Imagining well-being encourages you by connecting your breath to a person you care about.

Happiness Research

What makes human beings happy? This ancient philosophical question is now being investigated by research psychologists in the merging field of "happiness studies." I am in indebted to Dr. Roger Walsh for describing for me the latest results of this research. Apparently, there a three main things that researchers have discovered make people consistently feel happier.

1. Generosity

2.Gratitude

3.Re-framing

And so, for example, the experimenters had the subjects keep a "gratitude journal" for a few weeks, writing down something each day they were grateful for. After re-testing, subjects seem markedly happier.

What do these three happiness factors have in common? The first two involve turning one’s attention away from oneself, and toward others. This is the so-called "paradox of attention" – that giving attention to another’s well-being increases our own happiness. The third, re-framing, is a way of interpreting the circumstances of our life in a more positive way.

Our three meditation practices can now be understood in light of these three happiness factors:

Finding the Breath: This practice helps us to re-frame identity away from the particulars of your life (your job, your health, your finances, your career) and to something more basic and fundamental (your breath).

Feeling the Body: "That we are here is the ultimate fact," said Shunryu Suzuki, another contemporary Zen teacher. This practice of re-grounding awareness in the body can lead to a state of gratitude. (If you start your own gratitude journal, this could be the first entry).

Imagining Well-Being. This practice of joining your breath to the breath of another is a form of generosity.