Quieting the Mind Th e fi nal step in preparing for a quiet, concentrative meditation is to perform a technique that will help quiet the mind. Aft er getting comfortable (as described above), simply take your right hand and

Close your eyes and rotate your hand so that the center of your palm makes the outline of a circle that is the size of a quarter. Move your hand toward your left , such that if an observer were facing you, your hand would be moving in a clockwise direction. If, as you move your hand, you gradually enlarge the size of the circle, that is not a problem. People may experience diff erent sensations from this, such as a feeling of heat coming from their hand to their forehead, but almost everyone fi nds that it helps quiet the mind. When you feel your mind has quieted down a little, meaning you are not paying much attention to any thoughts that may be arising, it is time to start focusing on the object of your concentrative meditation (looking at a candle, repeating a prayer, word or phrase, or focusing on the breath).

FOCUS ON THE BREATH Th e most popular concentrative meditation is to focus on the breath. Th is is extremely versatile, since no supplies (like a candle) are needed, and it can be done wherever we are. Th e way this meditation is performed is to simply focus on your breath as it comes in and out of your body. Try breathing in through your nose and out through your mouth (dont worry about doing this if your nose is stuff ed), being aware of the air coming in and going out. By keeping your focus on the breath you prevent other thoughts from coming in. If they do, simply let them go as best you can, and return to concentrating on your breathing. Try to do this for a minute or two when you fi rst start, and continue for longer when you feel you are able.

VARIATIONS ON A THEME Th ere are many variations to this most basic script. It can be done in silence or with music that you fi nd relaxing. If you fi nd your focus drift ing from your breath to the music, allow it to happen it is just another form of meditation. You may feel you can control your mind better by adding the mental discipline of repeating in your mind a word or phrase in coordination with your breathing. An example would be the phrase soft belly, thinking of the word soft on the in breath and belly on the out breath. Another way to structure the meditative process is, aft er getting comfortable and performing the hand motions previously described, to go through a prescribed pattern of thinking before starting the concentrative part of the meditation (in this case, the focusing in the breath. (cid:2) An example of this is the pattern of thought that I personally use every day, which I off er here for you to use as described, or to modify to your liking.