Study Materials · Practice
Five practices arranged from the simplest to the most demanding. Each one asks a little more mental skill than the last. Move up only when the one before it feels natural — there is no rush.
Begin each session the same way: sit comfortably, let the body settle, and take a few slow breaths. Then choose one practice. Start with the first and stay with it for days or weeks before climbing to the next.
Letting thoughts pass through — not focusing on anything.
The gentlest practice. Let the mind be wide open. Thoughts, sounds, and feelings arise and drift away on their own; you neither chase them nor push them off. You are simply present, focusing on nothing in particular, resting in ease.
The skill: allowing — learning to leave the mind alone.
Capture a thought, hold it a moment, release it — then return to the breath.
When a thought appears, gently take hold of it, as if catching it in a bubble. Hold it for just a moment, look at it, and then let it float away. As it goes, bring your attention to the breath — in, and out — until the next thought arises, and repeat.
The skill: noticing — becoming aware of thoughts as they come and go.
Neither wanting nor un-wanting — meeting each desire with a neutral mind.
Rest in stillness, holding no wish for things to be different and no aversion to how they are. The moment a desire — or a rejection — crosses the mind, let it go at once and replace it with a neutral point of attention, such as the breath. Again and again you return to an even, wanting-nothing calm.
The skill: equanimity — releasing craving and aversion the instant they arise.
Follow a phrase to where it leads — then trace the path back.
Begin with a single phrase. Let your mind move to how that phrase relates to another phrase, and then to another, following the natural chain of associations petal by petal. When the train of thought finally arrives at a phrase unrelated to where you began, stop — and carefully trace the connections backward, step by step, all the way to the phrase you started with.
The skill: concentration and recall — holding a whole train of thought in view and walking it in reverse.
Resting the mind on sacred words and letting their meaning open.
Choose a short passage of scripture — from the Bible, the Dhammapada, the Big Book, or whatever holds meaning for you. Read it slowly. Then set the book down and hold a single line in the mind, turning it over, letting its meaning deepen and speak to your own life. When attention wanders, return to the words. This is the most demanding practice because it unites stillness, concentration, and the heart.
The skill: contemplation — steady attention joined with meaning and faith.