Rob Creekmore - Introduction to Meditation - Notes on Session 1

From the 2014-04-23 lunchtime workshop "Introductory Series on Meditation" (session 1 of 4) by Rob Creekmore:

Quote of the Day:

• "Politely refuse the conversation!" (when thinking intrudes during meditation)

Topics:

• Series of four sessions which Rob states are based on the Buddhist Satipatthana Sutra, with themes:
  • Mindfulness of Sensations
  • Mindfulness of Feeling
  • Mindfulness of Mind States
  • Mindfulness in Everyday Life ("Beyond the Cushion")
• Rob's background is in organizational change management; he has led mindfulness groups at Unitarian churches, and did training at Spirit Rock (Calif.), with Jack Kornfield & Joseph Goldstein et al.
• Other forms of meditation, not discussed in this series, include mantras, visualization, etc.
• Aim of meditation: "Cultivate the muscle of attention"
• Readings from "Mindfulness in Plain English"; an early edition is free online:
  • "… the fleeting instant of pure awareness just before you conceptualize the thing ... that flowing soft-focused moment ... you experience a thing as an un-thing ..." (Chap. 13)
  • "The purpose ... to train us to prolong that moment of awareness."
• Themes & applications of meditation: curiosity, openness, therapy for pain/depression/PTSD, Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction, Mindfulness Based Cognitive Therapy, ...
• Meditation "... introduces a gap ... a space around thought or emotion ..."

Second half of the session was a guided body-scan, top-down, a meditation focusing on sensations, followed by some sharing of observations by the participants:

• Suggestions: close eyes to avoid distraction, sit comfortably, spine vertical, ...
• "Notice how our attention is getting caught, and let it go ... without judging."
• "Incorporate the annoyance into the meditation." (e.g., loud noises, ticking clock, etc.)
• "It's like paying attention to somebody who really needs to be heard." (nonjudgmental awareness)

Personal Notes & Observations during the second half-hour:

• Started drifting into semi-sleep; opened eyes and looked at carpet on the floor ...
• Sporadically noticed the space around ("negative space"), the gaps between sounds (clock ticking had occasional missed-ticks, etc.) ...
• Felt some ache/pain in sit-bones (learn: "ischial tuberosity") after ~20 minutes; tried to observe non judgmentally ...
• Noted slouching, sat up straighter every few minutes, then forgot and slouched
• Focused on non-judging (non-attachment) and letting-go ...
• Rob's comment "Breathe in" led the Bush song "Machinehead" to appear on heavy mental rotation for most of the session ...

(cf. Meditation Retreat (2014-01-28), ...) - ^z - 2014-05-06