Pecha Kucha (Meditation)

Intro/Overview

Hello everyone my name is Davide Bisso and I’ve spent the last 4 years studying and practicing meditation. Being such a broad subject, with many different disciplines, today I’ll be focusing primarily on the Buddhist mediation practices. By the end of this presentation you should have a general understanding of meditation, the Buddhist origins, different learning techniques, and it’s overall benefit.

What is mediation?

So what is mediation? To put shortly, Meditation is a means of transforming the mind. We all know there are many things in life that are beyond our control. This could range from world poverty, war and hatred to more personal matters such as fears, anxieties and confusions. However, it is possible to take responsibility for our own states of mind and change our outlook for the better.  

What is mediation pt. 2 (is it important)

Now you may be thinking why is this so important? Well, we’ve all been in situations were we’ve been inpatient, correct? This could be with anything. Wife, kids, people, animals, you name it. Meditation helps to develop the awareness and the energy needed to transform these ingrained mental habit patterns. No matter how much we may wish to be good, if we cannot change our desires that make us act the way we do, change will be difficult.

What is mediation pt. 3 (Buddhist practices)

Now the Buddhist meditation practices are techniques that encourage and develop concentration, clarity, emotional positivity, and a calm seeing of the true nature of things. With regular work and patience these nourishing, focused states of mind can deepen into profoundly peaceful and energized states of mind. Such experiences can have a transformative effect and can lead to a new understanding of life.

Origins

Buddhism was founded and recognized by Gautama Shiddhartha (the historical Buddha) who lived in India about twenty-five hundred years ago. Siddhartha grew up living the extravagant life of a young prince. According to custom, he married at the young age of sixteen to a girl named Yasodhara. His father had ordered that he live a life of total seclusion, but one day Siddhartha ventured out into the world and was confronted with the reality of the inevitable suffering of life.

Origin pt. 2

For six years, Siddhartha submitted himself to rigorous ascetic practices, studying and following different methods of meditation with various religious teachers. But he was never fully satisfied. One day, however, he was offered a bowl of rice from a young girl and he accepted it. In that moment, he realized that physical austerities were not the means to achieve liberation. From then on, he encouraged people to follow a path of balance rather than extremism. He called this The Middle Way.

Origin pt. 3

The Middle Way is a Buddhist term with rich connotations. Most simply, it implies a balanced approach to life and the regulation of one's impulses and behavior. While the word middle denotes balance, the Middle Way should not be confused with passivity or a kind of middle-of-the-road compromise. Thus, the Middle Way indicates transcendence for ongoing effort and happiness.

Learning meditation

Seeing as we’ve discussed meditation and its origin, I believe its time to teach the various ways to properly meditate. The Buddha taught many different types of meditation, each designed to overcome a particular problem or to develop a particular psychological state. But the two most common and useful types of meditation are Mindfulness of Breathing (anapana sati) and Loving Kindness Meditation (metta bhavana).

Learning meditation pt. 2

If you’re new to meditation, I’d recommend starting with Mindfulness of Breathing. For a clear guide, follows the four Ps: Which are place, posture, practice and problems. First, find a suitable place, perhaps a room that is not too noisy and where you are not likely to do disturbed. Second, sit in a comfortable posture. A good posture is to sit with your legs folded, a pillow under your buttocks, your back straight, and the hands nestled in the lap and the eyes closed.

Learning mediation pt. 3 practice

Next comes the actual practice itself. As you sit quietly with your eyes closed you focus your attention on the in and out movement of the breath. This can be done by counting the breaths or watching the rise and fall of the abdomen. When this is done, certain problems and difficulties will arise. You might experience irritating itches on the body or discomfort in the knees. If this happens, try to keep the body relaxed without moving and keep focusing on the breath. You will probably have many intruding thoughts coming into your mind and distracting your attention from the breath. The only way you can deal with this problem is to patiently keep returning your attention to the breath. If you keep doing this, eventually thoughts will weaken, your concentration will become stronger and you will have moments of deep mental calm and inner peace.

Prep

Now that we have a clear understanding for the various meditation techniques, we’re going to focus on the preparation aspect. Meditation is not something you can just rush. You must get your body and mind ready for the journey. So, for this section we will be covering some helpful techniques in order to get the most out of your sessions.

Prep pt. 2

To start, make meditation a formal practice. You will only get to the next level in meditation by setting aside specific time (preferably two times a day) to be still. Next, focus on breathing and stretching. Breathing deep slows the heart rate, relaxes the muscles, and focuses the mind. Stretching on the other hand loosens the muscles and tendons allowing you to sit (or lie) more comfortably.

Prep pt. 3

After getting into your position, remember why you started meditating in the first place. Beginners must understand that meditation is an ACTIVE process. The art of focusing your attention to a single point is hard work, and you have to be purposefully engaged! This without a doubt will bring frustration. This is very common for beginners as we think, “why can’t I just quiet my damn mind already”. When this happens, really focus in on your breath and let the frustrated feelings go.

Prep pt. 4

If you cant alleviate the frustration, try adding a candle or incense. Meditating with eyes closed can be challenging for a beginner. Lighting a candle or incense and using it as your point of focus allows you to strengthen your attention with a visual cue. Remember to get a candle or incense, of your preference that has a distinct smell, as it will help you relax.

Prep pt. 5

Stress on the other hand is something you shouldn't worry about. This may be the most important tip for beginners, and the hardest to implement. No matter what happens during your meditation practice, do not stress about it. This includes being nervous before meditating and angry afterwards. Meditation is what it is, and just do the best you can at the time.

Prep pt. 6

This leads us into duration and times. Meditation is best in the mornings as it is quieter, your mind is not filled with the usual clutter, and there is less chance you will be disturbed. For duration, It’s good to meditation for 15 minutes every day for a week and then extend the time by 5 minutes each week until you are meditating for 45 minutes.

Benefits

So at this point you may be thinking, all this hard work and effort, what are the benefits? How does it improve my life? How can I use it to my advantage? These answers will all get covered as the three major beneficiaries to meditation include psychological benefits, physiological benefits and spiritual benefits. Each aspect has very unique qualities to improve your overall life.

Benefits pt. 2

So without further a due, here some benefits. It lowers stress, it lets you get to know your true self, it makes you more compassionate, it lowers depression, it helps you sleep better, it reduces negative emotions, it increases self-awareness and body-awareness, it lowers oxygen consumption, it reduces anxieties, it enhances the immune system, it also enhances your vigor, energy and strength. Now these were just a few examples, there is literally hundreds more.

Outro

Hopefully after this presentation you come to realize why meditation is so important. If you were skeptical before, now you have a basic overview of what it is, how it came to be and what it does for you. Thank you for your patience and time.