How to meditate: a practical Guide By Kathleen Mcdonald

Drawing from her extensive experience as a Western Buddhist nun, McDonald offers a comprehensive introduction to Buddhist meditation which, in my view, covers most of what has been discovered on meditation.

I like this book because it caters to both beginners and seasoned practitioners, blending theoretical insights with practical exercises.

With the help of Chat Gpt along with my personal insights on how meditation and Coaching can work together, you may find here a summary of meditation techniques along with common challenges and misconceptions.

I have been 3 years on a wheelchair and crutches due to a car accident: meditation has helped me enormously to stabilize my mind, accept what happened, receive general wellbeing.

I propose meditation to my clients of the Coaching Program and it's everywhere in my everyday life. I think it's a great practice.

🧘‍♀️ Main meditation techniques

1. Breath Awareness: it's advisable to begin by focusing attention on the natural rhythm of the breath. This practice anchors the mind, fostering stability and clarity. You may also choose a mantra to stick to or simply images you like.

2. Clarity of Mind: observe the mind's nature, notice thoughts, feelings, and perceptions as they arise. Without trying to stop them or any attachment. You are not your thoughts, neither your emotions. They are just passing visitors.

   
   

3. Analytical Meditations: engage in contemplations on topics that are meaningful for you, like difficult experiences or people currently present in your life. Or more high-level, self-less topics like compassion or impermanence of things, for instance. According to buddhism, these meditations help you become your own therapist and elaborate mental and emotional difficulties. Watch out psychotherapist, counselors, coaches and all mental wellbeing professionals: we may soon be out of job..

   
   

4. Visualization Practices: visualize enlightened beings (such as Gods, Goddesses or inspiring leaders). This technique is to inspire qualities like compassion, gratitude, wisdom combining imagination with spiritual aspiration. You may well concentrate on a enlightened candel, a flower etc.: in front of you, with closed eyes.

   
   

5. Tonglen (Giving and Taking): practice breathing in the suffering of others and breathing out relief and happiness to them. This cultivates deep compassion and reduces self-centeredness.

McDonald illustrates the mind's clarity by comparing it to an ocean:

"Mind can be compared to an ocean, and momentary mental events such as happiness, irritation, fantasies, and boredom to the waves that rise and fall on its surface. Just as the waves can subside to reveal the stillness of the ocean’s depths, so too is it possible to calm the turbulence of our mind to reveal its natural pristine clarity."

This metaphor emphasizes that beneath the surface disturbances, the mind possesses a stable, clear nature that can be accessed through meditation.

Tips & tricks: start with breath meditation

• Choose a place to meditate and stick to it — ritually, at least in the beginning.

• Choose a time and stick to it — start in the morning, 20 minutes

• Introducing new habits into your life is difficult (and boring) — even if it’s just for 5 minutes, show up to yourself, every day

• Close your eyes, sit comfortably with your back straight but relaxed, hands resting on your legs

• Start breathing: inhale deeply, exhale deeply (without overdoing it), all with the nose

• Visualize this vital flow entering and leaving, meeting at the level of your navel — with time, you may start to feel a small vital charge, right there

• When you feel ready, practice twice a day: morning and evening, 20 minutes each

• Your Ego will go crazy and try to break in with all sorts of sneaky tricks, offering you anything just to prove it’s still the boss. It doesn’t like being set aside. Smile, let it in, and return to your meditation.

• Don't meditate after heavy food (you'll sleep) or with too much caffeine and theine (mind will jump around more)

Integrating Breath & Analytical Meditation:

a Step-by-Step Guide for a more advanced meditation

1. Preparation (2–5 minutes)

• See above

2. Stabilizing the Mind (5–10 minutes)

• Focus on the breath as your object of concentration: you can also use a mental image (e.g., a candle flame) or a mantra instead of the breath.

• Each time your mind wanders, gently return to the breath: it’s ok to be distracted, perfectly normal.

• This stage calms distractions and builds single-pointed attention, making the mind more receptive

3. Analytical Meditation (15–30 minutes)

a) Introduce the topic

• Bring to mind a specific contemplation: a more selfish topic (ex. a difficult person, experience, aspect of yourself you don't like) or a larger self-less one (ex. compassion, cause and effect dynamics in our lives, impermanence of things, gratitude etc.)

• Be imaginative creating the right setting: if the image fades, increase brightness to refocus

b) Analyze

• Reflect on it, see what arises: thoughts, feelings, emotions, memories

• Observe whatever arises for some minutes

  
  

• Ask yourself: what’s behind all this? What am I resisting really? and why?

• Pause and sit on whatever arises for some moments

  
  

• Ask yourself probing questions: are my perceptions correct? could I see this differently, in a more empowering way? What's the best way to see all this, for me?

  
  

• Then you may ask yourself: how changing the view I have bring value to my life? What may be possible?

• Pause and sit on whatever arises for some moments

Allow your mind to explore naturally, moving from point to point.

c) Rest in Concentration (3–5 minutes)

• stop the analysis and let your mind rest in the insight you gained

• Focus single-pointedly on that insight: whenever thoughts arise, gently return to the feeling or understanding

• What did I learn? Could I bring it in my daily life?

  
  

This resting phase stabilizes the insight so it penetrates deeper: from head to heart.

I suggest to adapt time proportions based on your experience: beginners may need longer focusing and may well only do breathing meditation to focus and stabilize the mind  (step 1 & 2).

Then the habit will craft and create a new you.

Advanced practitioners might emphasize analytical meditation more.

Meditation allows our brains to pause and reflect. Practicing the art of getting out of ourselves for some moments: the observer and the observed become one.

A Coaching Program has some similarities and pushes the boundaries even further: in a smooth dance of questioning and pausing, the client is challenged to have a larger view on herself/himself, to get out of her/his way. And see that more options are available.

After bringing insights to surface, she/he need to act, try out new things. The practice part, whereby clients verify experientially what works and what doesn’t. Being accountable before their Coach: who is also there to check and accompany the process.

Benefits of meditation

• reduced identification with thoughts: recognizing thoughts as transient reduces their grip on our consciousness

• enhanced emotional resilience: observing emotions without attachment fosters equanimity

• increased mental clarity: regular practice reveals the mind's inherent clarity, improving focus and insight

• increased acceptance of yourself: the internal dialogue gets better (of course, you took time to take care of yourself)

In my 12 sessions Coaching Program, I support entrepreneurs, Team Leaders, Athletes, fathers & mothers and anybody who wishes to pause, reflect and make a plan.

A plan to create the life they desire. Without drastical changes: increasing something, decreasing somethingelse, eliminating some other aspects. Starting something new.

📎 For more details on the Program:

👉 https://www.kilianbaccari.com/coaching

📲Additional resources:

Instagram: www.instagram.com/kilian_the_coach

YouTube: www.youtube.com/@KilianTheCoach

📧 To contact me: coaching@kilianbaccari.com

Things don’t get easier. We get better.