Meditation Skill 05

Your meditation is the same as Meditation Skill 04, except you now develop mindfulness of the experience of breathing as it naturally flows in and out of your body. At this stage of meditation, it is important to bring the enjoyment and happiness you developed in Marker 04: Joyful Presence to the experience of your body's gentle expansion (stretch) and contraction (relax) as it breathes.

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• Meditation Length: Meditate for 30 min to develop calm & insight.
• Attention & Awareness: Allow your attention to focus in the foreground on the subtle pleasure of each breath while keeping a background, peripheral awareness of the natural flow of breathing within your body.
• Progression: When you can experience the natural flow of breathing within your body, free from your mind habitually controlling or interfering with it.

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Simple Instructions:

Develop the foundation of Meditation Skills 01-04 in Steps 1 to 3:

1. Prepare: Sit for meditation, one thumb resting on the other, reflect gratefully >
2. Joyful Presence: Establish Marker 04: Joyful Presence as in Skills 01-04 >
3. Natural Breathing: Be mindful of your body's gentle expansion (stretch) and contraction (relax) as it breathes. >
4. Enjoy It: Increase your awareness of the subtle pleasure of each expansion (stretch) and contraction (relax), smiling toward it with your eyes and enjoying it.
5. Insight: Develop insight by observing and softening any tendency of your mind to control your breathing. Breath control appears as tightness, tension, and breathing that does not settle or calm down as the meditation progresses. If you suspect breath control, allow a slow breath out through your nose, then relax and wait for the breath to draw back in by itself.

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Detailed Explanation:

Step 1: Prepare your body & mind for meditation.

• Sit for meditation, gently close your eyes, and place one hand in the other, resting in your lap, one thumb resting on the other as a grounding point for attention.
• Always begin your meditation by sweetening your mind by reflecting on simple things in your life for which you can be grateful, including this opportunity to meditate.

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Step 2: Meditation Skills 01-04: Develop Joyful Presence.

• Establish a Marker 04: Joyful Presence as in Meditation Skill 04.

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Meditation Skill 05 Additions:

Step 3: Experience the natural expansion (stretch) and contraction (relax) of your breathing.

• As enjoyment and presence develop in Marker 04: Joyful Presence, you will become aware of the natural expansion (stretch) and contraction (relax) of your body as it breathes. 
• You may experience breathing in your head or upper back, in your shoulders, chest, belly, arms and legs or your whole body as one. Wherever breathing is clearest to you, learn to find enjoyment in the expansion (stretch) and contraction (relax) of your body as it naturally breathes, free from control. Bring bare awareness to your breathing experience wherever it is, being careful not to control or change it in any way. 
• To create a very stable meditation object, increasing awareness of your breathing is helpful by teaching your mind to feel it in different parts of your body. To do this, see if you can feel the natural expansion (stretch) and contraction (relax) in your shoulders > chest > upper back > belly > lower back > legs > arms > head until you can feel your whole body breathe.

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Step 5: Enjoy the expansion (stretch) and contraction (relax) of your breathing.

• Increase your awareness of the subtle pleasure of each expansion (stretch) and contraction (relax), smiling toward it with your eyes and enjoying it. Allow the subtle pleasure of each breath to come into the foreground of your awareness while keeping a background, peripheral awareness of the natural flow of breathing within your body.
• Smiling with your eyes into the subtle pleasure of each breath, really enjoying it, will increase the pleasure found within each natural in and out-breath and therefore settle the Hindrances of forgetting, control and mind wandering.

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Step 6: Develop insight into any tendency to control your breathing and mind wandering.

• Control: Develop insight by observing and softening any tendency of your mind to control your breathing. Breath control appears as tightness, tension, and breathing that does not settle or calm down as the meditation progresses. If you suspect breath control, allow a slow breath out through your nose, then relax and wait for the breath to draw back in by itself.

GOSS: Ground --> Observe --> Soften --> Smile.

1. Ground: Be aware of the experience of your body's natural breathing.
2. Observe: Notice whenever your mind begins to control it.
3. Soften: Allow a gentle softening breath out through your nose to reset it.
4. Smile: Smile with your eyes into the pleasure of the breath and your body as the natural breath draws in again to reward your mind for letting go of control.

Further instructions: (How to Weaken Habitual Control).

Progression in mindfulness of breathing can be accurately tracked by observing your ability to access the 12 Meditation Markers. This can be done by developing insight into and calming the conditions supporting the associated Meditative Hindrance.

Your fifth step in meditation is to develop Marker 05: Natural Breathing (right column) to calm Hindrance 05: Habitual Control (left column).

Progression Map for Mindfulness of Breathing

Meditative Hindrances.                       Meditation Markers.

                                                               01: Body Relaxation.

                                                               02: Mind Relaxation.

                                                               03: Mindful Presence.

                                                               04: Joyful Presence.

05: Habitual Control.               →      05: Natural Breathing.

06: Mind Wandering.                          06: Length of Each Breath.

07: Gross Dullness.                            07: Breath Sensations.

08: Subtle Dullness.                           08: One Point of Sensation.

09: Subtle Wandering.                       09: Sustained Attention.

10: Subtle Distraction.                      10: Whole-Body Breathing.

11: Anticipation of Pleasure.           11: Sustained Awareness.

12: Fear of Letting Go.                      12: Access Concentration.

Other Hindrances: It is important to note that although your focus is on settling the Hindrance of Habitual Control at this stage of meditation, all the other Hindrances listed above may also be present. It is essential to settle each Hindrance in the order presented in the above Map for Mindfulness of Breathing, as each Marker is the antidote for its associated Hindrance.

As you develop Joyful Presence and become more aware of the natural flow of breathing throughout your body, old habits of seeking pleasure may slip in and manifest as your mind controls and tightens your breathing. Seeing your mind's tendency to control something that does not need to be controlled, your breathing is a fantastic opportunity for insight into how to be aware of experiences and let them be as they are.

Progression: Once you weaken the habit of habitually controlling your breathing and can experience a continuous knowing of the length of each in and out-breath as it naturally flows within your body, free from control, you are ready to develop Marker 06: Breathing Presence.

Meditative Hindrances are signs of an imbalance in either your effort or the structure of your attention. It is skillful to view them as an opportunity for insight into your mind rather than something to overcome.

Meditative Hindrances.

01: Physical Restlessness.

02: Mental Restlessness.

03: Sleepiness & Drifting.

04: Habitual Forgetting.

05: Habitual Control.

06: Mind Wandering.

07: Gross Dullness.

08: Subtle Dullness.

09: Subtle Wandering.

10: Subtle Distraction.

11: Anticipation of Pleasure.

12: Fear of Letting Go.

Meditative Hindrance.

Habitual Control (05).

Your mind habitually controlling your breathing. 

Habitual Control refers to the experience of your mind interfering with and changing the natural flow of your breathing. Meditators usually experience this as a tight and uncomfortable feeling breath. This grasping of the mind to control the breath appears as tightness, tension and unease. As long as your mind has a habit of controlling your breath, your ability to develop deeper calm and tranquility will be hindered. It is important, therefore, to recognise this and follow the MIDL training of deconditioning habitual control. It is also important to observe that your mind will practice this desire to control things in daily life; your breathing reflects this. See this as an opportunity to learn to let go, and you are already halfway there. 

Antidote.

Let a slow, gentle out-breath through your nose, then relax and allow the breathing to draw back in by itself, allowing your mind for a short time, to experience your breathing, free from control. Repeating this, and enjoying how nice the natural, uncontrolled breath feels will gradually decondition the tendency of your mind to control your breathing.

Support Meditation: Habitually controlling your breathing.

You are ready to progress to Meditation Skill 06: Length of Each Breath when:

• As a natural progression of relaxing & letting go, you find enjoyment in the experience of your breathing as it flows in and out of your body, free from any desire for you or your mind to control it.

Control: If you have difficulty being aware of your breathing without your mind habitually controlling it, Meditation: Skill in Allowing will help you weaken this control.

• SoundCloud: Guided Meditation.
• Insight Timer: Guided Meditation.
• You Tube: Video Instructions.

From the foundation of mindfulness of your body, as you learned in Meditation Skill 01, you can start to observe how the experience of your body changes throughout the day as a direct reflection of your state of mind.

What is meant by 'direct reflection of your mind' is that your current state of mind can be observed by your body's reaction to it. 

• Tightness and tension will appear in your body if your mind is resisting something.
• Feelings of longing will appear in your body if your mind is wanting something.

Emotions and feelings of pleasantness and unpleasantness you experience in your body are reflections of your state of mind. 

It is helpful to observe these reflections know clearly how you are relating to things within your life.

Applying your GOSS: ground --> observe --> soften --> smile formula will help to relax any of these resistances and gradually weaken them over time.

From your foundation of GOSS, you can begin to train attention skills learnt in seated meditation, into your daily life.

Meditation 05 in Daily Life:

1. Gently soften awareness into your body until it feels grounded, present, now. 
2. Relax your effort to be aware of your body, allow it to shift to the background.
3. During quiet time, learn to tune into the flow of breathing within your body.
4. Smile into the pleasure of each letting go that occurs with each natural breath.

Question: From marker 05 "natural breathing", do we need to have the sensation of stretch/relaxation in peripheral awareness?

Stephen: As we prepare for mindfulness of breathing in Meditations 01-03 we develop an overall sensitivity to the whole of our body as we sit in meditation.

While there may be background sounds or thoughts our awareness of the experience of our body as it sits is in the foreground.

In Meditation 03: Mindful Presence we have a clear peripheral awareness of the elemental qualities of our body such as warmth, coolness, pressure, touch, heaviness etc. as an overall experience of our body.

Our attention at this stage is focused on and rests on the border of our body. With the main focus of our peripheral awareness and attention focused on our body, this is referred to as being grounded.

In Meditation 04: Joyful Presence you enjoy this mindful presence, finding the simple pleasure/ease within it, and the experience of being grounded within your body matures.

This is known in MIDL as our Viewing Platform.

In Meditation 05: Natural Breathing you will, without effort, become aware of breathing within your body. This movement appears as a natural stretch and relax movement within our body.

At this stage while you maintain a peripheral awareness of your whole body in the background, the focus of your attention moves from the borders of your body to the movement of breathing as it occurs.

Question: Do we need to have the sensation of stretch/relaxation in peripheral attention?

Stephen: No. The experience of stretch and relax refers to how we experience Markers 05: Natural Breathing & 06: Whole of Each Breath. It is an object of attention and not an object of peripheral awareness during these early stages of mindfulness of breathing.

Question: Do we keep the center of attention the various successive markers "Whole of each breath", then "Sensations in breathing", then "One point of sensation"?

Stephen: From this stage of as mindfulness of breathing develops, your attention will gradually become narrower in focus: body breathing (body) > breath length (body) > breath sensation (nose) > one point of sensation (nose), while in the background you will maintain a peripheral awareness of your body.

As this happens the focus of attention on the experience of your breathing will come more into the foreground, and awareness of your body more into the background.

In percentages we can think of it as this:

It is important to note that these aren't accurate and more to give you a feel about what is happening.

*Peripheral Awareness (PA) = in the background.
* Attention (A) = focused on in the foreground.

• 03: = (PA) - 80% - foreground. (A) - 20% - background. (Mindful Presence)
• 04: = (PA) - 90% - foreground. (A) - 10% - background. (Joyful Presence)
• 05: = (PA) - 50% - even. (A) - 50% - even. (Natural Breathing)
• 06: = (PA) - 40% - background. (A) - 60% - foreground. (Whole of Each Breath)
• 07: = (PA) - 30% - background. (A) - 70% - foreground. (Sensations in Breathing)
• 08: = (PA) - 20% - background. (A) - 80% - foreground. (One Point of Sensation)
• 09: = (PA) - 10% - background. (A) - 90% - foreground. (Sustained Attention)
• 10: = (PA) - 90% - foreground. (A) - 10% - background. (Whole Body Breathing)
• 11: = (PA) - 100% - foreground. (A) - 0% - background. (Sustained Awareness)
• 12: = (PA) + (A) unified 100% - foreground. (Access Concentration)

Question: I would really appreciate if you could say anything about what it actually means when attention has a very low percentage (zero in M11!), this seems a bit strange to me as I've always associated "little/no attention" with dullness. 

Obviously, we don't have dullness in M11, so clearly, I've been making some sort of conceptual mistake there? So, what does it actually mean in MIDL for attention to be "non-existent" (0%, as in M11) or nearly so (10%, as in M04, M10, etc), without any presence of dullness? 

Stephen: In Meditation 09 attention is sustained and there is no potential for gross or subtle dullness. Gross Dullness was overcome in Meditation 07 and subtle dullness in Meditation 08.

Sustained attention means that the focus of attention is stable, unmoving and flowing with the object of meditation - by itself.

Once attention is sustained it no longer wanders and also has no interest in secondary objects within background peripheral awareness.

At this stage we can let go of attention, as our mind is doing it itself, and instead bring all experiences within peripheral awareness to the foreground.

In Meditation 10 we still have some background awareness of attention resting on its object, but we narrow 90% of the energy of peripheral awareness into the experience of our whole body as it breathes.

This withdraws energy from the six sense fields and narrows it down to this experience to close down awareness of the six sense fields.

In Meditation 11 we become so absorbed in the pleasure of peripheral awareness of the body that awareness of the sustained attention fades, that why 100% peripheral awareness is mentioned.

As the body sense fades all that is left is 100% awareness of piti sukha (pleasure in the body, joy/happiness within the mind), as the mind narrows down from sensory experience to just this pure experience, free from hindrances, as it reaches access concentration.

Question: Attention isn't really controlled or considered at all during M04 (as long as it's not doing anything which is interfering with the ability to maintain mindfulness of each joyful presence focus in peripheral awareness) ... and, for that reason, we say that M04 is 90% peripheral awareness and only 10% attention? Is that a correct understanding of what the percentage breakdown means, in this case? 

Stephen: Yes, that's right. Attention is not deliberately trained until M05 as we begin mindfulness of breathing. That is why from M05 to M09 when attention is sustained, attention gradually becomes more dominant.

The changes in percentages occur because peripheral awareness and the focal point of attention both draw their energy from the same energy pool. So as one increases the other weakens.

Interestingly it is understanding of this relationship between peripheral awareness and attention that allows insight meditation to transfer into daily life. Hence the GOSS Formula is taking advantage of this.

Question: It would be great if Stephen could explain the place of such practices (asanas, pranayamas, qigong, tai chi) in the MIDL system, how they interact in the terminology of MIDL, 

Stephen: Instead of focusing of the terminology of these practices, we should clarify the importance of framework and intention because it drives the way that our mind perceives what it is we are doing.

And hence way that the path unfolds for us when we practice them.

I can practice my qi gong form with the intention and framework taught to me by my qi gong teacher, and I see the flow of qi in everything, my health and longevity improve, my ability to heal, spontaneous qi movements, psychic powers and one with the universe.

I can practice my qi gong form with the intention and framework taught to me by my meditation teacher, and I see impermanence in my body and mind experience, suffering when my mind clings, and freedom from suffering that comes from surrendering to its autonomous nature.

With this second intention, my focus is not on qi, healing, longevity etc. it is on weakening and uprooting the unwholesome/unskillful and cultivating and establishing the wholesome/skillful as a natural way of being. It is to bring the suffering of samsara to an end.

Two different frameworks & intentions that lead to two different perceptions and therefore unfolding of path, yet the same set of physical movements and human mind.

My intention towards what I am cultivating, what I see as important and not important, and how 

I am perceiving experiences completely changes the unfolding of the path in any activity I do be it yoga, tai chi, the gym or even sitting in meditation. Intention and framework change the way experience unfolds.

Question: Could you explain the place of such practices in the MIDL system, ............ and how this correlates with the Seven Enlightenment Factors and the Noble Eightfold Path. 

Stephen: 

To do this we need to stick with the Buddhas framework.

1. Four Noble Truths.
2. Noble Eightfold Path.
3. Seven Enlightenment Factors.
4. Five Hindrances.
5. Three Characteristics.
6. Nibanna.

Our intention is towards:

1. Increasing clarity of mind by developing samadhi.
2. Using this clarity for insight that develops wisdom.
3. Applying wisdom in a way that results in letting go and refinement of morality.
4. Thereby creating the conditions for deepening samadhi in a circle.

This is done by:

1. Clearly defining peripheral awareness from the focus of attention in formal, seated meditation.
2. Applying accurate, precise attention training in both stability & flexibility in formal, seated meditation.
3. Training our mind to clearly perceive anicca, dukkha and anatta as primary and people and things as secondary.

This is expressed in asanas, pranayamas, qigong, tai chi by:

1. Establishing peripheral awareness in our body as mindful presence; enlightenment factors 1-3.
2. Finding enjoyment in mindful presence to the 4th enlightenment factor: joy.
3. Bring this established joyful presence towards remembering the experience of movement into the above practices. This is where slow, defined, deliberate movement-based practices have an advantage over faster movements such as running, sports etc. Actually, the slow flow is the best to align awareness with the characteristics.
4. Notice whenever we forget this experience and relax back into joyful presence.
5. Taking interest in: pleasantness, unpleasantness, impermanence and autonomy.
6. Taking interest in and softening our relationship of attraction, aversion indifference towards the experience of practicing and inclining our mind towards contentment with it.

Question: Could provide general recommendations on preferred physical practices (asanas, pranayamas, Tai Chi, Qigong) and ways to integrate them into MIDL into a coherent structure?

Stephen: From the very first Meditation Skill in MIDL training we are focused on defining and cultivating sensitivity to dwelling within peripheral awareness of our body: kayagata sati.

In Meditation 03 we learn to ground both prethermal awareness and attention in our body through relaxing, letting go and skill in observing when attention wanders.

During this training, from Meditations 01-04 we develop the GOSS Formula, a way of skillfully changing habitual behaviour of our mind through an insight and reward system.

From Meditations 05 onwards we begin to isolate and train attention while maintaining peripheral awareness of our body. Attention and peripheral awareness become clearly defined as two separate things that are intimately connected all the way up to access concentration.

From Meditation 04 onwards, with the establishment of skill int he GOSS Formula, we have all the tools we need to bring our practice into any activity in our daily life by following the same intention and structure trained in Meditations 01-04.