Anam Cara, Inc.

www.anamcara-ny.org
914-234-4800
Meditation Instructions
copyright 2006 Lawrence Edwards, Ph.D.

Meditation begins with a posture of meditation. The physical posture

helps to support the development of the inner posture of awareness
that you are cultivating through the practice of meditation.

How best to sit? A meditation posture that allows you to sit

comfortably erect, steady but not rigid, supports the mind going into
meditation rather than sleep. You can sit cross-legged in a classic
meditation posture, or use a meditation bench for a kneeling posture
or use a chair that allows you to sit with your back properly aligned.
You can sit on the floor using a wall for back support or lay down if
necessary. Once seated, breathe slowly and deeply, allowing the body
and the mind to relax and release. With every exhalation your body
rids itself of toxins and wastes you don’t need. With every exhalation
allow the body and mind to let go and expel whatever you are best rid
of. With each inhalation you take in fresh air and nourish your body
with its most needed nutrient, oxygen. Breathe in deeply and refresh
your whole body and mind. You can move your awareness through
your body, inviting the muscles to release and let go. You may notice a
gentle heaviness that settles over your body as the muscles warm and
relax. Breathing effortlessly, your body has the wisdom to continue to
relax and let go more and more deeply, even as you turn your
attention toward the object of focus in your meditation practice.

What do I focus on? There are countless meditation techniques with

countless things to focus on. One of the best is the mantra Om Namah
Shivaya. It focuses the mind, aids the body in letting go of stress and
begins to open our awareness to who we truly are, beyond the confines
of the roles we play and our habitual ways of seeing ourselves. To use
the mantra for meditation, simply repeat it silently to yourself as
continuously as possible. When the mind wanders away from Om
Namah Shivaya into some thought, memory, feeling, or fantasy, gently
bring your attention back to Om Namah Shivaya, focusing on the
mantra as fully as possible. You can also use the Hamsa mantra in the
same way. Hamsa means “I Am.” It goes with the breath, Ham
(pronounced hum) on the inhalation and Sa on the exhalation. Full
absorb your attention in the mantra. The intensity of your focus comes
solely through the use of your attention. Your body remains totally
relaxed and at ease. Over time the practice of meditation will unfold
deeper and deeper levels of awareness as the mind quiets and the
contents of the mind absorb less and less of your attention. The state
of meditation is one of vast spaciousness of awareness, all-
encompassing, all-embracing. It can be experienced while going about
one’s daily activities, while sleeping soundly and even while dreaming.
This state is as natural to us as our other states of consciousness, but
we haven’t had the instruction and the support we need to fully access
it. As you develop your practice of meditation, you will find the
enormous inner resources it makes available to you will transform your
experience of everyday life. As you silently repeat the mantra Om
Namah Shivaya over and over again, absorbing your attention in it, the
mantra will draw your mind into the Transcendent, the Absolute, what
many call the Divine. That’s the infinite spaciousness of your own pure
Being, beyond the mind and body. You are that. Repeat the mantra
with the awareness of your own sublime essential nature.

What do I watch and how best do I watch? As you close your

eyes and turn your attention inside you encounter the mind and
everything that runs through it. The state of meditation is already fully
present and unbroken by anything we do or think. The awareness of it
is obscured by the contents of the mind and our habit of giving all our
attention to those contents, no matter how awful, stressful or ridiculous
they may be at times! Step back and watch the mind without
engaging it. As you sit quietly, your body relaxed and steady, your
attention on the mantra, you will find that you are beginning to detach
from the mind and body, able to watch, unperturbed, without
judgment, whatever is going through them. It’s as if you were sitting
on the bank of a river, watching peacefully whatever flows by,
untouched, unmoved by whatever it may be. In meditation you sit on
the bank of the stream of consciousness, watching what passes you by.
You may find yourself aware of the mind repeating the mantra even as
you watch from a place of utter stillness and inner spaciousness.
You’re beginning to access the awareness of your own transcendent
Self, the Witness, the one who is awake and aware even while you are
dreaming and lets you know you dreamt something, the one who is
awake even during deep sleep and lets you know you were aware of
nothingness. By entering Witness consciousness we’re able to de-
condition the mind and body, freeing them of the many negative
habitual responses we’re bound by. It also allows us to explore the
boundlessness of awareness and the inner realms of profound
relaxation, visions and more. The Witness watches everything and it
does so without judgment, with infinite compassion and unshakeable
equanimity. The Witness, your own Self, is in the state of meditation
all the time. You access that awareness through mantra and
meditation techniques in order to be able to know the Knower, to
experience the Witness, the source of Consciousness, at any time in
any place. Practice detaching and watching the mind, the body and
life from the perspective of the Witness. In this way you can bring the
benefits of meditation into all areas of your life.

For information about meditation groups, courses, retreats and private

instruction please contact Lawrence Edwards, Ph.D., Founder and
Director of Anam Cara, Inc., Bedford, NY.
914-234-4800

Copyright 2006 Lawrence Edwards, Ph.D.