How to Sit (Mindfulness Essentials Book 1)

Instead of “striking the bell,” I like to say “inviting the bell to sound.”

“My dear child, I know you are there, and I am here for you. If you have something to tell me, please say it to me.” After some moments, allow yourself to speak as that small child, expressing anything you never got a chance to share.

Writing when your mind is clear after sitting can be very satisfying.

Consider daily sitting meditation to be a kind of spiritual food.

sitting can produce the most nourishing calm and joy and we can all afford some time to sit. How wonderful to sit and do nothing.

What is getting in the way of your being able to experience the present moment? Keep breathing. Keep sitting. This is the practice.

Sit in order to sit. Stand in order to stand. There is no goal or aim in sitting. Do it because it makes you happy.

There is no separate self. We are a current. We are a stream. We are a continuation.

Following our breathing, we can say: All phenomena are impermanent. They are subject to birth and death. When the notions of birth and death are removed, this silence is called great joy. This meditation sums up all of the Buddha’s teaching.

We are made of ancestors, culture, food, air, and water. We are made of form, feelings, perceptions, mental formations, and consciousness. We invite every component to listen deeply to the bell.