This idea is common now, especially, in the West, that meditation might be more about relaxation, or maybe addressing stress. But that’s not the meat of the program. The center of that program is a deep, profound, and progressive investigation about the nature of who we are and how our own minds work. It’s a deep investigation about the way our... See more

Here is a better set of beginner meditation instructions: “Settle in a posture that, for you, provides a good compromise between comfort and alertness. Open yourself to the detail of your experience. Allow yourself to be interested in, and receptive to, the rich, particular texture of what’s happening—look beyond the concept of experience into... See more

You have to let go of these many layers of constriction, one after the other. Often, this letting go requires the adoption of different practices at different times. Meditators often drift through traditions, for the simple reason that the average person’s head contains heterogeneous clusters of difficulty. Complicated.