1) Back straight, head up.
2) Wear comfortable clothes, no shoes.
3) Be relaxed or do Calm Exercises.
4) Sit for a fee moments, breathe regularly.
5) Eyes closed, unfocused, looking straight ahead.
Before we continue with your meditation, there is one note of caution which all meditation teachers give. Meditation should always be approached from a common-sense point of view. If at any stage you 'know' or sense that something is wrong, or something really doesn't feel right, simply stop. Tomorrow things will almost surely be different. This is not to suggest that the Calm Technique is some sort of hallucinogenic or potentially dangerous activity. However, meditation depends upon you feeling 'right', and serves no purpose if it feels 'wrong'. There will be occasions in meditation when you feel fidgety, anxious, scatterbrained, or simply tired. You have these feelings many times a day whethet you're meditating or not, so they are completely natural and will occur.
During meditation, trivial annoyances may take on a greater significance than they deserve, simply because they can easily be turned into large and welcome distractions. All teachers recommend that you ignore them.
There is no call for heroics in the Calm Technique. If you're really troubled by something, stop what you're doing and take a break. If you've only just begun the session, try performing the Calm Exercises until you are more relaxed. If, on the other hand, your problem is tiredness, the Calm Exercises should wake you a little. If not, try sleeping. Should you really have something serious on your mind that you find impossible to ignore, don't worry, resume your meditation the following morning or evening. There is no advantage in forcing yourself to do anything; that does little more than add to your overall level of anxiety. You should condition yourself to have the right frame of mind, to reject distractions, to keep your attention focused on the task. It is this gradual and persistent conditioning (and your willpower) that perfects the Calm Technique. Acts of great intensity and personal sacrifice can be reserved for more deserving occasions like running marathons and saving civilizations.
THE BREATHING MEDITATION
Having read the preparatory chapters, you're no doubt anxious to get the show on the road and try out the Calm Technique. But there is an even simpler meditation than the Calm Technique which is an ideal introduction for you.
It is a simplified, old Zen breathing meditation. In this book its purpose is to provide a comfortable first step into meditation. In practice, this breathing meditation could be an end in itself. You could perform this every day and night for the rest of your life and in the long run it would probably be as beneficial as any other meditation. But it has been simplified and many people find difficulty in sticking with it for any length of time. (Probably because it seems too simple.)
You should begin with this breathing meditation before you start experimenting with the Calm Technique, at least for the first couple of days. Stay with it for as long as you feel comfortable. If you really found it worthwhile, perhaps you should leave well alone and stay with it indefinitely. Whatever you ultimately decide to do, make sure you spend at least a couple of days on this before you move on; contained within the breathing meditation is some of the Calm Technique.
Prepare your environment (see page 71) and check your posture (see page 73). Now you're ready to begin. The object of the breathing meditation is to be as aware of your breathing as you can. Totally aware. Be aware of nothing else - the fact that you're meditating or whether you're doing it correctly or not - just be aware of your breathing.
Please remember that this is not an exercise in enforced concentration. While you should approach it with determination, you are not meant to force yourself to concentrate. That would not be a relaxing meditation, and you would probably end up feeling more frustrated than when you began.
So, with your eyes closed, mind very still, not thinking about anything at all, slowly begin to bring your mind to rest. Begin to withdraw from and ignore the world about you. Gradually turn your attention inward to your 'self'. Soon you'll hear the sound of your own breathing. Let it become more and more intrusive. Be completely aware of the sound of your breathing. Be aware of the air streaming in through your nostrils, filling your lungs, then being expelled through your lips. Don't try any great feats of lung filling here or you'll hyperventilate. Visualize that stream of cold, fresh air being drawn in through your nostrils. 'See' it being drawn down, deep into your lungs. 'See' that stream of warm air being expelled through your lips. Soon you will be aware only of your breathing. You will become your breathing.
When you have reached the stage where breathing is the foremost thought in your mind, forget about it. You will be aware of it, but you should not be thinking about it. Now you begin your breathing meditation.
Count each breath as it leaves your body. Silently count 'one'. When the next breath comes, count 'two'. Then 'three' and 'four'. After 'four' begin at 'one' again and continue this silent count. Hear yourself saying each count. Imagine your own counting resoundibg in your head. (Do this without murmuring a sound, of course.) Count each breath: one, two, three, four, one two ... until you become aware only of your counting. Don't think of what you're doing, or the relevance of it, or the meaning of the numbers. It has no meaning, no purpose other than counting four breaths and starting the count all over again.
--This excerpt was taken from The Calm Technique by Paul Wilson
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