Meditations

From 16Guidelines

Contents 1 Introduction to Meditations and Reflections 1.1 General Principles 1.1.1 Mindfulness 1.1.2 Environment and posture 2 Meditations and Reflections 2.1 16 Guidelines Reflections 2.2 General Meditations 2.2.1 Enhancing your positive qualities 2.2.2 Visualisation to transform problems

Introduction to Meditations and Reflections

These meditations and reflections are guided experiences which allow us to explore the 16 Guidelines and to enhance our experiential understanding of them, so we're better able to apply them skilfully in our lives.

General Principles

Mindfulness

The skill of mindfulness is central to these reflections -- and actually to all applications of the guidelines! Practicing mindfulness (the ability to know what's happening while it's happening) is associated with a wide range of mental and physical benefits, but it also increases our potential to benefit from other meditations, such as the ones described in this section.

Read instructions for basic mindfulness practice.

Environment and posture

Before starting mindfulness practice or one of these reflections, it's important to pay attention to:

• Your environment
  • Choose a place where you're comfortable and at ease, where you won't be disturbed by people or by loud noises. Make sure there is enough fresh air and that the area is well lit.

• Your posture
  • The two most important aspects of your posture are that
    • you should be relaxed and comfortable
    • your back should be straight.
  • You can lie down flat on your back with your arms at your sides, you can sit cross-legged on the floor, or you can sit on a chair -- whichever is best for you -- as long as you are relaxed and comfortable and your back is straight.
  • If you sit cross-legged on the floor, use a cushion or two to raise your bottom by a few inches. In the beginning you may find it tricky to be relaxed and comfortable while sitting with a straight back. If so, remember that your back does not have to be ramrod-straight, just upright without being slouched. After a few attempts, you will find it much more comfortable.
  • If you sit in a chair, don't lean back against the backrest -- remember to keep your back straight.
  • If you lie flat on your back, it may be better to lie on the floor than on a bed, so that you don't fall asleep. Let your arms lie at a 30-degree angle from your sides, palms-up. Make sure your head and neck are comfortable.

Meditations and Reflections

16 Guidelines Reflections

16 Guidelines Reflections are guided meditations that help to explore a guideline in depth. The more deeply we explore them, the more profound our experience of them will become, and the more easily we will be able to benefit by applying them in our daily experience.

16 Guidelines Reflections
Humility	Kindness	Respect	Aspiration
Patience	Honesty	Forgiveness	Principles
Contentment	Generosity	Gratitude	Service
Delight	Right speech	Loyalty	Courage

General Meditations

General meditations help us to develop mental skills that are useful throughout our life. They are not focused on any of the 16 Guidelines.

Enhancing your positive qualities

1. Sit comfortably in a quiet place and spend a few minutes enjoying the experience of letting your body and your mind come to rest.
2. Spread out the 16 Guidelines cards.
3. Choose the quality that you feel has been strong or most natural for you in the past. E.g. Generosity. Reflect on one situation when you have demonstrated this in a very positive way for yourself and others.
4. Recall the incident, the people involved, what was said and the positive feeling you experienced.
5. Notice where you are experiencing that positive feeling inside yourself as you recollect this positive situation. Where is it located in your body?
6. Focus on that area in your body, sensing it in a receptive way. Imagine it as an image, shape, colour, sounds or words to describe the sensation there
7. Once you become aware of it more clearly, ask for help to let it expand in a way that is even more beneficial to more people and yourself.
8. Relax and simply allow whatever experience results from this request. Notice the sensations, images, colours and words.
9. Next, think of a situation which is a challenge. It could be a problem internally – mentally or physically, other's challenges or a challenge in another area in the world.
10. Imagine radiating this quality that you have enhanced into this situation. Imagine it infusing the problem and notice how it affects it.
11. What has changed? What insight do you now have?
12. Take delight in using your positive quality this way!
13. End the reflection with the wish, "May all beings be happy."

Visualisation to transform problems

"You cannot solve a problem with the same mind that created it."

• Albert Einstein

1. Spread out your 16 Guidelines cards, face down. Then relax and reflect on the following:
2. Consider a situation in your life that is a challenge or threatening. It causes you mental or even physical suffering.
3. Reflect on the details of that situation. Who is involved and what was said? Most importantly, how is it affecting you now or in the past? How does it affect your health? Do you have any symptoms related to this situation?
4. Notice where you carry the tension, stress or physical symptom related to this. Place your attention on that area of the body only. Ask yourself:
   1. Where is the sensation in your body? Is it close to the skin or deeper inside?
   2. If that sensation was a shape, what would that be?
   3. If it was a colour, what would that be?
   4. If it had a density, what does it feel like? Solid, translucent, something else?
   5. Does it feel cool, hot or neutral?
   6. If it had its own mind, what is the main emotion there? What is it feeling?
   7. How old does it feel? Young like it hasn’t been there very long, old or ancient?
   8. When it was first put there, ask what its job or purpose was. Even if it isn’t helping now, it may have then. How?
   9. It may be carrying some wisdom. Ask what does it know?
5. Check: are you are willing to let it change in a way that will be more beneficial?
6. Next choose the 16 Guidelines card that attracts your attention and turn it over. What is the quality written on it?
7. In your mind, ask for help to allow this particular quality to influence this situation. This help can come from the quality itself, a higher Source or a wise part of your own mind.
8. Just let go and watch what happens to the image and feeling in the area of your body that you identified earlier. Let it change as you ask for help to bring this quality to the situation.
9. Allow it to change as much as is appropriate at this time or simply accept it as it is. Familiarize with any new feeling, image or insight.
10. What do you know now? What have you learned?
11. To finish, imagine offering whatever transformation or insight you have gained to others who are in your situation in the world, and also to those who were involved in the problem in the first place.