Week #2 Recap and Weekly Exploration:

When you sit to meditate, get still and quiet. Then focus all your attention on the sensation of breath at the nostril area (“home base”). Notice the stillness you are aware of when your attention is focused only on the sensations of breath. Notice the silence and spaciousness you are aware of when you focus all your attention on the sensations of breath. Notice whatever phenomena that may arise: thoughts, emotions, other sensations, experiences. Whatever arises, notice it with equanimity. Keep re-focusing your attention on the feeling of breath at home base, and the stillness, silence and spaciousness you sense.

Start where you are able, and attempt to increase the meditation duration and frequency so that by next class day, you're sitting for a minimum of 5 minutes and sitting twice a day. Be patient and gentle with yourself and persevere.

When the sitting time is over, record what you have experienced for discussion in next week’s class.

Week #1 Recap & Weekly Assignment

In class tonight we defined equanimity as impartiality, no preferences, no liking or disliking, no judgment and no reaction. We experienced that when we get still, we notice movement or change, and the more still we can get, the more acutely aware of movement we become. Noticing with equanimity then looks like getting very still and feeling breathing without trying to change it, or hearing a noise outside without judging it to be too loud, or being aware of having a thought without trying to shut it out, make it go away, or make a story about it with more thought. And we noticed, through direct experience, that when we get still and notice with equanimity, we notice that what does not change or move is the noticing, the awareness, itself.

The assignment (i'm going to start calling them explorations instead of assignments!) this week is to take a minimum of 5 minutes per day to get still and simply notice with equanimity what is. Please write out your findings and bring them to class next week for sharing and discussion. Journey well!

PS: please give yourself a little extra traveling time next week due to local road construction, so we can start as close to 6:00 PM as possible. thanks!

Syllabus for Part I: Meditation as a Tool for Focusing in Awareness

Week 1:

• Introduction to the course
• Review of Course Objectives and Results for Parts I and II
• Getting still, quiet and focused – why and how
• Noticing ‘what is’ with equanimity
• Weekly assignment

Week 2:

• Getting still, quiet and focused – breath as a reference point 
• Weekly assignment

Week 3: 

• Meditation – focusing on sensations of breath with equanimity
• Weekly assignment

Week 4: 

• Meditation – focusing on inner body energy with equanimity
• weekly assignment

Week 5: 

• Meditation – noticing thoughts and feelings with equanimity, focusing in awareness
• Weekly assignment

Week 6: 

• Meditation – noticing thoughts and feelings with equanimity, focusing in awareness
• Weekly assignment