Week Three – The Transition out of Primal Consciousness Meditation Practices

Day Fifteen

To begin this week, I would like to take a moment and ask you, what are you noticing about your Stage One Practices. Let’s begin by looking at the early stages of consciousness. How do you experience fight-or-flight? How about rest-and-digest? Are the two dramatically different for you?

Do you have practices that you know will shift you to a place of safety even when you have a really bad day? Do you have practices that are ‘go to’s or are you still sorting out your experiences?

Spend time today in your different states of consciousness and note them here. Take note as well of the practices that you can rely on to get you out of even your worst triggers. If you don’t have reliable means, try a few different things. Notice when one works better than another and take note.

Day Sixteen,

Now that you have clarity on Stage One, let’s spend the rest of the week focusing on refining our Stage Two Practices. It helps to understand what Stage Two is. This stage of the practice is about focus. It is about the state of concentration Thich Nhat Hahn mentions in the quote I referenced in the first session. Concentration is important.

Today, I would like you to practice different sensory experiences as your Stage Two Practice and notice if you are able to concentrate. Try doing a body scan as referenced in the video or do a mindfulness practice. You can do mindful eating or walking. Try a practice for 3 – 5 minutes and notice if your mind strays. If it does, try a different practice. The most important thing here is the ability to be concentrating so deeply, you can think of nothing else.

Are you better focusing on yourself or are you better at focusing on something external? Are there certain practices that drive deeper levels of concentration than others? Do you struggle with these deeper levels of concentration? Remember to find something you can do for 20 minutes. Then, notice how you feel after. If it causes you to stress, it may not me time to do that practice yet. Your ability to concentrate will improve over time. You can try it again later. Write the practices that work best for you below.

Day Seventeen

Today, I would like you to research and try new meditation practices. You can research meditation or the prefrontal cortex on the internet or you could even try some of the videos I’ve posted. Explore possibilities when it comes to your Stage Two practices. This is the area where you will experience the most fluctuation. Practices that drive concentration at the beginning will become easier, or you may not be able to do certain practices on particularly stressful days. It is good to have a long list of Stage Two meditation practices in your arsenal.

As you explore over the week, write some of your favorites, and share them in the live class or on social media. Not only might you help others, but they will share theirs in return. There is a lot of information out there about stimulating the prefrontal cortex. Take advantage of it. How do you feel about exploring new practices? What practice will you choose today?

Day Eighteen

Today—after completing your Stage One practice of setting the scene—I would like you to contemplate the different Stage Two practices you’ve been researching. You can continue to look into different practices. In fact, I suggest you do. Improving brain function is an ever-evolving practice. No matter how advanced one is in their practice, the brain will crave more. It is our nature, as humans. So continue to search, but for today’s practice let’s review what you’ve found. As you contemplate the practice below, enter notes on what has impacted you the most.

I would like you to take note of the practices that have had the most significant impact on your mental, emotional, and/or physical experience of life.
– Focus on activity – practices like mindful eating, walking, or breathing.
– Focus on yourself – practices like the body scan we did in this week’s lesson or observing your thoughts.
– Focus on your environment – practices like staring at a candle flame or listing to meditation music.
– Focus on your experience – practices like increasing your sensory state of awareness by observing sight, sound, taste, touch, and smell.

Be sure to write down practices that increase your level of concentration. I generally suggest people choose practices they don’t do well. The worse we are at something, the more concentration it takes, and the better it is for our brains. What practices challenge you the most?

Day Nineteen

Yesterday, we considered which centering practices worked best for us. Today, we’re going to delve into the best way to meditate. Every meditator is different. I’ve worked with many individuals who gave up on meditation entirely because they couldn’t silence their minds, or didn’t see technicolor visions other people saw when they meditated.

While it is true, we are all driving toward a specific brain function, the way we will both trigger the brain function and what we experience when we get there will be unique to each of us. So, today’s practice will be an exercise of self-awareness.

Looking at the centering practices you chose yesterday, to which sensory experiences did your choices lend themselves?
– Sight – did you select Stage One and Two practices that were visual – like observing a candle flickering or do you prefer to close your eyes when you begin your meditation practice.
– Sound – did you select Stage One and Two practices that were audio – like listening to meditation music or do you prefer a silent space when you meditate?
– Taste – did you select Stage One and Two practices that had flavor – like mindful eating practices or do you prefer to begin your meditation practice with a cup of tea?
– Smell – did you select Stage One and Two practices that had scent – like being in nature or do you prefer to begin your meditation practice with a scented candle, incense, or essential oils?
– Touch – did you select Stage One and Two practices that were more physical – like self-soothing touch and physical movement or do you prefer to begin your practice by connecting with body awareness?

Of course, there will likely be a mixture of experiences, but what we want to decide here is which of these has the most impact on your state of mind. I may like to walk in nature, but have a visual experience may increase my brain function. Play with this a little today and decide, which sensory input has the most impact on your levels of concentration. You can write your contemplations below.

Day Twenty

Over the last couple of days, we have considered the centering practices work best for us as individuals. As we move into next week, we will use this knowledge to move into Stage Three of healthy meditation practice.

I would like you to spend today refining your practice. Using what you have discovered, create a meditation practice that becomes a meditation plan. Note: if you are strongly impacted by more than one sense, please choose the one you would like to use over the next two weeks of practice. After the course is complete, you can return and do the same work on the other senses to see which is the best to develop for you. In the end, your meditation plan should look something like this.

Example

Stage One – I am most influenced by sound.
– My best Stage One Practices are (list 3 – 5)
– Creating a silent space for my meditation practice
– Listening to Nature Sounds or Asian Flute Music
– ASMR
– My best Stage Two Practices are (list 3 – 5)
– Focusing on subtle sounds in the room
– Chanting
– Listening to guided meditations or audio self-improvement podcasts
– My Stage Three Focus will be
– Active listening skills that are audio

Creating your plan will be today’s meditation practice. You can write your answers below or put them in a journal.

Day Twenty-one

From today forward, I would like you to use your plan from yesterday for your meditation practice. Try it today and refine anything you would like to refine. In addition, you can continue to search for Stage One (relaxing, self-soothing) and Stage Two (centering) practices online that might fit within the bounds of your best practice. If you find any that interest you but fit within a different sensory experience, take a note for later. It’s good to save those practices to consider as your process evolves. My meditation practice has gone through multiple shifts, moving through all of the different senses, and I’ve learned it’s good to have resources available through those changes.

I hope you enjoy your meditation today and I look forward to connecting with you in the next session.