Week 1 of a series of 8 introductory meditation classes held at the Eric Liddel Community Centre in Edinburgh.  

Main takeaway: You CAN meditate.  There is a widespread misunderstanding about meditation and even people who have been doing it for decades often believe they can't do it, or that they are bad at it.  This is simply a misunderstanding.  Meditation is not about having some superhuman ability to hold perfect concentration.  That WOULD be hard.  Instead it is a process of experiencing small moments of focus, often.  In between we get distracted.

Other takeaways: Getting distracted, and then noticing you have been distracted by the mind - is part of the meditation.  A very important and useful part.
Each time we notice we have been distracted and then refocus our focus we are developing skills - the skill of awareness of our own mind, and the skill of being able to redirect our attention wherever we want.  This is a superpower.
One of the things we are doing in meditation is simply becoming more familiar with our own mind.  Indeed one of the Eastern terms for meditation is often translated as meaning - to become familiar.  At first glance our mind can be a little scary.  The very first thing we often discover in meditation is that our minds are not as under our control as we might have thought they are.

January 5, 2023 - Eric Liddel, Evening

You CAN Meditate

Week 2 of a series of 8 introductory meditation classes held at the Eric Liddell Community Centre in Edinburgh on January 12, 2023 on behalf of Meditation Edinburgh. More information at meditation-edinburgh.com.

Main takeaway: The present moment has more to offer than we might think. Our mind has no interest in the present moment - it reminisces over the past, it worries about the future, it plans, judges, strategises, fears, dreams but is never in the present.  Yet one of the central hypotheses of meditation is that everything the mind thinks it wants and thinks it will achieve with its schemes in terms of joy, happiness, contentment, peace of mind is all available right now, if we just know how to be present.  This is what we can start to touch into and get a feel for the more we meditate.  Small moments of present moment awareness, often.

Other takeaways: We can use anything going on right now as an anchor point for present moment awareness.  Last week we used the breath, and we will start each week with that classic meditation.  But another powerful anchor is to use the sensations of the body.

January 12, 2023 - Eric Liddel, Evening

Introduction to first meditation

Making meditation available to as many people as possible.  Change the world today - meditate! Check us out at https://realworldmeditation.org.uk, https://meditation-edinburgh.com and https;//meditation-eastlothian.com

Introduction to first meditation

RWM Education

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