This meditation class was held online. Here are some excerpts from the conversation that took place after the meditation.
Recorded on March 16, 2020 online.
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[meditator] You have the seating position down... Like, nope. You are going to be a beginner forever.
[Sathi] That's right. That is something that I remind people of most of the time. For every meditation think of yourself as a beginner. That way you don't have any expectations of your practice. And then you are opening yourself for the next moment. That's the wonderful thing of the [meditative] life you know, every moment is new to us. Just like every new breath. Every breath is fresh. It doesn't matter if it is smelly, fragrant, or, just like each moment.
[Meditator] Usually I don't do the meditation this late. When I do it, I do it in the morning, and then on the weekends, I do it in the morning. It was interesting to do it near the end of the day. I learned that I certainly should not do meditation after having a big meal. I noticed that I am half falling asleep. [laughing] I'm going to have to get my attention back to my breathing. But, my mind tends to run wilder because of that.
[Sathi] Yeah, that's wonderful advice for meditators. Before their meditation make sure not to have a big meal. That's why, at the retreats, we don't schedule any sitting meditation after lunch or dinner. We always do something moving. Either walking meditation. I'm glad you learned that from your own experience.
[Sathi] Mary, how was your meditation? You said good, but why are you saying it is good?
[Another Meditator] It's very comforting. I never just appreciated quiet.
[Sathi] That's another thing with the quietness. Normally, in our day-to-day life, quietness comes from outside. But here, in the meditation, first we are being quiet. When we are being quiet, we start to hear something outside. It is really taking our quietness away. But, a little later, you can see, slowly, you are being totally quiet, even though the outside is noisy. As a meditator, we are finding quietness. Non-meditators, find quietness outside. But meditators find quiet from inside. You are making yourself quiet. There's a huge difference.
[Sathi] What is happening with our group meditation, is first we are setting up an environment by quieting our environment, then quieting the mind. Then, afterward, the discussion and everything is reshaping ourselves built on that foundation we set up. Meditation is like making the dough. After you make the dough, then you start making [it into] food. Right? The dough is the base.
What happens to many people, they are only making the dough. But, they just keep reshaping the dough and they don't make anything from it. [laughing] Even the people who are going for a walk in the environment, or who are camping, always making the dough. But, there's nothing useful that they are making, [nothing] that is useful or beneficial.
[By meditating you are making the dough, setting up a quiet environment. And then, you are baking the bread or creating something new by observing your thoughts and setting your intentions using the quiet and peacefulness in your mind as the dough. You are reshaping yourself.]