Basically, Meditation Without Religion
The meditation I teach here at Jhana8 and our Jhana Meditation Coaching is non-denominational. There is nothing religious about the actual process, and it can all be taught without using Buddhist language or religious beliefs.
You need not believe in Buddhism or what the Buddha did to practice this meditation. It isn’t based on Hindu, Christian, or the beliefs of any other religion. I never made a name for it because it isn’t really unique, it’s just a distillation of some methods that were already developed.
It’s Buddhist meditation minus the Buddhism part.
That said, there are many new ideas, feelings, and experiences that happen during a typical meditation practice. Buddhism already has words for everything, a lot of which they’ve pulled from the Pali language.
Occasionally while teaching I’ll mention a word like this for the ease of use for people who are already familiar with Buddhist meditation like Vipassana, Anapana, etc.
Simplified Explanation of Meditation Minus Religion
Please note, there are no hoops to jump through before you’re ready to meditate and reach good concentration and eventually Jhana. Meaning, there are no preliminary rules to follow like Buddhist monks are made to follow at a temple.
There’s no need to ‘purify’ yourself in an fashion. That’s all from the religious aspect of Buddhism, and to be honest, it’s quite wrong to be teaching people that it’s necessary when it isn’t.
- Sit somewhere comfortable. Keep a straightish back. Hands resting in lap, upturned, fingertips not touching anything.
- Watch the breath. Closely. In a very small spot in the nose area where you feel it the most.
- When the mind is distracted, return to the breath feeling and concentrate there some more.
- During good sessions, you’re not adding anything else to your meditation. Sure, there will be weeks or months when you are trying to calm down enough to focus at all. There is a lot of time where you’ll be watching how the mind works, watching how the breath goes – the qualities, wondering if you’re doing it right.
- The real benefit comes as you are able to focus on the tiny spot where you feel the breath strongest sometimes. You won’t feel it all the time, but your focus remains on that spot anyway until you feel it again.
That’s the first part of meditation. It gets way better after you are able to focus on the breath, but there will be many positive changes happening within you as you enjoy the process.
How to View Meditation to Succeed
Look at meditation as a way to relax at the end of the day.
Look at it as your time, uninterrupted by other things and people in your life.
Look at attaining good (uninterrupted) focus on your breath as a sort of game.
That you win.
Because you’re consistent and try each session.
The meditation I teach here isn’t about bowing to your teacher, social feel-good vibes, meditation retreats, and all that. It isn’t about going to group meditation sessions. That doesn’t help you focus on the breath.
What helps is to isolate yourself as much as possible and simply just do it.
20 minutes per day is all it takes. Sometimes you might sit longer, no matter. Sit longer if you have time and feel like it. Otherwise, don’t. No worries.
Get your 20 minutes in and do the best you can.
That’s all I did.
I didn’t have a teacher. I had books from meditation masters.
I removed all the Buddhist beliefs, superstitions, and anything that resembled it.
I wanted only the facts. I wanted to know ONLY what was physically and mentally done while Buddha and other masters meditated. Nothing else.
Eliminating the fluff of religion and all that goes with it is the best way to help your practice.
There’s more of course, but this is the essence of what I teach here at Jhana8 and Jhana Meditation Coaching.
If you want to finally attain solid concentration on your breath (samadhi).
If you want to enter first Jhana.
If you want to know how I moved through all eight Jhanas many times without having a clue what Jhana even was.
If you want to experience what it is that led Buddha and his followers to teach about meditation practice for over 2,500 years.
I can probably help.
🙂 Vern
Video on Jhana Meditation Coaching Calls >
Please note, for clarity, any time I’m talking about Jhana and what I experienced and what I teach, I’m referring to the Visuddhimagga Jhanas, the deep absorption Jhanas.