“A Convicts Guidelines to Meditation ”

I’ve already touted my practice of meditation; it’s only recently that I’ve properly understood how to do it. In the past I thought of like the Buddhist equivalent to prayer or conflated it with contemplation, which is much different process.

I started to practice meditation as part of a period of self-reflection that every inmate goes thru. Not every inmate comes to the same conclusions, though. At some point I stopped blaming everyone else for my problems and feeling sorry for myself; and took responsibility over my destiny.

I’m fascinated with the nature of consciousness (partly why I loved drugs so much), and have long wondered how to induce certain states of mind. Meditation is fundamentally the skill of disciplining the mind; its spiritual aims are secondary.

The best time to meditate is early in the morning no long after awaking. Find a quiet place without too many distractions; this is tricky because there’s always people moving around in the cube. Sit upright with a good posture. (optional: close your eyes.) Deliberate breathing is the most effective way to quiet the mind, and sync awareness to the body. (I like to inhale thru my nose and exhale thru my mouth.)

The key is to stop thoughts from emerging into consciousness. You’ll notice the mind has an annoying habit of producing a random thought even when youre trying not to. Meditation aims for present awareness without any self-consciousness.

A beginner will struggle to string together 5 seconds…10 seconds…15 seconds without random thought intruding into your conscious awareness. Try it. 

It’s deceptively easy. First attempts all end in frustration. you’ll learn jus how much the mind is chatterbox; it’s not as easy it sounds to get the mind to shut the fuck up.

A helpful tip to overcoming this hurdle is to think, “what will my next thought be?” like you’re standing guard outside the door thru which thoughts enter. Eventually, you’ll notice that no thought is forthcoming.

Like any skill, meditation requires regular practice and diligent effort before some mastery is achieved. I still can only maintain that present awareness for a few minutes before lapsing into thought.

It’s best to set aside a keep to a schedule, allotting a chunk of time to meditate. in the beginning, you’ll have trouble going 20 seconds before your mind shouts a banality, like an attention-seeking brat. That’s alright, just restart, and keep at it for the entire amount of time you have set aside to practice.

Signs you’re on the righ path: awareness inhabiting the physical body and its sense; the dissolution of the boundary between the external world and you, whose contained in a body wholly different from the world. Theres a feeling of oneness with your surroundings and the universe at large, being unusually sensitive to energy and receptive to intuitions.

I can’t promise you’ll reach enlightenment or achieve nirvana, but you will chill out and lose your desire to stab dawg.