GUIDED MEDITATIONS, TALKS AND TEACHINGS

DSCN0836.jpg

Below are various guided meditations and talks given during live classes and sittings over several years in and around the Cambridge, Massachusetts area. I suggest practicing consistently the meditation that resonates with you most and exploring the others at your own comfort level. Please feel free to download these files as you like. Be sure to practice gently and with patience, and if you’re new to meditation, review the basics of beginning a meditation practice below. May these resources serve your deepest and highest intentions and bring you much well-being, mindfulness, and enlightenment. ~Chris

For videos of guided meditations, talks, and other resources, visit the Clear Path Meditation YouTube channel here.

The “In-Depth Practices” page in the menu requires a password and offers more specific meditations and other various practices for those who have taken classes with Chris or have studied with him in the past. Please send a message here indicating you would like the password for access to this page.

If you would like to participate in the Community Forum around questions, sharing, or community fellowship, feel free to contact Chris here for the password to the Community Forum page on this site.

MEDITATION TIPS AND HELPFUL REMINDERS:
If you’re new to meditation, here are some good ways to get started. Click here for an introduction to mindfulness meditation (“A Brief Guide to Mindfulness Meditation,” by Chris Berlin)

  • Create a space of welcome solitude free from distractions, noise, or daily activities. Let this space only be used for meditation by you. You might consider setting candles or flowers there to reflect qualities you wish to cultivate in your practice.

  • Give yourself permission to let go of any and all energy that does not belong to you. This means, relinquishing the energy of others in your life or the business of the world in general. Reclaim your own outward directed energy here and be in your own space.

  • Wear clothing that is loose and comfortable, nothing that contracts your circulation or breathing in any way.

  • Experiment with the time of day. For some, first thing in the morning feels the best, and for others, it’s nighttime. There may be a particular time of day that resonates most with your practice, so sense what this might be for you and arrange your practice accordingly if you’re able. It can also be beneficial to practice after a shower—water softens and cleanses the energy field in the subtle physiology, and it helps to relax us prior to sitting.

  • Set your time for 15 minutes or longer. If this is difficult at first, you can try practicing in shorter intervals with a few brake in between. For example, you might do 5 minutes of mindful breathing, 5 minutes of mindful walking (as a break from sitting), 5 minutes of a body scan, 5 minutes of another mindful activity (watering plants, etc.), then 5 minutes of sitting. You have just practiced for 25 minutes!

  • Be mindful of your posture and your breathing throughout your practice. Check in regularly to be sure you haven’t slumped forward or to the side, or that your neck isn’t being compressed by the head falling back. Maintain some awareness of your breathing (about 20% of your attention) to be sure it is free flowing and supportive to your meditation.

  • Allow your practice to be “fresh” and spontaneous every time. It can be easy to expect meditation to be this way or that way (or to be like that time you felt really good), but allow yourself to be fully present in your practice as it is in the moment without judging it.

  • Allow your meditation to be an expression of simplicity. Take the effort out of this one part of your life, while honoring your dedication to what practice brings you. Apply just enough effort to remain alert and present or return if you drift, but otherwise abide in restful ease. “Not too tight, not too loose.”

  • If you find yourself always drifting away or ruminating during your sit, come back to your heart’s deepest intention for your practice and simply pay attention to what you feel there. No analyzing or rejecting, just bearing witness with generosity and lovingkindness.

  • Practice when you feel good! Look forward to sitting especially when you’re in a good place. For many people, the necessity of practice falls away when things are good—you might consider doing a meditation on gratitude during these times.

  • Consider ending your practice with an affirmation, blessing, or dedication for your practice. For example, you might close your session with “May I be blessed with energy and well-being to continue  living my life to the fullest and for the highest good” or “I dedicate the merits of this practice to the well-being, growth and freedom of all living beings, Soha (May this be so).”

  • Resist jumping up after your practice ends. Give yourself a minute or two to sit with your practice quietly reflecting for a moment on your experience. This actually helps it to stay with you a bit longer afterwards.

  • If you experience any anxiety, unease, or have a history of trauma that arises in your meditation, please be sure to share this in the forum where I can make some suggestions in adapting your practice for these experiences. Sometimes minor anxiety or unease can be part of the release of challenging internal states or stress, so

  • View each practice as part of a larger, meaningful path to greater well-being, wholeness, and realization. Let this view bring you curiosity, patience and wisdom as you progress. Impermanence also means growth and progress in the longer arc of your path.


    “Rescue Breathing: Counting for the Distracted Mind,” by Chris Berlin—click here.

BELL TIMERS:

GUIDED MEDITATIONS

GUIDED MINDFULNESS MEDITATION IN MANDARIN (DAZUO) Thank you to YoYi Chen for translating and reciting this practice.

MEDITATION MUSIC

DHARMA TALKS AND TEACHINGS: