The meditation that started it all

I’ve practiced one guided meditation more than any other in my last 10+ years of mindfulness practice. It is a foundational practice from Plum Village and Thich Nhat Hanh (Thay for short). In fact, it is the main recording of Thay offering a guided meditation on the Plum Village app, and I think it is therefore one of his most frequently offered meditations.

In this guided meditation, there are a series of stages to the exercise that are usually presented in the same order. Each stage uses different keywords to guide the meditation. These keywords, while being different from each other, are not completely separate in what they develop within us. With these words, Thay compassionately guides us through some foundations of what it means to sit in meditation.

Practicing sitting meditation can be very nourishing to do on our own, and it can be quite supportive to do it in a group. So, after reading this post, you might like to try this exercise both on your own and with friends. I like to think of it a bit like group exercise – it can be easier to actually do it when I’m surrounded by others doing the same thing.

Thich Nhat Hanh has a book in which he offers guided exercises for meditation, with introductions and commentaries, called “The Blooming of a Lotus”. In the preface, he reminds us that “to practice with a teacher and a Sangha (a community of practice) is more advisable and much easier than to practice without them”. I have practiced the meditation below quite a lot with a group (primarily Wake Up Toronto) and because of this, I can feel like I am sitting in community even when I am practicing alone at home. Feeling others with me on the same path is a considerable support.

The Function of Meditation

Before I get to the meditation guidance, I wanted to briefly touch on why I practice sitting meditation. Below are a few lines from Thay’s book about meditation to start us off:

The function of meditation practice is to heal and transform. Meditation, as understood in my tradition of Buddhism, helps us to be whole and to look deeply into ourselves and around us in order to realize what is really there. The energy that is used in meditation is mindfulness: to look deeply is to use mindfulness to light up the recesses of our mind, or to look into the heart of things in order to see their true nature. When mindfulness is present, meditation is present.

In the book, Thay starts with meditation exercises that he describes as refreshing and nourishing. These exercises should be done frequently as a way to begin the work of healing, and the exercise in this post is in that category.

At this stage in my practice, I am thinking about meditation as a combination of these things:

• Deep listening
• Compassionate invitation
• Gentle guidance
• A bit of happiness

While practicing sitting meditation, I am deeply listening to my inner and outer world in order to see clearly. I am compassionate and kind in the way that I invite myself to look at things that I might not always look at. I try to gently guide myself – it is not a moment of true mind wandering. In this practice, I very frequently discover that meditation is a source of happiness. In taking time to really see myself and the world around me, I can invite in the nourishment of kindness. Isn’t kindness one of the things we are all looking for? Why not practice it right now?

The Meditation: “Calm – Ease”

This meditation exercise is defined by the following stages (1 stage per line):

In, out
Deep, slow
Calm, ease
Smile, release
Present moment, wonderful moment

Each line is a pair of keywords that are a condensed version of guiding sentences for each stage of the exercise. The first keyword(s) is paired with the in-breath and the second is paired with the out-breath.

The keywords for this meditation are usually the same, but the sentences that are used to guide the exercise can often be different. Depending on who is guiding the meditation, what the context is, and what else has been introduced/discussed previously, the guidance will be adapted.

The sentences that I offer below are inspired in part by these two recordings:

• 1. Thich Nhat Hanh: Calm - Ease | Guided Meditation by Thich Nhat Hanh– You can also find this in the Plum Village app timed to various lengths of meditation (I believe 15min, 20min, 25min)
• 2. Brother Phap Huu: There is a succinct and beautiful version at 01:14:12 (near the end) of episode 34 of “The Way Out is In” podcast

A song to help memorize the exercise

Happily, the guidance has been put to song, so it can be effortless to remember. When I was first learning meditation, there were apps available (like Insight Timer), but the options and amount of content was limited. There was no Plum Village app at that time.

By memorizing it in song, I have always had a guided meditation with me. It’s a guided meditation so deeply linked to Plum Village for me that when I practice it, I can feel connected to the entire community. I can feel a true sense of home.

At the bottom of this post are a few links to song versions 🙂

Now, on to the guided meditation exercise!

Stage 1. Mindful breathing: In – Out

A significant portion of this post will be focused on mindful breathing, the first stage of this exercise, because it is foundational for practicing the rest of the meditation. Thay says that “every session (of meditation) should begin with a few minutes of mindful breathing so that participants can calm their minds and open themselves to the joy of meditation” (Nhat Hanh, 2009, pp.3).

Breathing in, I am aware that this is an in-breath
Breathing out, I am aware that this is an out-breath
In, Out

For this stage, I can rest in simple awareness of each in and out breath as it happens in the present moment. If it’s helpful, I can silently say to myself the word “in” while breathing in and, while breathing out, the word “out”.

This starting key word pair is used as a simple recognition. I become aware of the sensation in my body of breathing, wherever I notice it (e.g. nose, throat, chest, belly). By directing my attention to my breath, I invite my awareness to come to a body sensation, which naturally slows down my busy thinking mind. This is a way to practice finding some calm and stillness.

I can practice like this for 5, 10, or 15 breaths and then transition to the next stage of the exercise when I’m ready.

Options for adaptation (trauma informed practice)

For some people, bringing attention into the sensation of the body and breathing can be a significant challenge. Maybe there was some previous related trauma. If this is true for you, you might like to adapt the practice. Remember, everything in meditation is a compassionate invitation. If the compassionate way forwards is to alter the guidance in some other way, please do.

I’m not an expert in the scientific research of trauma-informed mindfulness; however, when you look at Thich Nhat Hanh’s personal biography, it is clear that he was exposed to significant trauma himself. As a result, much of Plum Village practice is informed by this.

One option to adapt mindful breathing is to try a different anchor for your attention. This could be another body sensation (e.g. the feeling of the floor beneath your feet) or something else you can sense (e.g. the sounds in your space). Whatever your anchor is, many of the same concepts below can be applied.

I’ll continue to discuss mindful breathing specifically because it is viewed as foundational within Plum Village practice, but please do adapt as you need. In guided physical exercise classes, we are often told to adapt the intensity of the exercise to what our body is capable of. Think of mindfulness exercise in the same way. Sometimes what a group is being led in needs adaptation for your specific context and circumstance.

Mind wandering: the majority of my thinking is not helpful

When I set the intention to maintain a steady focus on the sensation of breathing, my mind inevitably (and quite naturally) wanders. When this happens, the invitation is to compassionately recognize what I’ve wandered to and at the same time gently re-orient my attention to the guidance. This, in a way, is one of the foundations of mindfulness practice. I practice noticing where my mind has wandered to and direct my attention in a compassionate way.

Thich Nhat Hanh likes to say that the majority of our thinking is not helpful. Of course, sometimes in life we need to think through something. We may need to analyze something that happened in our day or plan for an upcoming event; however, sometimes we can habitually fall into this kind of thinking in moments when it is counterproductive to our intention. For example, when I’m trying to be fully present with my partner, wandering off in my mind is counter to my intention. Another challenge I can have is falling into planning my next day while trying to go to sleep.

I’ve found that in fact the most useful insights come when I’m not thinking through anything at all. Often when I am faced with a difficult life decision, the answer appears in a moment when I am taking a shower or even while sitting on the toilet!

So, one of the facets of my practice during sitting meditation is to notice when my mind wanders.

Negativity bias & recognizing my reactions

When my mind wanders, I frequently have a first reaction when I notice that my mind has wandered. This first reaction is often a negative one, something like: “ack, I’m doing this wrong, I should be focusing on my breath” or “this is a thought I should not be having right now”.

If I have that negative reaction, I try to recognize that reaction with kindness. So, there are layers here to the metacognition, to being aware of my mind. The moment of becoming aware that my mind has wandered is a powerful moment. With awareness, I can make an active choice about how I want to continue. If I’ve had that negative reaction, sometimes I might like to spend some time recognizing that. If I’ve simply become aware of what my mind wandered to, I might want to spend some time noting what it wandered to – it’s probably coming up for a reason.

The key here is that I have a choice. I can set my intention on purpose for how I spend my time.

When my mind does wander, frequently it wanders to what I think is going wrong, something that has gone wrong, or what I think might go wrong in the future. We, as human beings on this earth, have a negativity bias influencing us to “give greater weight to negative entities (e.g. events, objects, personal traits)” (Rozin & Royzman, 2001). This bias can be incredibly helpful for survival. If I was walking through the woods and saw a bear’s den, it’s probably a good idea to give strong weight to it and focus my attention on the element of danger to survive that walk.

In meditation, I often notice that I can react negatively to my wandering to something negative. I have the capacity to multiply the negativity. I might have some resistance to thinking about a distressing thing, and I can be quite self-critical at that moment. After all, aren’t I supposed to be peaceful and at ease while I’m meditating? Lately, I remind myself that:

forcing myself to relax is not so relaxing

I have begun to learn that I need to respect a feeling or thought that arises, whatever it is. I invite my awareness to rest on the feeling in the body and take some time to sooth it in the way that a mother soothes a crying baby. I practice responding with kindness and compassion.

Imagine how applicable in daily life having a response of kindness and compassion could be both to our inner world and for our relationships with the people around us.

Nourishing inner safety and peace: responding with love

Sometimes, it’s not so clear what a kind and compassionate response is.

During a sitting meditation, when my mind wanders and I have a self-critical reaction, sometimes I’ll practice a bit of “faking it until I make it”. I can simply speak to myself with an inner voice:

“Hello, my criticizing mind, I know you are there, I know you have helped me a lot and I really appreciate you”.

I try to use words as a way of recognizing my inner world. At this moment of recognition, I take some power away from the habitual negativity and I generate some kind awareness. I gently guide my mind with love towards myself.

We all have an inner child to care for

Sometimes thinking and trying to sooth my inner world with words isn’t so effective. After-all, let’s not forget the function of meditation: “to heal and transform”. While analysis and thinking may be a part of that, it’s a practice to know when it’s useful and when it’s not.

I have started to pay attention to when it might be more effective to re-direct my attention back to the sensation of breathing in my body. This brings us back full circle back to the main intention here with the first stage of this meditation exercise: mindful breathing.

When I re-orient my attention to my breathing, I include in my attention an awareness of what my mind wandered to. So, I’m not at that moment pushing away my thoughts. I know they are coming up for a reason and I can care for them without being taken over by them.

I am a very visual person and so the way I do this is to visualize a little “inner me”, that is sitting with me as I practice mindful breathing. If you’ve ever seen the Pixar movie “Inside Out”, it’s a little like that.

I place a hand on his back, and we breathe together.

I do not have to know the deep roots of my difficulty to soothe that inner child within me. When the baby starts to cry, a mother does not throw it out the window or shove it into a closet, she simply picks it up and starts to offer it her presence. This is the same with mindful breathing with something distressful that has arisen. In meditation, we do not run away from our difficulties.

Awareness with kindness and compassion

In practicing mindful breathing, we are practicing bringing awareness to a body sensation. We may also be practicing the complexity of recognizing our mind wandering and all the possible responses described above. This kind of recognition, infused with an attitude of kindness and compassion, is a foundation of all meditation.

2. Recognize: Deep – Slow

In the next stage of the meditation, we continue to develop the capacity for concentrating our mind by noticing the quality of our breathing:

Breathing in, I notice if my in-breath has grown deeper
Breathing out, I notice if my out-breath has grown slower
Breathing in, deep – Breathing out, slow

In this stage, I start to get really curious about how the breath feels in the body. This is not about controlling or forcing my breathing to become deeper or slower. This is an invitation to simply recognize and allow for the breath to grow deeper and slower.

Sometimes the breath is quite fast and shallow, and as I pointed to in my last post, this can be an indication of the state of our mind. This might be something you want to explore. For me, when I simply recognize and accept that my breath is fast and shallow, I often notice it starts to ease.

I can practice like this for 5, 10, or 15 breaths and then transition to the next stage when I’m ready.

3 & 4. Guide: Calm - Ease, Smile – Release

With the next two stages, we practice gently guiding the mind further, continuing to develop or ability to concentrate.

3. Calm - Ease

Breathing in, I recognize calm within me.
Breathing out, I breathe out with ease
Breathing in, calm – Breathing out, ease

I invite into my consciousness the capacity that is within me to feel calm. This is something we all can generate. Generating calm and ease is a practice. With mindful breathing, we can feel the calm in generates wherever it is within the body.

I practice like this for another 5, 10, or 15 breaths, and when I feel ready, I can progress to the next pair of keywords.

4. Smile – Release

Breathing in, I offer a smile to myself. Even if it doesn’t quite feel like a genuine smile, it may still have a physiological effect on my body. I offer inwards a smile of love and compassion.
Breathing out, I practice releasing all the worries and tension in my mind and body. I release my burdens, even if just by 5%.
Breathing in, smile – Breathing out, release

I know that I am a source of love and compassion. These are qualities we all have within us. Sometimes it may feel a bit awkward to smile to myself, but I have truly felt the impact on both my facial muscles and my nervous system. It can be quite nourishing and relaxing.

Side note: The “5%” of releasing is something I got from Shauna Shapiro, a wonderful researcher and mindfulness teacher.

I can practice like this for another 5, 10, or 15 breaths, and when I feel ready, I can progress to the next stage of the guided meditation.

5. Insight: Present Moment – Wonderful Moment

Breathing in, I recognize this present moment. There are so many conditions that have come together for me to be sitting here in this moment. I know that I am alive and because I am alive, everything is possible.
Breathing out, I know that there are many conditions that make this is a wonderful moment. Even the simplest of conditions, such as knowing that I can sit here right now and be still.
Breathing in, present moment – Breathing out, wonderful moment

During this stage, we can practice transforming our view of the present moment. We can develop the insight that this is a wonderful moment. Thay often says that we already have enough conditions for happiness right here, right now.

Because I am alive, everything is possible

We are lucky enough to be sitting here in stillness. Not everyone has that condition in their daily life.

I practice like this for another 5, 10, or 15 breaths.

When I am finished, I open my eyes and unfold my legs. I prepare gently shift to the next part of my day.

Onwards

This meditation can seem so simple when you just look at the keywords, and that is its beauty. Thich Nhat Hanh worked his entire career to help simplify mindfulness practice so that it would be accessible and relevant to all kinds of people. This meditation can also go quite deep, and it continues to be relevant in my own personal practice, even after utilizing these keywords for 10+ years.

It’s not the only meditation I do, but it is certainly the one I have done the most.

In mindfulness scientific literature, meditation practices are often separated into specific types to facilitate studying the effects of each (more on that in an upcoming post). In this guided meditation exercise, I can see elements of Focused Attention, Open Awareness, and Loving Kindness Meditation. It is so simple and yet, this exercise is infused with so much.

To continue this journey:

Calm-Ease Guided Meditation Recordings

Calm - Ease | Guided Meditation by Thich Nhat Hanh

Calm - Ease guided meditation by Brother Phap Huu at 01:14:12 of Episode 34 of The Way Out is In podcast

Songs of this guided meditation

In Out Deep Slow recorded by Joe Holtaway

Lullaby style version (often how it’s sung in a large group on retreat)

Thich Nhat Hanh and Plum Village

The Blooming of a Lotus (Revised & Expanded): The Essential Guided Meditations for Mindfulness, Healing, and Transformation by Thich Nhat Hanh, 2022 (This is most recent release. For this post, I was referencing the 2009 version)

What is sitting meditation for? | Thich Nhat Hanh (Vietnamese with English subtitles)

Apps with many more guided meditation exercises

Plum Village app - check out the Guided Meditation section

Insight Timer - Some great teachers on here (search the app) that I’ve enjoyed include: Joe Reilly, Kaira Jewel Lingo, Kristin Neff, Meena Srinivasan, Dung Vo, and Joe Holtaway

The entire guided meditation from this post:

Breathing in, I am aware that this is an in-breath
Breathing out, I am aware that this is an out-breath
In, Out

Breathing in, I notice if my in-breath has grown deeper
Breathing out, I notice if my out-breath has grown slower
Deep, Slow

Breathing in, I recognize calm within me.
Breathing out, I breathe out with ease
Calm, Ease

Breathing in, I offer a smile to myself. Even if it doesn’t quite feel like a genuine smile, it may still have a physiological effect on my body. I offer inwards a smile of love and compassion.
Breathing out, I practice to release all of the worries and tension in my mind and body. I release my burdens, even if just by 5%.
Smile, Release

Breathing in, I recognize this present moment. There are so many conditions that have come together for me to be sitting here in this moment. I know that I am alive and because I am alive, everything is possible.
Breathing out, I know that there are many conditions that make this is a wonderful moment. Even the simplest of conditions, such as knowing that I can sit here right now and practice mindfulness.
Present moment, Wonderful moment

Scientific References:

Rozin, P., & Royzman, E. B. (2001). Negativity bias, negativity dominance, and contagion. Personality and Social Psychology Review, 5, 296-320. doi:10.1207/S15327957PSPR05042