Meditation Programs at The Solebury Club
Meditation is training your mind. In meditation, when your thoughts wander, you let them wander and simply guide your mind back to the object of your focus. This could be breath, a symbol, a mantra(specific words), a candle flame, a concept such as 'love' or 'eternity', a physical feeling such as the softening of your body, or awareness itself, or others.

 

You have thoughts, emotions and sensations. They are like the waves of the ocean, rising and falling. Meditation is becoming aware of the ocean itself. The waves will still be there but you will identify less with them and more with the deep calm of the ocean.

  

Meditation is the consistent practice of the EXPERIENCE behind the philosophy or theology or tradition. The commonality of the various approaches to meditation comes from surrendering to the direct experience of the universal reality behind each style of meditation. The difference is how that reality is experienced.

 

How to choose a meditation style? Consider your background and your temperament. You may want to try a few styles to choose from your own experience. For many, the connection with the teacher is important. The meditation style will give you relaxation and a sense of peace, if it is a match to you. But, oh, by the way, that relaxation and peace may be more evident out in the rest of your life than it is in the actual meditation period. Do you want to meditate daily or only in a group occasionally? Do you want spirituality included in your meditation training or do you want it to be secular? Do you want it to be about awareness itself, or do you want a specific tool to use?

 

Explore these 3 meditation traditions and dive deeper into the reality of Who you are:
MINDFULNESS MEDITATION involves focusing on the present moment by bringing awareness
to your thoughts and feelings with an attitude of curiosity, openness and acceptance.
In Mindfulness Meditation (also called Insight Meditation), the mind itself is the vehicle. We use
the breath, imagery, and body scans as techniques to cultivate attention.
MORNING MEDITATION PROGRAM in the Buddhist Yogic Tradition will provide exposure and training in a wide range of meditation techniques. After learning the preliminaries of where, when and why to meditate, we will move first into tonglen practice, which uses visualization techniques to cultivate compassion and open the heart chakra.
SVAROOPAŽ VIDYA MEDITATION involves experiencing the Self within, the reality of your
eternal divine essence, in meditation and in life, by going beyond your mind.
 
In SvaroopaŽ Vidya Meditation mantra(repetition of sacred words), the pause between your
breaths, or the softening of your body, are the vehicle. This meditation is based in Kashmir
Shaivism, a spiritual tradition that traces back thousands of years to the sages of the
Himalayas, and into today, with living teachers.