Living the Zen Life

The Three Stages of Meditation Practice

The Three Stages of Meditation Practice

 

T

he Three Stages of Meditation Practice
 
 
Stage One: Survival.

Meditation is keeping oneself afloat in a raging sea of inner voices of extreme emotions. It’s a refuge from being dragged down. The challenge here is the voices have a big foothold and talk the practitioner out of meditation and other things that could help. It’s hard to practice when the circumstances of life are challenging (unfortunately, it’s the time when most people seek practice in the first place).

 
Stage Two: Maintenance.

Meditation is keeping oneself balanced. It’s a preventive measure from going into survival and dysfunction (again). The challenge here is to keep going because typically the novelty has worn off by this time and the voices are angling for “results” to warrant continuing. If everything is going well or something new shows up, the voices suggest quitting and moving on.

 
Stage Three: Thriving.

Meditation is seeing through the illusion of mental constructs and a shift in consciousness. It heightens one’s awareness and ignites creativity, full expression, and increased performance. The challenge here is the same as usual: The voices. They still come up with excuses to quit and suffer, but the practitioner is now using the voices as “flags” to deepen their practice. The voices are worthy opponents to overcome in the process of mastery, freedom, and compassionate self-mentoring.

 

In lovingkindness,


If you enjoyed this article, you can find a version of it in my book, Living the Zen Life: Practicing Conscious, Compassionate Awareness (Volume One).

If you enjoyed this article, you can find a version of it in my book, Living the Zen Life: Practicing Conscious, Compassionate Awareness (Volume Two).

If you enjoyed this article, you can find a version of it in my book, Living the Zen Life: Practicing Conscious, Compassionate Awareness (Volume Three).

If you enjoyed this article, you can find a version of it in my book, A Shift to Love: Zen Stories and Lessons by Alex Mill.

If you enjoyed this article, you can find a version of it in my book, Meditation and Reinventing Yourself.

If you enjoyed this article, you can find a version of it in my book, The Zen Life: Spiritual Training for Modern Times.

 


  Alex Mill trained in a Zen Buddhist monastery for nearly 14 years. He now offers his extensive experience to transform people’s lives and businesses through timeless Zen principles.

He is the creator of three powerful 30-day programs, Heart-to-Heart: Compassionate Self-Mentoring, Help Yourself to Change, and Your Practice, as well as the online Zen meditation workshop, Taming Your Inner Noise (now offered as The FREE Zen Workshop).

Alex has also written seven books on Zen awareness practice. The latest are entitled A Shift to Love: Zen Stories and Lessons (Get it for FREE here) and the 3-book series Living the Zen Life: Practicing Conscious, Compassionate Awareness.

He is a full-time Zen Life Coach who offers guidance and life-changing support to his private clients worldwide. Book a call.