13 statements to help you go deeper into the meditation zone

Not edge, not not edge. Rest. See. Credit: flickr/Vera / CC BY-NC 2.0

Just like you move your body into a certain position to make meditation more effective, so too can you position your thoughts to slide more easily into the Zen zone. Here are 13 statements that help me:

  1. The day is done. Let it go. The day is done. Thank you.
  2. I was not born. I will not die.
  3. I do not want enlightenment. Nor do I not not want it. I want to see.
  4. Where am I? Here. Where is here? In a room. In a house. In a neighborhood. In a city. In a state. In a nation. On a continent. On the planet Earth. In the Solar System. In the Milky Way. In the universe. In the Mystery.
  5. When am I? Now.
  6. Just 2,640 years ago, Buddha breathed the same air that nurtures me.
  7. The universe contracts and expands, breathing as I do.
  8. Everything goes to dust and comes back again.
  9. Sit with the inexplicable without trying to explain it or putting it into words or images. Just experience it.
  10. I am perfect. I accept all of myself. I can now let myself go.
  11. “I” is a story. “I” is an instrument to interact with others and guide this momentary life. “I” is not life.
  12. One life is a leaf on a tree that is all life.

I often say these aloud, focusing on the sound as much as the words. I don’t go on too long, though — just the first minute or two of a sit. You want to be letting go of thoughts, even these. Give them a try. Let me know how it goes in the comments, or share some of your own tips for zooming into the Zen zone.


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