The Here & Now Meditation

A Quick and Effective Way  to Overcome Suffering

(Condensed Version)

Mimi Khuc & Thanh-Trieu Nguyen

This booklet was created from the full version of The Here & Now Meditation: A Quick and Effective Way to Overcome Suffering published by Here & Now Publishing, Copyright © 2004 Mimi Khuc and Thanh-Trieu Nguyen, ISBN: 1-59526-232-

Preface

Chapter One: An Introduction to the Mind

Suffering and Its Accomplice:  The Mind

The Workings of the Mind:

The Mind’s Imprecision

The Mind’s Shoulds and Shouldn’ts

The Mind’s Endless Past & Endless Future

Chapter Two:  Our key: The H & N Meditation

Basic Here & Now Concepts
Using the Here & Now
Experiencing the Here & Now
Level One: Entering the Stillness

Sitting Meditation
Sleeping Meditation
Self-Healing, Anti-Aging & Stress Managing
Neutralizing Forces of Past Karma

Characteristics of the Here & Now Meditation

Chapter Three:  New Perspectives

The Nagging Mind
“Must” and “Should”
Wants or Needs?
The Bondage of Criticism
The Past and the Future
Judgment
Happiness and Suffering
Changing our Significant Other
Changing Places
Forgiveness
Self-Pity
Separation and Love
The Measure of Success and Failure
Religion of Origin
Mine’s Better Than Yours
Is That So?
Inter-Relationship
Why are We Here in This Life?
Unconditional Love
Love versus Need
Experiencing “All is One:” Woman and Child

Other Chapters in the Book Version

Summary

Preface

The book, The Here & Now Meditation, started out as just a few pages outlining a simple meditation technique. These pages eventually expanded into a small booklet to help people find inner peace, happiness, and harmony in their lives. That booklet was made available free of charge and was also offered as an e-booklet on the internet in five languages: English, French, Spanish, Dutch and Vietnamese. The book—an expanded form of the original booklet—was in response to our readers’ requests for clarification on certain aspects of this meditation practice. Included some of the new information we developed in the book, This booklet here is the newly condensed version, and once again, is available in various languages on our website free of charge.

The full book has eight chapters — four of them have been adapted for this booklet. You will find a brief description of the other four chapters at the end of the booklet.

To serve the general population, we use only simple terms and concepts about meditation so that we can reach the beginner everywhere. We will not be discussing viewpoints of any par-ticular religion or school of thought. Throughout this booklet, when we do make comparisons or evaluations, they will be based solely on one merit—the effectiveness of a method in liberating a person from suffering.

A few things to keep in mind while you read: This booklet combines Eastern and Western concepts in a way that may ask its more traditional readers to consider new and different ideas. For all readers, traditional and untraditional, please read with an open heart and a quiet mind—a mind that does not respond to its need to analyze, argue, criticize, or compare with available pre-conceptions and standpoints. And please read slowly. The substance of this booklet resides not only in the written words but also in the silence behind them. This booklet is meant to be read for both the knowledge obtained through the mind and the wisdom found by the heart.

Happy reading. 

Chapter One

An Introduction To The Mind

The following conversation took place during a counseling session between one of our spiritual counselors and a young woman in her midthirties:

Counselor: Hi, how may I help you?

Woman: Everything is going wrong. I need help. I need a stable job. I also need a better place to stay... Right now, I share a room in someone’s basement. I want my family to love me. My husband left me. I need a nice man... a nice husband. My car keeps breaking down…

Counselor: What you just said you need, I think is reasonable. I think everyone would want the same… Do you know of anyone who has all these things?

Woman: Yes. Some of my friends.

Counselor: And are they happy?

Woman: Well…not really.

Counselor: Do you think if you had all these things, you would be happy for good?

Woman: Maybe... Well, not really... Not for good.

Counselor: If you don’t mind, I have a personal theory why. I may be wrong but let’s just take a look at it. I think we come from a place where we are absolute love and peace. Maybe that’s why we always feel needy and lacking now. To cope with this lack, we cling on to the love of our parents, then siblings, then friends, lovers, spouses, children… We keep feeling that lack so we try to fill it with fame, power, status, wealth. Everything works for a little while, but then that feeling of lack comes back. I don’t have the magic wand to give you what you were asking, but I can show you how to truly fill that lack. Once we do this, nothing else really matters. You have those things you asked for—fine. You don’t have them—that’s fine, too. You are at peace with yourself and with the world anyway...

       By separating from that place of completeness, we have created a secondary mind that uses words. Our original mind is always wordless and quiet; all perceptions are without interpretation, judgment, analysis, comparison, or deduction. Everything just IS. The secondary mind is what you and I are using right now. It rants endlessly about things that cause unhappiness. Once we learn how to tame that mind, we can return to the state of our original mind. We can transcend that feeling of lack permanently. Would you like to learn how?

Suffering And Its Accomplice: The Mind

       In Western culture, the word “suffering” is usually linked with traumatic life events, pain, and sadness. Eastern cultures, influenced by Hinduism and Buddhism, often view suffering as a basic building block of life—life is suffering. The definition in this book lies somewhere in between. Suffering, of course, refers to emotions such as sadness and pain. In this book, the definition of suffering broadens to include any emotional state linked with unhappiness. Our complete definition of suffering, then, is as follows:

• Any emotion that is NOT happiness, love, and joy. Examples: anger, jealousy, sadness, fear, hurt, anxiety, bitterness, sorrow, grief, vengefulness, hate, contempt, loneliness, etc.

• Any state of being that is NOT peace, contentment, and harmony. Examples: violence, neediness, confusion, nervousness, anxiety, withdrawal, denial, lack, devastation, worry, depression, etc.

• Any action that is NOT of kindness, tolerance, and compassion. Examples: controlling, judging, criticizing, insulting, attacking, abusing, complaining, nagging, belittling, etc.

With this definition of suffering, it is clear that most of us suffer to some degree. To solve this widespread problem, we first need to ask what causes our suffering. Here are some reasons many of us list. I am unhappy because...

• I don’t get what I really want or need.

• Someone did something bad to me.

• Someone did not do something they should do for me.

• Things don’t happen the way I would like for them to happen.

• I am in constant fear of losing someone, or something.

• I fail in everything I set out to do.

• There is no meaning to life.

These all seem like reasonable life situations to cause unhappiness. But there are people who are happy even with many of these situations! What is the difference between them and us? The answer: The condition of the mind! One mind is still and quiet while the other speaks, usually in complaint. Yet, has it ever occurred to you that perhaps you are NOT your mind? When you want peace and quiet, does that mind stop its noisy nagging? Doesn’t that mind disregard your wishes most of the time?

The next time you think any of the kinds of thoughts in the above list, try separating yourself from your mind and tell it to “be quiet.” Hopefully, it will obey and become quiet or change the subject. If it does obey at first, watch and see how long before it sneaks back to the previous subject. It seems that, for many of us, our minds are not completely under our control. This book is written for those who have not yet mastered their minds.

The concepts in this book rest upon the awareness of the following two truths: First, the principle source of almost all emotional misery and mental suffering is the dysfunction of a very special and important mechanism of the human being: the mind.

Second, the mind is just one of the many parts of the human being such as the heart, eyes, and nose. This mind cannot be taken as the total self. We are not our minds and our minds are not us. Therefore, we are not the mind’s reactions or deductions that lead to the emotional states of sadness, pain, or anger.

This book will guide us on how to cure this dysfunction and how to recover the high quality functions of our minds such as creativity, inventiveness, and awareness. By the time you finish reading this book, you will be equipped with an understanding of the workings of that mind as well as the skills to deal with it.

The Workings Of The Mind
The Mind’s Imprecision

The first problem with the mind is its imprecision. The “knowledge” of the ordinary mind is “inexact.” Below are two examples of inexact conclusions made by the mind:

Example #1: Your eyes see that you have sown a seed. Then, your eyes see a tree growing in that place. Your mind then concludes, “I have planted this tree,” and it may jump further to claim, “That tree is mine.” In actuality, the eyes saw only two facts: The first is your hands have placed a seed into the soil, and the second is a tree grew in that place. Knowing only those two facts, the mind then draws the conclusion that the second phenomenon (the tree) is the result of the first one (sowing the seed).

The incorrectness, or inexactness, is that the eye did not see other factors involved such as soil, water, air, sunlight, minerals, fertilizers, etc. However, it would be equally inexact to conclude the other way: “This seed was sown by me—plus, thanks to the soil, water, sunlight, etc., it grew into a tree.” Why is it still inexact?? Because the eyes actually saw only the sowing of a seed and the existence of a tree. It is the mind that pulls out stored knowledge from its memory bank (i.e. soil, water, sunlight...) and applies such knowledge to the phenomenon that the eyes saw (i.e. sowing of a seed and a growing tree). It then draws the conclusion. However, it is totally possible that the tree seen by the eyes could have grown from another seed planted by another person. Or there could be a thousand other factors involved. So, when we see “A” and then “B,” it is not certain that “B” is the consequence of “A.” Hence, the True mind is one that knows “A” as “A” and “B” as “B” without further deduction.

Example #2: Nine months after a couple has sexual intercourse, a tiny human being is born. The mind concludes, “This litle human was made by me and is my offspring. He belongs to me.” The mind draws this conclusion even though it does not know if there may be other forces and reasons that may bring this being into life.

In these examples, even if the mind had drawn a different conclusion using its stored knowledge, it would most likely still be inaccurate because the mind is always limited in its “knowing.” Using limited observations, the mind habitually deduces, reasons and fills in the gaps in knowledge with its stored, old “knowledge.”

A pure, true, and exact mind receives information without adding or deducing anything; it is one of Stillness. Then, when the need for interpretation and reasoning arises, the True mind performs such tasks in this Stillness without judgment and erroneous deduction—and at the same time, the True mind is aware that it is reasoning and interpreting. It is also aware that there is always room for possible inaccuracy.

In short, whenever the mind draws a “conclusion,” be aware of the process it is using. What are the correct mind processes? They are the processes used when the mind is operating in perfect Stillness. They occur without judgment, criticism, suggestions, or deduction. They are only peaceful observations and perceptions.

Problems and suffering worsen when that imprecise mind decides to use its inaccurate knowledge to make judgment. In the examples below, we see how the mind works: it searches its memory bank and then applies old opinions and values to new observations. And if the world around a person does not comply with its expectations and interpretation, the mind becomes agitated. It may nag or even throw tantrums.

In the examples below, we see how the mind can take information from our senses and apply its expectations and judgments to cause us irritation.

~ Sight: “I believe we should live in neat, orderly and clean surroundings. When I see clothes on the floor, dirty dishes, and clutter, I feel very uncomfortable. I don’t like messy people. They should live cleaner, healthier lives.”

~ Hearing: “I really dislike loud, disturbing noise. I am especially irritated when people make noise carelessly and inconsiderately. I am offended by people who slam doors, talk loudly on their cell phones, or talk during movies.”

~ Taste: “I am very picky when it comes to food. In fact, I would rather go hungry than eat unappetizing meals. I get upset if a dish is not up to my standards in taste and aroma.”
Our mind also makes more sophisticated judgments based on its observations. Some common preconceptions that the mind uses to distort incoming information include preconceptions about relationships, value, roles, and identity.

~ Value: “If I wear this outfit, people will laugh at me (for being tacky, having no taste, being poor), or they will compliment me (for being classy, beautiful, fashionable). When I look at people and see the way they dress, the cars they drive, I immediately know their worth.” Here, the mind defines value and meaning through appearance. The mind pays great attention to compliments and criticisms from others. Thus, the mind will be greatly distressed if there are no available means to provide the proper status symbols for the self or family.

~ Identity: “I lost my job and all my money. I am a complete failure.” The above faulty thinking processes of this mind could lead us into believing that we are the direct and sole cause of all life phenomena and things that represent success and failure. For example, the mind should only see a fortune as just “a fortune” instead of “a fortune that I’ve created” or “a fortune that I’ve lost.” This correct perception will enable us to overcome the suffering related to success and failure, loss and gain, honor and disgrace, and to liberate ourselves from the everbinding illusions, “I am in control of all things in my life,” and “I am what I own and what I achieve.”

~ Relationships and social roles: “Although my father (or mother, sibling, friend, spouse, child, niece, nephew) is related and/or close to me, when I encountered difficulties and needed help, s/he did not help me like s/he should have.” Here, the mind defines family and close relationships as linked with certain responsibilities. If these responsibilities aren’t fulfilled, the mind judges and blames.

“Children should obey and be dutiful to their parents.” “Parents should give love equally, foster and care for their children until they are solidly successful.” The roles of child and parent are heavily linked with certain responsibilities and expectations in the mind. These expectations can be carried out to extremes without awareness at all. For example, in an actual case we know, a mother expected her daughter to prostitute herself to support the mother’s gambling habit.

“In a family, women are responsible for homemaking and the care of their husband and children. Men are responsible for finances, and material comfort.” If a person falls short of his/her expected role, both the person and others around the person will suffer the mind’s nagging, judging, and blaming.

       With respect to the mind, relationships are the most troublesome aspect in our lives. New perspectives can help lessen our problems. For example, we should see our spouse as follows: “This is a human being, who prior to meeting me, has already lived in this world for decades, owns a complete set of personal concepts already misled by his/her own mind, and whose body and soul are completely independent of me.” Has it ever occurred to you that this person may exist in this world for other purposes besides being your spouse? This perspective will help the mind accept and respect others around us; it will no longer require others to give up their own “knowledge” and values—misled or not—for our misled knowledge.

The Mind’s Endless Past And Endless Future

The mind often doesn’t need observations to keep itself occupied. It has the past and the future to think about. A major source of our suffering comes from the mind’s incessant remembering and reliving, and worrying and fantasizing. We often miss out on the experiences of the present because the mind takes pains and regrets from the past and relives them like a broken record. We also live a part of our time in the future by worrying, planning, and fantasizing excessively. The mind obsesses about these events that are actually from a different time and makes us live them during the present.

In summary, here is how the mind, through dysfunctional processes, creates our suffering.

• It is busily repeating thoughts and experiences from the past.

• It immerses in worries, fears, and dreams of the future.

• It torments us with its adamant application of opinions and views created by societies, regardless of reason or logic.

• It judges, analyzes, insults, argues, and builds images and emotions of violence, hatred, jealousy, etc.

• It can even bring illness and pain to the physical body through its continuous transmission of damaging, chaotic thoughts to the cells.

When a man mumbles and talks to himself all day, we say he’s mentally ill. We fail to notice that all of us also talk to ourselves endlessly all day and all night—except we do it quietly in our heads. This is a serious chronic problem, but because everyone is affected, we think it is “normal.” So instead of us being the “owners” who operate and control the mind, in reality, that mind endlessly runs and controls us. As long as we are unable to turn off that mind when necessary, we are not beyond suffering.

It is not our goal here to forget the past or to not plan for the future. Nor is it to have no opinions or viewpoints. The problem with the processes in the above list is that they happen automatically and habitually. When we say we want to turn off the mind, we mean that we want to regain control of its processes. We want to turn off its autopilot. The goal then is to be able to have a choice over these very processes and applications—we want to be able to choose when to apply an opinion or prior knowledge, or when to reminisce of the past, or when to build images and emotions within ourselves.

The human mind is not a disaster for mankind. On the contrary—it is an extremely valuable mechanism IF we know how to use it. Once we become owners of our own minds, we can cultivate its positive qualities such as creativity and awareness.

Eliminating suffering requires three things: an understanding of the mind and its habits; a method to tame that mind; and, most importantly, a cultivated awareness of our selves and our relationships with others. We have already presented an introduction to the mind’s processes; in the next chapter, we would like to present a simple method that can be used to cultivate the necessary awareness. This method is only one of countless meditation methods in the world—but we have found it to be one of the simplest and most effective for our goals. Here, we present it for those who have not yet found a useful tool in their search for lasting happiness.

Chapter Two

Our Key: The Here & Now Meditation

    Our key to eliminating suffering is a simple technique that enables us to liberate ourselves by turning off the mind. This key is especially geared towards inexperienced practitioners of meditation. Anyone can practice it easily at any place and any time—even while sitting comfortably in a chair, lying down, standing, walking, or working.

       This Here & Now meditation neither requires us to leave the normal life of the material and social world nor expects us to abandon loved ones for solitary contemplation for any length of time. Furthermore, it does not belong to any religion. Anyone can use it.

The Purpose of Meditation

       Meditation has been in existence for many thousands of years ever since people learned how to be quiet both in words and in thoughts. This quietness has helped reenergize the body and bring about true and complete rest to the mind.

       Within the framework of this book, we shall focus on eliminating unhappiness for ourselves and on preventing us from hurting others again. After the true root of unhappiness is dealt with successfully, you will find that true lasting peace and happiness shall be yours to keep.

Basic Here & Now Concepts

       The very first goal of many meditations is to quiet, or still, the thinking mind. Normally, if we were to focus our attention on something, the thinking mind would be the one directing this action. This thinking mind leads and directs nearly all of our daily actions and thoughts. Some meditation techniques use it to manipulate itself into quietness. Others also resort to “mindful” methods where one uses this thinking mind to stay aware of the senses, thoughts, and actions such as eating, chewing, walking, thinking certain thoughts, etc.

       The Here & Now technique, however, does not attempt to “wrestle” with that mind. At the beginner level, the thinking mind is sitting at a designated place, unthinking and unfocused during meditation. The mind and body get to rest deeply and thus experience profound peace and tranquility. As one becomes more proficient, this state of being will free the mind from its own habits of endless chatter. At higher levels, the True mind carries out normal daily activities while constantly keeping an awareness on or connectedness with the inner Stillness. In addition, the method includes a means to continue practice even while you are asleep so that you can reach the subconscious mind.

       So what exactly is “Here & Now”? It means literally being “here” and “now.” It results from keeping the mind where the body is and from the absence of thought while in a heightened state of awareness. In this state, the mind stands still, unthinking—not darting to the past, jumping to the future, or analyzing and drawing inaccurate conclusions. “Mind” and “body” become One, uniting the physical body with its inherent inner Stillness; a state that transcends time and space.

       Simply put, if we can keep our minds quiet when not in use, we are already way ahead of the game. Then, if we can keep our minds quiet even when we use it and when we are asleep, we are at a much higher state of mind that no longer suffers needlessly. With this Here & Now method, most people can enjoy great improvement in their emotional and mental wellbeing within a few days. You do not even need to believe in the method for it to work. All you have to do is try it and put in sincere effort.

       To summarize from the previous chapter, emotions generally develop in these ways:

• From opinions, feelings, and past interactions stored in the memory bank.

• From interpretations made by the mind through the five physical senses.

• From thoughts of events that have occurred in the past or that may occur in the future.

• From values, beliefs, and expectations applied by the mind to life events and other people.

       Here are the ways in which we can address these:

      To stop the mind’s automatic use of certain old knowledge, we can be “present” using the Here & Now meditation. When we find ourselves reliving a certain past painful event or feeling, we need to make ourselves “present” by using the Here & Now method to enter the state of Stillness, keeping the mind quiet for at least one minute. Then, afterwards, in that state of inner Stillness, we can observe the event or feeling without reliving it. We can think of a memory while simultaneously never disconnecting from the present and the present’s experiences.

       We can minimize the bind between the mind and the senses by using the Here & Now meditation. You need to do this if, for example, your eyes see a rose, and then the mind hurriedly darts back to the past and pulls up hurtful images and memories related to a certain rose of the past. In cases like this, take a slow deep breath, enter the inner Stillness using the Here & Now meditation, and listen in that state of being. You will be able to calm down that edgy and overactive mind quickly.

       To stop the mind from living in the past and future, we also need to deal with the mind’s control over the imagination. The mind has a special ability. It can “see” pictures and “hear” sounds without using the senses. It even creates feelings, tastes, and smells by itself and stimulates mental and physical reactions. For example, when the mind imagines a lemon being squeezed into the mouth, saliva glands automatically respond. This special ability, however, is a doublededge blade that can bring both sadness and happiness. Our imagination can be creative and innovative causing us to create art and inventions. But it can also paint fantasies from the past or future that cause us suffering.

       When we need to interrupt a useless or negative session of the imagination, we can take a slow deep breath and enter into the Here & Now inner Stillness. Once in the Stillness, the mind will immediately stop its imagining process. This technique is especially helpful in preventing the imagination from getting out of control and bringing harm to us or those around us.

       To change the mind’s expectations and judgments, we may need to explore new perspectives on life events. Chapter Three contains examples of new perspectives that can help us cultivate awareness and perhaps change the way the mind habitually applies its opinions and expectations to ourselves and the people around us.

Experiencing The Here & Now

      The final goal of this meditation technique is for us to be able to remain in the state of inner Stillness at all times, whether we are sitting, standing, or walking, and whether we are awake or asleep. There are typically four stages to reach that goal:

Stage 1: In this stage, through a conscious effort, we can interrupt the flow of thought during what we call a “sitting meditation.” We can also experience Stillness, inner peace, and the resting and clarity of the mind during meditation.

Stage 2: Here, when we are not in sitting meditation and while carrying out our normal daily activities, we can experience the presence of Stillness quite frequently. We experience this both naturally and by the conscious effort of doing one minute meditation throughout the day.

Stage 3: In this stage, the mind has become quite docile, less chaotic, and more manageable. Through practice, we can calmly face real life situations, be aware of our mind’s drives and habits, and step out of emotional turmoil as we maintain Stillness throughout.

Stage 4: In this fourth stage, we and our minds are in a natural state of oneness without struggles or chaos. Here, we live our lives with an everpresent inner peace and connection with that inner Stillness. The mind no longer automatically analyzes, judges, reacts, draw conclusions, or nags as it used to do.

       It is believed that the most enlightened sages stay in this state of Stillness continually.

Note for practitioners of other disciplines:

       Practitioners of the Chakra System and other energy systems: When practicing the Here & Now meditation, because the initial goals of the Here & Now method are Stillness and the complete absence of thought, you will need to relax all the muscles on the forehead and around the eyes to avoid concentrating at the eyebrows and forehead, especially at the location of the “Third Eye” chakra, or Chakra 6 to some.

       If you are used to feeling energy movements, frequencies, or vibrations or having visions during meditation, please ignore them because the essence of Here & Now is the Stillness behind all of them. You should keep the mind completely still, without expecting anything—not expecting even the experience of Stillness itself because the act of expecting also hinders our experiencing Stillness.

      Practitioners of traditional meditations: Traditional meditations often emphasize complete wakefulness. The Here & Now method emphasizes complete inaction which includes not struggling to stay alert. The ideal initial depth of meditation in the first stage is the state of being half-awake and half-asleep: between the two states of being asleep and awake.

Level One: Entering The Stillness

Important: Please note that three levels have been designed for the sole purpose of practical training. They do not indicate levels of spiritual achievement, only different applications of the meditation technique. Begin with Level One. Only advance to the next level after mastering the previous techniques. However, do not feel pressure to advance—many people comfortably and effectively use the first- or second-level techniques even after mastering all three levels. Just find a comfortable one for yourself.

Level One explains the basic way to quiet the mind and enter Stillness, opens the heart to compassion, and teaches techniques for self-healing, anti-aging and stress management,

Level Two teaches how to deepen the state of Stillness. It also contains advanced exercises to practice sustaining Stillness during everyday activities and to neutralize negative emotions. (See the book, The Here & Now Meditation.)

Level Three consists of methods of spiritual cultivation using the Here & Now meditation.

Sitting Meditation

While we call the daily meditation a “sitting meditation,” remember that this meditation technique may be practiced at any time, any place, and in any posture. Just make sure you are as comfortable and relaxed as possible.

Step One: Inhale slowly through your nose. As you slowly exhale through the mouth, feel as if a wave is sweeping from head to toe to relax your entire body. You can keep your eyes open or closed. If open, they should be gazing but neither focusing nor concentrating on any object.

Step Two: Tell the mind, “The body is here,” knowing the mind’s arrival at the heart area of your chest. Let go of yourself and relax with the mind unthinking and unfocused. Especially relax the muscles around the eyes and forehead whether the eyes are open or closed. Every so often, vaguely know that the mind is sitting quietly at the heart area.

If the mind starts wandering away or thinking, just quietly remind it, “The body is here,” and settle it again at the same location. Then immediately let go of thoughts and relax your body and mind again.

Remain in that unthinking and unfocused state for a minimum of one minute and maximum of 30 minutes. New practitioners should not meditate longer than 30 minutes at first. After about a month, you can go as long as comfortable.

Step Three: To end the sitting meditation, take a slow deep breath. As you slowly exhale, open and focus your eyes fully. Stretch your body if desired as you end the session.

       If you wish to continue the session with some other methods of contemplation, then after fully refocusing, sustain the Stillness while in the normal state of wakefulness. Quietly gaze at or observe the surfacing images and passing thoughts without analyzing or reasoning. This practice can be performed for as long as desired.

        If your goal in meditation is developing your “higher Mind,” we advise that you work with a teacher who is accomplished in this area to guide you personally. The regular mind can be easily mistaken for the “higher Mind.”

Sleeping Meditation

       At first, we transcend suffering when we reach Stillness during the sitting meditation. Next, we integrate this Stillness into our everyday activities. Then, in the sleeping meditation, we attempt to deal with another part of our mind: our subconscious. For us to no longer suffer even in our dreams, we guide both the subconscious and our thinking mind to dwell in the Stillness even during sleep. This allows us to wake up each day feeling fresh and at peace with ourselves and our world because it prevents the mind from continuing its habits at night.

        The technique is as follows: whenever you feel drowsy and are about to fall asleep, tell your thinking mind and your subconscious, “Take refuge in the Stillness during sleep.” Then, let go of all thoughts and muscles, and fall into a peaceful sleep.

Signs Of Stillness During Meditation

       A meditating person in deep Stillness will show the following signs: The body is not swaying, the limbs are still, and the head does not nod or move. The person’s face appears peaceful without any tenseness. Breathing becomes extremely light. With Stillness, even in long meditation sessions, limbs and back should have no aches or pains. In addition, perceptions of time and space can be slightly distorted. For example, upon opening the eyes after meditation, a person may inaccurately estimate the length of time under meditation, or a person may feel slightly disoriented. Another indication of Stillness is feeling physically refreshed and mentally peaceful after a meditation session.

       The Here & Now meditation may be practiced as often as desired throughout your day. For effectiveness, we suggest at least one 10- to 30-minute long sitting session and three short sessions of one minute each during daily activities. If your mind is very active, often darting to different times and places, practice more often and for longer periods. Then when you are ready to fall asleep, whether taking a nap, going to bed, or returning to sleep after waking up during the night, do the sleeping meditation steps.

       Remember that our main goal is to live in the present, be in full awareness of our mind’s processes, be in control of our thoughts, emotions, actions and realities, and maintain Stillness and equanimity through life’s tribulations. Thus, after you have learned to achieve Stillness, silently keep in touch with it as frequently as possible. Again, frequent one-minute pauses in Stillness throughout your day will be incredibly helpful.

Self-Healing, Anti-Aging & Stress Managing

       For self-healing: After a few minutes of regular meditation, tell your mind to rest at the ailing locations and then promptly let go of your thoughts and re-enter the Stillness for 1 to 30 minutes. (If the illness is in wholebody systems such as the circulatory, lymphatic, nervous, etc., then place the mind at the top of the head instead.)

For Stress Control and Anti-Aging:

• Every day, do at least 15 minutes for the Here & Now sitting meditation.

• Do the 1-minute Stillness throughout the day to prevent stress build-up.

• Each time you are about to fall asleep, take a slow, deep breath, relax, and tell your mind and your subconscious to dwell in the Stillness during sleep.

• Every time negative thoughts or feelings arise, take a slow, deep breath and enter the Stillness for at least 30 seconds.

Don’t forget to take pictures of your face to see the before & after affects.

Neutralizing Forces of Past Karma

       Some people believe that the sources of old information are not necessarily contained within this single lifetime, but rather, from many previous lifetimes. In this case, perhaps you will find the following instructions relevant to your goals. But if you don’t believe in past life, simply ignore this section.

      To neutralize forces from past lives, it is necessary to view existing suffering (illness, painful relationships, painful events, etc.) as the results of some of our past actions. In such case, one needs to sincerely feel remorseful—even though we may not remember or know of those past actions. We then silently apologize to those who have suffered due to our past intentional or unintentional actions.

       In our daily lives, there are times when we suffer from people who, without apparent reason, seem to persistently make life difficult for us, i.e. angrily arguing, fighting, taking our money, damaging our property, etc. To understand this karmically, we assume that at some time in the past, we had done the same things to them. Put ourselves in their position in that past and open our hearts so that we can understand their plight. Then, in deep Stillness, we sincerely regret and silently apologize to them. Immediately afterwards, enter the Stillness for at least 30 minutes. The deeper the Stillness and the more complete the silence of the mind, the greater the results.

Characteristics of The Here & Now Meditation

       This Here & Now meditation method has several very important qualities especially in comparison with other methods:

~Non Struggle: This method begins with not struggling with the noisy mind and ends with a completely non-struggling state within and without our being.

~Stillness Versus Watchful Awareness: In this method, our awareness is sustained through peaceful observation and Stillness, not through intense watching as in many other disciplines. Yet, the method is completely compatible with all other traditions and even with a secular, non-religious life.

~Time and Effectiveness: If practiced correctly, one can experience this life-changing Stillness within a few days—some have even experienced it within minutes. Practitioners usually can integrate the Stillness into daily life within a few weeks. These are very short times compared to the months or even years that many meditation methods require.

~Simplicity: The Here & Now method is one of the simplest and easiest methods to learn, requiring very little time and education, no expenses, and no instructors. The method is also very easy to teach—once mastered, one can easily show others how to practice within moments.

~Compatibility: The Here & Now meditation is neutral and complementary—it is compatible with all other spiritual and religious traditions. It is even compatible with a secular, non-religious life. The meditation helps bring about clarity in both mind and spirit, allowing you the freedom to follow any path you choose and often even helping you proceed along those paths. Lasting happiness is a human goal that belongs to no single tradition and to all people everywhere.

~Compassion and World Peace: Beside providing inner peace, this Here & Now key also helps us develop compassion and loving-kindness. We can build world peace only after we have achieved compassion and inner peace for ourselves.

Chapter Three

New Perspectives

     In this chapter, we present perspectives that we feel are useful in alleviating suffering. These stories are not meant to be strict guidelines, rules, or even instructions. Again, the main goal of this book is to help you find paths to lasting happiness. Unless you feel it will help you personally, you do not need to change your life perspectives in any way. Because we and many of our practitioners have found some of these stories and ideas helpful, we decided to share them with you and let you choose among them those that resonate with you.

       Most of the ideas below deal with the mind, its opinions, and its insistence in applying its views on others. This is because this aspect of the mind can be the most confining part of our lives, causing suffering in the forms of anger, hurt, frustration, outrage, self-righteousness, and more. As we grow up, our minds accumulate opinions, views, and beliefs from our parents and others around us. These views are not inherently harmful—many of them are good, teaching virtues such as kindness and generosity. What changes these opinions into things harmful to us and others is the mind’s insistence that others must believe as we do and others must behave as we think they should.

       When we interact with people, objects, and situations, we often come upon things that contradict our minds’ views of how things should be. Our minds become uncomfortable because that man should be more decent, that woman should be a better mother, my daughter should be respectful, my son should call me. In coming in contact with other beings and objects, our minds immediately analyze and judge using its longstored opinions, often even demanding the people and situations around us to adjust themselves accordingly. He shouldn’t have been late—he should be more prompt. It wasn’t supposed to rain today. There isn’t supposed to be traffic at this time. These thoughts run through our minds constantly, leaving in their wake continual suffering.

       So, our first step is to end in our mind the demand that others must comply to our mind