Day 1: Introduction

Welcome to the 14-Day Access Concentration course.  Within these pages, you’ll learn the intellectual underpinnings of meditation and build experience in an intelligent and progressive way.  At the end of this 14-day journey, you’ll be well-on-your-way to maintaining a successful and fruitful practice.  

Defining Meditation and Goal Setting:

The purpose of this particular practice is to delve deep within your perception and understand the qualities of your sensate reality.  This is the reality you generally experience moment-to-moment and include sights, sounds, tastes, smells, feels and thoughts.  At a surface level, this practice appears primitive, simple or even nonsensical but as you continue to travel inwards; you’ll discover inherent qualities before unnoticed.  Understanding these qualities will allow you to alter and better understand your moment-to-moment perception and give you greater control over your life.  Just as a microscope provides greater insight into our physiology; so too, meditation provides greater insight into our perception.

The goal of this course is to provide you with the knowledge and experience necessary to achieve a specific concentration state called “Access Concentration.”  Prior to achieving this state, the breath remains lucid and can easily be lost to the host of distractions within our perception.  Although, after achieving this state, the breath will be solid and we’ll be able to begin our investigation of deeper matters.   Just as a microscope requires its practitioner to properly focus the lenses to look deeper; so too, you will learn to properly focus your perception and look deeper.

Setting Expectations:

After reading the above definition and goals, it’s easy to understand how this particular practice differs from many others.  While most western-meditation practices attempt to develop temporary mental quiet, this practice is attempting to develop permanent changes withing your moment-to-moment perception.  A far more difficult task, but worthwhile nonetheless.  The meditative journey is an inherently difficult and unnatural path.  To venture forward requires courage and relentless effort; as the path is fraught with difficulty, stemming from both external and internal pressures.  For this reason, I can only recommend you begin such a practice if you’re in reasonably-good psychological health and have at least 30-minutes per day to devote to this practice.  

Course Format:

The format of this course is broken up into daily sections.  For example, on Day 1 you will read this introduction and complete the exercise at the end.  Beyond this, there will be exercises for you to attempt and practice in your spare time.  Often, these will be concentration exercises, which will help you master the necessary meta-skill of concentration.  These are extraordinarily important and will greatly increase your enjoyment and success in this course.  I’d recommend doing these while on the bus or subway, waiting for the doctor or while your boss drones on-and-on about TPS reports.

Beyond all this, there’s a wonderful community available for you to join.  Often, we discuss meditation in terms of solitary study and practice, but this is truly unnecessary.  Whether it be the meditative sanghas of the Buddha or the prophetic schools of the Jewish prophets, this was rarely done alone.  We have a Discord with thousands-of-individuals who are also learning and growing in meditation.  If you wish, you may join from the following link <http://discord.gg/ykmZ4Gv>.  Generally, I make myself available nightly to answer questions regarding this course, as well as other topics within meditation.  Feel free to direct message or tag me @davidlbowman.

This course is written in a very accessible way.  Although, it may pull from multiple traditions, nearly everything will be written in plain English.  If a non-English word is presented, it’s because there’s not a quick-and-easy translation available.  On the rare occasion this occurs, we will always provide an understanding of the general terminology and concept.  

It’s worthwhile to mention this course is equally accessible for the religious, non-religious, anti-religious and anti-anti-religious.  It’s non-denominational and generally uninfluenced by religion.  Although, if you stand on either extreme, regarding the existence or non-existence of Gd, you will face experiences which will cause you to question your underlying beliefs.  If you are a truth-seeking individual, then be fearless and venture forth.  As a bit of light dispels much darkness.

This is the beginning of our 14-day adventure together.  If you work very hard, at the end of this 2-week period, you’ll have most likely achieved access concentration and the ability to focus on any object of your choice. Thank you for joining.

A Breath Exercise:

The breath is the standard object-of-meditation used by many practices. The reason for this is because different objects-of-meditation carry with them different experiences upon the meditative journey. Many of which are complex and difficult to measure. Fortunately, the breath has been studied in-depth and is rather easy from a teaching perspective. Also, it carries with it the added benefit of always being with you. For these two reasons, we’ll be using the breath throughout this course.

To begin, I would like for you to spend 10-minutes focusing on your breath. As you begin inhaling say “inhale” in your head; so too, say “exhale” as you begin exhaling. You need not say “inhale” or “exhale” neither quickly nor for the full-length of the breath. Instead, attempt to remain completely focused on your breath itself. Should another thought enter you head, say “distraction” and return to the breath.

This is easier said than done and it will most likely be impossible for you to remain completely focused on your breath for 10-minutes. Although, there is no reason for you to be distressed or concerned. These skills come with practice; as with any other type of skill. Instead, try to use it as an opportunity to better understand how your mind works. Generally, these distractions come-and-go, they’re seemingly disconnected and a tad bit annoying. It’s okay, you’ll grow mastery over them sooner than you think.