the 21-day meditation challenge: your guide
TRANSCRIPT
The 21-Day Meditation Challenge: Your Guide
(C) 2018 SUSAN PIVER
CHAPTER 1
21-Day Meditation Challenge: Your GuideBy Susan Piver
ii
Welcome!
I am so glad you have chosen to participate in this 21-Day challenge.
It has been said that it takes 21 days to create a new habit...and there is no better habit to invest in that a sustainable meditation practice.
The truth is that many (all?!) of us feel that we should be able to meditate and wonder why we don’t just start or, if we have started, why it be-comes erratic. It is simply not mathematically possible that everyone lacks the required self-discipline to meditate. Rather, we need more than just our willpower to create an ongoing practice. In fact, we need three things. We need proper instruction. We need a way to understand the changes that begin to occur. And, perhaps most important, we need community. Yes, meditation is a solitary practice--but when we practice with others, even if we are not physically together, our practice is infused with vitality.
I created this 21-day challenge to deliver all three of these components. I will offer you instruction every day. We will have a forum where you can reflect on what you notice about yourself and your practice (or simply read others’ reflections). And you will be sitting with close to 500 meditators all over the world.
Enjoy! With love, Susan and the Open Heart Project
iii
Overview
During this program, I ask you to keep a “Practice Journal.” This simply means jotting down a few thoughts (or more, if you like) after each meditation session. You can keep it very simple: “went well” or “pretty dull,” or reflect more fully on the quality of your experience with each session. This is not about grading or progressing. It is about establishing a rela-tionship with your practice. This guide contains space for you to keep your practice journal, if you would like.
Sharing our experience with others can be a very helpful part of the process. We have created a forum on our website for you to share your experience with the others taking this chal-lenge.
I am grateful and appreciative that you are willing to give yourself this gift. I will do everything I can to support you.
Love, Susan
4
This program invites you to spend time each day for 21 days to create (or recreate) a strong meditation practice and, in so doing, harvest its many benefits. There are many health bene-fits, certainly, but there are also benefits that extend beyond our physicality. Meditation helps us to discover a deeper source of love. It enables us to see the events of our life more clearly. It gives us the strength to be genuine.
Each day of this program, you will receive an email from me that contains a guided meditation. For the first seven days, we will sit together for 10 minutes. During the middle seven days, we will increase to 15 minutes and by the final week, you will be sitting for 20 minutes. You can do it!
You can stream each audio directly from your computer or download it to any device for later listening.
We will have one online check-in on June 1st at 3:00 pm ET to answer any questions you may have and t0 discuss how to move forward with your practice.
5
The Schedule
PROGRAM BEGINS
May 15 10 minute sit
May 16 10 minute sit
May 17 10 minute sit
May 18 10 minute sit
May 19 10 minute sit
May 20 10 minute sit
May 21 10 minute sit
May 22 15 minute sit
May 23 15 minute sit
May 24 15 minute sit
May 25 15 minute sit
May 26 15 minute sit
May 27 15 minute sit
May 28 15 minute sit
May 29 20 minute sit
May 30 20 minute sit
May 31 20 minute sit
June 1 20 minute sit
June 2 20 minute sit
June 3 20 minute sit
June 4 20 minute sit
June 1st at 3:00 pm ET
Live Check-in with Susan
WEEK ONE WEEK TWO WEEK THREE
Preparation
6
• Set up a meditation area in your home or room. If you already have one, that’s great. If not, choose a spot with room for a meditation cushion or a chair. Keep it very simple.
• If you feel so moved, you may have a table by your meditation spot with fresh flowers, a candle, or a pic-ture of something or someone you love. Keep it very simple.
• Let those you live with know you’ll be engaged in this challenge if it would be useful to do so.
• Watch the two videos you receive when you register for this program, “What is meditation? The obstacles and misconceptions? ” and “How does meditation af-fect our off-the-cushion experience?”
• Decide on which time of day is best for your practice. It may take a little time to figure it out, so feel free to experiment. For most people, mornings are best but you may be a night owl or simply be too busy in the mornings. You might decide to practice when you come home from work or school or before you go to sleep.
Intention As we enter a new season, we have a chance to reimag-
ine our lives. Who do you want to be? What do you
want to let go of? Who do you want to help? What are
your gifts to offer? What is this time in your life about?
There is one support you can return to over and over as
you explore answers to these questions: your medita-
tion practice. Day by day, breath by breath, it reminds
you just how wise, compassionate, and powerful you
are and helps you return to your highest priorities.
Take a moment, right now, to set your intention for
this 21-day challenge. Is it to find respite from stress?
Deepen your practice? Discover the meaning of your
life? Express your creativity? Feel healthier? All of
these are great.
Ask yourself: What is my heart’s desire?
Feel that desire reverberate within your chest.
You’re ready to start.
7
Practice Journal
During our 21-day challenge, take time af-ter each practice session to make a few notes about how it went. Note how many minutes you practiced. (If you did not practice, write down “sat for zero min-utes.” That is no problem. This is not a race and you will not be graded or evalu-ated. This is simply a way to track your ex-perience.) Jot down any insights, feelings, or sensations that seem relevant. Note any questions you may have. Keep it simple.
8
DAY 1 __________________________________________
__________________________________________
__________________________________________
__________________________________________
__________________________________________
__________________________________________
__________________________________________
9
WEEK ONE
DAY 2
__________________________________________
__________________________________________
__________________________________________
__________________________________________
__________________________________________
__________________________________________
__________________________________________
DAY 3 __________________________________________
__________________________________________
__________________________________________
__________________________________________
__________________________________________
__________________________________________
__________________________________________
DAY 4
__________________________________________
__________________________________________
__________________________________________
__________________________________________
__________________________________________
__________________________________________
__________________________________________
10
DAY 5 __________________________________________
__________________________________________
__________________________________________
__________________________________________
__________________________________________
__________________________________________
__________________________________________
DAY 6
__________________________________________
__________________________________________
__________________________________________
__________________________________________
__________________________________________
__________________________________________
__________________________________________
Reflections on Week One:
__________________________________________
__________________________________________
__________________________________________
__________________________________________
__________________________________________
__________________________________________
__________________________________________
DAY 7 __________________________________________
__________________________________________
__________________________________________
__________________________________________
__________________________________________
__________________________________________
__________________________________________
11
DAY 8 __________________________________________
__________________________________________
__________________________________________
__________________________________________
__________________________________________
__________________________________________
__________________________________________
WEEK TWO
DAY 9
__________________________________________
__________________________________________
__________________________________________
__________________________________________
__________________________________________
__________________________________________
__________________________________________
DAY 10 (almost half-way there!) __________________________________________
__________________________________________
__________________________________________
__________________________________________
__________________________________________
__________________________________________
__________________________________________
DAY 11
__________________________________________
__________________________________________
__________________________________________
__________________________________________
__________________________________________
__________________________________________
__________________________________________
12
DAY 12 __________________________________________
__________________________________________
__________________________________________
__________________________________________
__________________________________________
__________________________________________
__________________________________________
DAY 13
__________________________________________
__________________________________________
__________________________________________
__________________________________________
__________________________________________
__________________________________________
__________________________________________
Reflections on Week Two:
__________________________________________
__________________________________________
__________________________________________
__________________________________________
__________________________________________
__________________________________________
__________________________________________
DAY 14 __________________________________________
__________________________________________
__________________________________________
__________________________________________
__________________________________________
__________________________________________
__________________________________________
DAY 18
__________________________________________
__________________________________________
__________________________________________
__________________________________________
__________________________________________
__________________________________________
__________________________________________
13
DAY 15 __________________________________________
__________________________________________
__________________________________________
__________________________________________
__________________________________________
__________________________________________
__________________________________________
WEEK THREE
DAY 16
__________________________________________
__________________________________________
__________________________________________
__________________________________________
__________________________________________
__________________________________________
__________________________________________
DAY 17 __________________________________________
__________________________________________
__________________________________________
__________________________________________
__________________________________________
__________________________________________
__________________________________________
14
DAY 19 __________________________________________
__________________________________________
__________________________________________
__________________________________________
__________________________________________
__________________________________________
__________________________________________
DAY 20
__________________________________________
__________________________________________
__________________________________________
__________________________________________
__________________________________________
__________________________________________
__________________________________________
Reflections on your 21-day challenge:
__________________________________________
__________________________________________
__________________________________________
__________________________________________
__________________________________________
__________________________________________
__________________________________________
DAY 21 __________________________________________
__________________________________________
__________________________________________
__________________________________________
__________________________________________
__________________________________________
__________________________________________
Going Forward
If you wish to learn more about our practice here are a few books I recommend:
Turning the Mind Into an Ally
by Sakyong MiphamI am not recommending this book because Sakyong Mipham is my teacher and I love him. I am recom-mending it because it is one of the best books ever written about Buddhist meditation. It is so direct. It is so warm. It is so clear. I have read it many times and it never ceases to shower me with insight.
Cutting Through Spiritual Materialismby Choygam TrungpaEarly in my practice, I asked my instructor what I should read to gain additional insight into the prac-tice. Without hesitation, this book--and Zen Mind, Beginner’s Mind by Shunryu Suzuki (below). Now, as a meditation instructor myself, I make the same suggestions. This book is a primer for making your practice a route to liberation rather than additional confusion.
Zen Mind, Beginner’s Mind by Shunryu Suzuki RoshiThis book also stands as one of the best books ever written about the practice of meditation. Although I don’t practice zazen, I find that every word also ap-plies to my own practice because Suzuki Roshi cuts through cultural forms to reveal the heart essence of meditation practice. Thank you, Suzuki Roshi.
Start Here Now by Susan Piver
Sets out the Open Heart Project view of medita-tion, on which this program is based.
15
16
If you would like to practice together daily, please join the Open Heart Project Sangha.
Sangha membership benefits include:
• Get started with a 7-Day Meditation Quickstart audio program
• Keep your practice going with a daily audio meditation
• Go deeper with our 30-minute live video talks with a Buddhist teacher 6 days a week
• Attend a monthly live class with Susan to ask questions and share reflections
• Continue the exploration through free access to many online classes with Susan
• Access to hundreds of on-demand meditation videos and talks in the meditation library
• Connect with fellow Sangha members via our private forum
A free OHP t-shirt + signed copy of Start Here Now for new annual members
JOIN HERE
Going Forward