The Secrets of Your Mind & Meditation

In this lecture, you'll understand why learning meditation and mindfulness are not like learning other subjects, why different people progress at different speeds, and why it's important to experience things for yourself by putting the teachings to the test, rather than just believe what other people -- including Sitang! -- say.

Most of us never see the mind in its natural state because we're too caught up in the illusion of the outside world. In this lecture, you'll learn what the natural state of the mind really is and why it's important to understand.

You've probably heard the idea of 'The Monkey Mind', but the idea of the mind being like a 'Naughty Little Boy' allows us to take a more detailed look at how the mind behaves, and why.

In this lecture, you'll be taught how to do basic meditation, and introduced to a powerful technique called 'The Magic Breath', which quickly relaxes the mind and prepares it for meditation.

This 'lecture' is a 5-minute long silence with a bell-sound at the end, to let you know that 5 minutes is up. You can simply press play and then meditate for 5 minutes without having to worry about the time.

This story helps to teach a very simple but important point... But if I say anymore here it will ruin the story ;)

Most people don't know what real happiness is, or where to look for it. That's why they never find it. This short lecture will guide you towards looking for the right type of happiness in the correct place.

It is customary in Thailand to complete 'homework' (การบ้าน) after attending a lecture or meditation session, in order to reflect on the teachings and practise the skills and techniques learned.

You will also find a downloadable Session Summary, which will remind you of what we have covered in this session.

People often over complicate meditation, but basic meditation is actually very easy; there's only one main job to do...

When people think of meditation, they are usually thinking of Tranquility Meditation, or 'Samatha' meditation. In this lecture, you'll find out exactly what it is.

When you practise Tranquility Meditation, you need to choose the right object to use in meditation. As you'll discover in this lecture, there are some good ones, and some bad ones!

How do I sit? What do I do with my hands? Do I have to close my eyes? All these questions are answered clearly in this lecture, enabling you to know that you can begin to meditate with confidence.

This 'lecture' is a 10-minute long silence with a bell-sound at the end, to let you know that 10 minutes is up. You can simply press play and then meditate for 10 minutes without having to worry about the time.

In this lecture, we take a quick detour to look at the amazing potential power of human mind, and how we can harness that power and use it in our meditation practice.

In this lecture, we will discuss the importance of gradually training our mind and building 'mind muscle' through regular practice.

In this lecture, you will be given this week's Homework, plus the downloadable Session Summary, which  will remind you of what we have covered in this session.

In this lecture, you will be introduced to 'The 5 Bad Friends' (sometimes called 'The 5 Hindrances'). It is crucial that you are aware of the 'Bad Friends', as they not directly affect your meditation practice and have the potential to stop you from being successful, but also have the potential to affect the rest of your life.

The First Condition for Success in meditation is 'Correct Practice'. In this lecture you will be taught why it is important to practice correctly, as well as understand some of the potential dangers of practising incorrectly.

The Second Condition for Success in meditation is consistency. In this brief lecture, you will be told why consistent practice is important and what it means.

The Third Condition for Success in meditation is 'Knowing How To Recognise The 5 Bad Friends'. If you can't recognise them, how will you know if you are hanging out with them?! In this lecture, you will understand how identifying and then avoiding 'The 5 Bad Friends' allows you to reach the higher stages of meditation and experience the bliss and benefits of the 'jhanas'.

The next five lectures deal with an description of each of the 'Bad Friends' in order, beginning in this lecture with the first one: 'Sensory Desires'.  Most of us hang out with this 'Bad Friend' most of the time... But if we're serious about progressing along the path of meditation, we need to understand why this 'Friend' is so dangerous, and how it can can be a major obstacle to our spiritual development and meditation practice.

In this lecture, you will learn about the second 'Bad Friend": 'Aversion or Ill Will'... Like many of the 'Bad Friends', it's always lurking in the background, and it's very subtle and can be hard to spot.

'Sloth & Torpor' -- one of meditation's greatest enemies, and one that needs to be identified and understood properly before any real progress in meditation can be made. In this lecture, you will understand what sloth and torpor mean in the context of meditation practice, why they are are a barrier to developing your meditation skills (especially if used as a technique for meditation practice) and how to overcome them.

In this lecture, you will learn about the classic 'Monkey Mind', one that is constantly jumping from branch to branch and creating lots of mental noise. You will learn how this type of mind is a 'storyteller' and easily gets distracted and lost in the outside world most of the time without us even noticing, as well as learn about the effects of this type of mind on your meditation.

The human mind is usually full of doubt -- especially when it comes to meditation. In this lecture, you will learn a surprisingly easy and effective way to deal with doubt in your meditation and in life in general.

This 'lecture' is a 15-minute long silence with a bell-sound at the end, to let you know that 15 minutes is up. You can simply press play and then meditate for 15 minutes without having to worry about the time.

In this lecture, you'll learn a simple and very powerful technique which helps to regularly focus and charge up the mind throughout the day. Regularly focusing and charging the mind in this way helps to create the right conditions for success in Tranquility meditation.

In this lecture, you will be given this week's Homework. You will also find the Session Summary for download.

In this lecture, you will be introduced to the idea that what happens to the mind outside of meditation affects what happens in the mind during meditation.

The amazing benefits of meditation have been known in The East for thousands of years, but have only recently been discovered and celebrated in The West, due to advancements in science and a better understanding of what is happening in the brain and body. But science still can't compete with the most complex 'technology' of all: the human mind.

In this lecture, you will understand in greater detail how energy from different people and different places affect the mind, and  what this means for your meditation practice.

We can't always avoid negative energy and experiences in our every day life, so how do we deal with 'negative' people and 'negative' places? The answer, as usual, is surprisingly clear and simple!

In this lecture, you will understand more about the importance of creating a stable mind through meditation practice, and how this stable mind allows us to deal with negative energy effectively as we live live our life in an interconnected universe where everything and everyone affects everything and everyone else.

Because what happens in our everyday lives in the outside world affects the 'inside world' during meditation, it's important to be able to identify how our different daily activities affect the mind.

The meditation stages are very difficult to explain, and the only way to truly know them is to experience them for yourself. However, it is useful to have a broad understanding of the basic stages, as well as an understanding of how to respond to some of the strange new experiences that mediators often encounter!

The aim of the Awakeness programme is to create mediators who can meditate deeply anywhere, anytime without having to reply on anything or anyone else...

This 'lecture' is a 15-minute long silence with a bell-sound at the end, to let you know that 15 minutes is up. You can simply press play and then meditate for 15 minutes without having to worry about the time.

With something as abstract as meditation, and with everyone developing at different speeds, how can we accurately check our progress? There is one very straightforward and simple measure you can take to see how much you're practice has developed...

This information-packed nine-minute video explains five of the major benefits of meditation, as well as some of the science behind them.

In this lecture, you will be given your final Homework for this course. You will also find the Session Summary for download.

Don't miss out on some important information regarding our upcoming course: 'The Secret of Mindfulness'!