Compassionate Integrity Training CIT-Faciltator-Guide-2.1-Final | Page 37

C OMPASSIONATE I NTEGRITY T RAINING
A S ECULAR E THICS A PPROACH TO C ULTIVATING P ERSONAL , S OCIAL AND E NVIRONMENTAL F LOURISHING
inner qualities that comes through meditation requires consistent practice. In that way, it can be likened to
learning a foreign language or a musical instrument. One cannot be expected to be skilled overnight.
This view of meditation also explains that different styles of meditation will have different effects. If one
plants seeds of flowers and cultivates them, they will grow into flowers. If one plants tomatoes, they will
grow into tomatoes. Similarly, a meditation practice that cultivates concentration will not necessarily lead
to compassion, and vice versa. One cannot expect to become an expert at the violin by studying piano.
Again, there are different styles of meditation, and scientific studies comparing different styles of
meditation suggest that their effects are significantly different and even develop different brain regions
depending on the type of practice.
P OSTURE AND S PECIFIC I NSTRUCTIONS FOR CIT C ONTEMPLATIVE P RACTICES S CRIPTS
Posture is an important part of any meditation practice, because your bodily position has an effect on your
mental state. During these practices, we want to maintain mental stability and clarity, so we want to
assume a posture conducive to those mental states. Here are some suggested tips that have worked for
others in the past, but if you do not find these tips useful, find a posture with which you are comfortable.
You can choose to sit on the floor, on a cushion, or in a chair. In either case, you are seeking a posture that
provides stability without having to exert a significant amount of effort. To facilitate this, you should try
and sit so that your hips are higher than your knees, so your pelvis is tipped slightly forward. To accomplish
this, it may be helpful to sit toward the front of your cushion or the front edge of your chair. Your spine
should be erect and your shoulders drawn back slightly to expand your chest. You can think of yourself as a
marionette with a string coming out of your head. The string is being pulled gently straight up, so that your
spine is lengthened and lifted, without being stiff. Your hands can be resting flat on your thighs or folded
gently in your lap.
If sitting in a chair, your feet should be flat on the floor. If sitting on a cushion, your legs can be crossed,
trying not have one leg rest on top of the other, which may cut off circulation. You can also sit with your
knees on the ground with the cushion between the legs.
C ENTER FOR C OMPASSION , I NTEGRITY AND S ECULAR E THICS | L IFE U NIVERSITY | M ARIETTA , G EORGIA
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