Wake Up
Meditation and Self-Inquiry
Meditation – Coaching – Transformation
Based in Austin, TX.
Sharpen the intellect and cultivate wisdom. Transform your consciousness and uncover your true nature through meditation. Scientifically proven meditation practices can transform your ordinary experience in truly extraordinary ways – taught in a unique style by meditation teacher Daniel Whiteside.
Join Sacred Science on Monday evenings at 7:30 for live instruction with a meditation teacher. Drop in to a class for $12.
What are people saying about the class?
“Daniel is one of those rare individuals who can bridge the gap between the spiritual and the intellectual world. He teaches meditation in a way that never feels condescending, judgemental or dogmatic. He has been a valuable guide on my journey towards personal growth.” – Gem K.
“Daniel brings a unique perspective to his mindfulness teaching and coaching, one that is grounded in the latest neuroscience and psychology research, mixed with a great deal of thoughtfulness and compassion. He skillfully guides new practitioners through the experience of meditation, supporting them in cultivating a daily practice, including the mental, physical, and emotional aspects of present-moment awareness…” – Melinda
“This class is good for those with some experience with meditation and its concepts. However, Daniel is a great instructor and he makes it easy for beginners to get started also. My concentration and focus had a noticeable improvement after several weeks, as well as my posture and anxiety. I highly recommend this class for anyone interested in guided meditation practice and self introspection.” – Induwara
“Was my First time meditating. Made a whole lot of difference. I learned a lot from Daniel Whiteside. Session was intentional and informative. Definitely five 🌟” – Winnie
Meditation and Suffering
The philosophy of the Buddha says we suffer because we do not know ourselves. Because we do not understand the workings of the mind and the world, our mind remains reactive and anxious and we continually make poor judgements, and become fettered by addiction and craving. As long as we do not understand ourselves, we remain trapped: shackled by our own bad habits, entombed by our own self-defeating worldviews.
Despite this mental suffering we all experience, there is good news. By training the mind, you can recondition yourself from this endless cycle.
Understanding the aspects of suffering that keep us chained to our mental agony is a key component in any serious meditative practice – when understanding ripens it is called insight, vipassana. Both philosophical and experiential understanding – in other words not just mere mental activity, but practice and embodiment of the principles in actual life – are required to overcome one’s own suffering and/or help another overcome theirs.
Read more about Meditation and Personal Growth.
Free Guided Meditations
Can’t make it to the weekly class? You can listen to these audio clips by clicking the link, or download the files and add them to your music player or audio library. Rather than using the guided audio every time you meditate, try listening to several different guided meditations up front and then finding one or two specific techniques that you can use and work with. Finding one or two techniques you can practice with and hone your skills on a daily or weekly basis will improve your ability to concentrate much faster than listening to a new instruction set every day.
Once you find a technique you’d like to work with, follow along with the guidance a few times until you think you’ve got the hang of it – then try to internalize the message and practice the technique on your own, without the audio guidance. Once you can remember the meditation instructions and begin to practice the technique on your own (redirecting the attention to the breathing sensations, for example) , work on making that technique as automatic and seamless as you can. The general idea is to build your meditation skills up to a level where you have multiple techniques that you are completely fluent with and you can apply virtually instantly without thinking.
Four Steps to the Breath
Body Scan and Visualization
Short Concentration Exercise
Long Concentration Exercise
Concentration and Insight on Impermanence
Organizational Skills
Everything in the universe is connected by an underlying order. When your mind becomes unified with the order of the universe, a sense of calm and compassion for all things pervades every moment. Organizational and meta cognitive skills backed by modern psychology and proven by research.
About Daniel
