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

Beginner breathing practice to cultivate concentration and equanimity. The four steps to the breath are: focusing on the present moment, narrowing your focus to only body sensations, narrowing your focus again to breathing sensations only, then finally narrowing the focus to breathing sensations at a single point. Single-pointed attention is a very useful skill for relaxation, stress management, and getting into deeper meditations like insight practices.

Body Scan and Visualization

A relaxing body scan followed by a powerful visualization designed to contact your own inner wisdom.

Short Concentration Exercise

5.5 Minutes – A short exercise to strengthen concentration using the three-point breathing object. This guidance could be used on its own to relax into a deep flow state, or as a warm-up for another meditation practice.

Long Concentration Exercise

30 Minutes – An exercise to strengthen concentration with and without a focus object. This guidance could be used on its own to relax into a deep flow state, or as a warm-up for an even deeper practice.

Concentration and Insight on Impermanence

28 Minutes – This exercise includes four levels of practice: setting up the posture, calm-staying with the breath, feeling rest, and insight on impermanence. First, posture guidance is offered. Then we move into a concentration exercise – concentration on the breath. Then we move to a relaxation technique called Feel Rest. Finally, we meditate on the impermanence (or flow) of sensory experience.

 

 

 

 

 

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.

 

Read more about meta-cognition and goal setting.

About Daniel

Daniel in Wimberly, TX - 2021
Daniel in Wimberly, TX – 2021
Daniel is a mindfulness coach, mathematics educator, and small business owner in Austin, TX. He is an avid meditator, with a daily practice integrated into his otherwise modern lifestyle. He has been to retreats in the Zen and Mahamudra styles of meditation, and completed training programs with several of the worlds leading meditation teachers. Of particular interest to Daniel is the integration of modern science and the contemplative wisdom imported from the East: finding that perfect balance of matter and mind.

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