Reflective Meditation is a secular practice. It’s not about transcending life’s challenges or getting beyond life (not being reborn). It’s about learning from life. We welcome and embrace diverse life experiences into meditation and finding the dharma in our experience.

The quote below was written by a group of Reflective Meditation teachers:

Three things distinguish Reflective Meditation [and all are secular]. The first is our emphasis on allowing our naturally active minds to be as they are during meditation - to include in meditation our thoughts and emotions, along with awareness of our breathing, body, and feelings. Second, when the sitting period ends, rather than consider the meditation finished, we take additional time to reflect upon both the experience and the content of our meditation. We then put into our own words what we can remember of the experience, usually by recording our sittings in a meditation journal.  

The third distinction is the co-creation of an environment where meditator and teacher can explore together the meditator’s sitting. Whether meeting individually or in a small group, the meditator is encouraged to describe in their own words what occurred in the sitting. The teacher asks further questions to expand the meditator’s experience. The process of being listened to and gently questioned offers an opportunity for a trusting and caring connection to develop, adding depth to the meditator’s experience. If the setting is a small group where others are present, the dialogue fosters a shared experience for the whole group. Finding language for often elusive experience can help others see their own experience mirrored and enlarged.

Our practices continues to evolve based on “us” rather than on our voices alone. In our book Reflective Meditation: Cultivating Kindness and Curiosity in the Buddha’s Company we bring in voices of our community. Each voice communicates a bit differently and adds to our collective wisdom. We wrote it in a conversational style, and don’t even give attribution to ourselves throughout, though we don’t erase our names; we find a middle way between giving self attribution and collective attribution. 

Dave Smith, of the Secular Dharma Foundation, recently had us on his podcast so you can hear more about how we teach secular dharma by clicking here.

At the end of the conversation, we all agreed that it was a fun and engaging conversation. We could also characterize it as open and inviting with an emphasis on each person realizing dharma for themselves, here and now.