Dhyana: The Practice of Being Present
What if meditation isn't about clearing your mind, but learning to stay present with it?
October naturally invites us to slow down.
The days get shorter. The air gets cooler. The leaves begin to change. And after a summer filled with movement, activity and full calendars, there can be something comforting about creating a little more space.
This month at Living Simply Well, we're exploring Dhyana, the seventh limb of Patanjali's Eightfold Path of Yoga.
Dhyana is commonly translated as meditation, but there's more to it than simply sitting quietly with your eyes closed.
At its heart, Dhyana is about developing a more continuous awareness of the present moment.
Arrive. Notice. Stay.
And perhaps that is a practice we could all use a little more of.
What is Dhyana?
Dhyana is the seventh of the Eight Limbs of Yoga, a framework described in Patanjali's Yoga Sutras.
The eight limbs are:
Yama: Our relationship with others and the world
Niyama: Our relationship with ourselves
Asana: Physical posture and embodied steadiness
Pranayama: Breath and vital energy
Pratyahara: Turning inward and becoming less reactive to sensory input
Dharana: Concentration
Dhyana: Meditation
Samadhi: Absorption or integration
The inward-facing practices are particularly interesting when we think about meditation:
Pratyahara → Dharana → Dhyana → Samadhi
You might think of them as a gradual movement inward.
Pratyahara: We become less automatically pulled by everything happening around us.
Dharana: We intentionally choose where to place our attention.
Dhyana: That attention becomes more continuous.
Samadhi: A deeper experience of absorption or integration may emerge.
Dhyana isn't necessarily something we can force ourselves to "achieve."
Instead, we create the conditions for it to happen.
Dharana vs. Dhyana: What's the Difference?
Here's a simple way to understand the relationship.
Imagine you're sitting quietly and focusing on your breath.
You notice your inhale.
You notice your exhale.
Then your brain reminds you about the email you forgot to send.
You notice the thought.
You return to your breath.
Then you remember what you need from the grocery store.
You return again.
That returning is concentration, or Dharana.
With practice, there may be moments when something shifts.
Instead of repeatedly bringing your attention back, your attention begins to remain.
There's less effort.
Less directing.
Less doing.
More simply being.
That continuous awareness begins to move toward Dhyana.
A simple way to remember it:
Dharana practices returning. Dhyana experiences staying.
You Don't Need an Empty Mind to Meditate
One of the biggest misconceptions about meditation is:
"I'm terrible at meditation because I can't stop thinking."
But thinking isn't necessarily a failure of meditation.
Thoughts happen.
Sounds happen.
Sensations happen.
Emotions happen.
The practice isn't necessarily about eliminating those experiences. Instead, meditation can help us notice them without automatically following every thought or reacting to every sensation.
Instead of:
"I need to stop thinking."
Try:
"I can notice this thought without needing to follow it."
That small shift can change the way we approach meditation.
You don't have to become someone who never thinks.
You simply practice becoming more aware of where your attention goes.
Try This: A Five-Minute Dhyana Practice
You don't need a meditation cushion, a quiet retreat or 30 minutes of free time.
Start with five minutes.
Find a comfortable position. You can sit in a chair, on the floor, against a wall, or anywhere your body feels supported.
Your eyes can be closed, softly open or completely open.
Minute 1: ARRIVE
Notice your body.
Feel the surface beneath you.
Notice your surroundings.
Simply acknowledge:
I am here.
Minute 2: BREATHE
Allow your breath to remain natural.
Notice one inhale.
Notice one exhale.
There's nothing you need to accomplish.
Minute 3: NOTICE
Pay attention to what arises.
A thought.
A sound.
A sensation.
An emotion.
Notice it.
You don't have to fix it or push it away.
Minute 4: STAY
Instead of searching for the next thing, practice staying.
Breathing.
Listening.
Feeling.
Being.
Minute 5: RECEIVE
Allow your awareness to broaden.
Notice your whole body.
Notice the room around you.
Notice this moment.
Before you move on with your day, ask yourself:
What do I notice now?
The Sacred Pause
There is often a tiny space between what happens and what we do next.
Dhyana invites us to become more familiar with that space.
A thought doesn't always require action.
An emotion doesn't always require an immediate response.
A notification doesn't always require our attention.
A moment of silence doesn't always need to be filled.
We can pause.
We can notice.
And then we can choose how, or whether, to respond.
That pause might only last a few seconds.
But those seconds can create space between stimulus and response.
And sometimes, that space is where we find a little more choice.
What Would Happen If You Created More Quiet?
Try this as your October experiment.
For seven days, choose one part of your day where you intentionally create five minutes without additional input.
No scrolling.
No podcast.
No television.
No multitasking.
No need to accomplish anything.
You could:
Sit quietly with your morning coffee
Take a walk without your phone
Sit in your car before going into work
Spend five minutes on your yoga mat
Watch the leaves move
Sit quietly before bed
Simply look out the window
The goal isn't to force yourself to feel calm.
The goal is simply to become available to the moment.
Afterward, write down one word describing what you noticed.
Day 1: __________
Day 2: __________
Day 3: __________
Day 4: __________
Day 5: __________
Day 6: __________
Day 7: __________
At the end of the week, ask yourself:
What did I learn from being still?
You Can Practice Dhyana Without Sitting Still
Meditative awareness doesn't have to end when you stand up from your meditation.
You can practice being present during ordinary moments, too.
While walking
Feel your feet meet the ground.
Notice the air on your skin.
Listen to the sounds around you.
While eating
Pause before your first bite.
Notice the aroma, texture, temperature and taste.
While listening
Give another person your attention without immediately preparing your response.
While spending time outdoors
Before reaching for your phone to capture the moment, experience it first.
While resting
Notice the urge to make your rest productive.
Then give yourself permission to simply rest.
These small moments can help meditation become less about something we do and more about a quality of awareness we carry with us.
A Seasonal Practice: Let the Leaves Teach You
Autumn gives us a beautiful reminder that change doesn't always require resistance.
Leaves change.
They release.
They fall.
The tree becomes quieter.
Nothing about this process suggests that the tree has failed.
It's simply entering another season.
Maybe October can offer us the same invitation.
We don't always have to fill every open space.
We don't always have to know what comes next.
We don't always have to hold onto everything.
Sometimes we can simply:
Notice.
Breathe.
Allow.
And be where we are.
Your October Reflection
Take a few quiet minutes with these questions:
Where in my life do I rarely allow silence?
What tends to arise when I become still?
Do I allow myself to experience a moment without trying to improve it?
What helps me feel present?
Where could I create more space between stimulus and response?
You don't need to answer them all.
Choose one.
Sit with it.
Notice what comes up.
This Month's Intention
Complete this sentence:
This month, I will create space for __________.
Then choose one small way to practice it.
Maybe it's five minutes of silence.
A quiet morning coffee.
A walk without your phone.
Three breaths before responding.
A short meditation before bed.
Small moments count.
A Final Thought From Living Simply Well
Wellness can easily become another list of things we're supposed to do.
Exercise more.
Eat better.
Sleep more.
Meditate.
Manage stress.
Drink more water.
Take care of ourselves.
Those things can all have value. But Dhyana offers another perspective:
Wellness also includes our ability to stop doing for a moment and simply experience being alive.
There is wisdom in movement.
And there is wisdom in stillness.
There is value in effort.
And there is value in allowing.
This October, consider leaving a little room for quiet.
A little room for reflection.
A little room for yourself.
ARRIVE.
NOTICE.
STAY.
And allow the moment to be enough.
