The following is an excerpt from a very valuable course offered by Andy Olendzki via Tricycle, which can support a deepening of any meditation practice. I am sharing these elements lifted from the first session because they offer such a beautiful statement of the clarity and simplicity of the process. A link to the course is at the end of the post.
Commentary by Andy Olendzki on the Words of the Buddha (below):
This text describes a gentle process in which the body becomes increasingly tranquil and the mind become gladdened, joyful, and experiences a deep pleasure/happiness/well-being (all translations of sukkha). In such conditions concentration naturally arises, the effort falls away, and you can begin to see things more clearly. This is meditation. Not every sitting will involve such pleasant states of mind and body, but this text provides encouragement to settle into an inherent sense of well-being rather than forcing ourselves to stay still and trying to make ourselves concentrate.
Words of the Buddha: Connected Discourses 55.40
Here a noble person
possesses
confirmed confidence in the Buddha…
confirmed confidence in the Dhamma…
confirmed confidence in the Sangha…
and the virtues dear to the noble ones.
Not satisfied [with this alone],
one makes further effort
for solitude by day
and for seclusion at night.
When one thus dwells diligently,
gladness is born;
when one is gladdened,
joy is born;
when the mind is uplifted by joy,
the body becomes tranquil;
one tranquil in body
experiences happiness;
the mind of one who is happy
becomes concentrated;
when the mind is concentrated,
phenomena become manifest;
when phenomena have become manifest,
a person is reckoned
‘one who dwells diligently’.
Course link: https://learn.tricycle.com/course/idp-developing-the-mind/