#386 Mindfulness feels like Freedom

     "When true mindfulness arises, one feels as if one is stepping back and observing what is happening in experience, rather than being embedded in it. This does not mean separation or detachment, but is rather a sense of not being hooked by a desirable object or not pushing away a repugnant object. There in the middle, equidistant from each extreme, one encounters a sense of freedom that allows for greater intimacy with experience. It may seem paradoxical, but ... we can take an attitude toward the objects of experience that is at the same time both equanimous and benevolent."                    Andrew Olendzki PhD