#727 Which Mode to Choose?

     Our minds operate, and thus we live, predominantly, in one of two very distinct modes.
     Conditioned mode:
Based on the capacities we inherit (DNA) and the influences of our environment, we learn a set of reaction patterns that favor our (DNA's / progeny's) survival. This is basic conditioning shared by all animals - like training rats in a cage. This set of reaction patterns is who we assume we are most of the time - our identity! It feels easy, automatic / autopilot, "natural", "don't rock the boat", trance-like. It's one more-or-less continuous, uninterrupted "story of me". We (and others) do gradually start seeing how predictable we are. So this approach to life does increasingly become repetitious, boring, almost claustrophobic.
     Awake awareness mode:
Sporadically, spontaneously, we sometimes feel very bright, alert, we sense everything much more clearly, are speechless (wordless), feel a sense of awe, gratitude, and feel amazingly alive. This silent, brightly alert, deeply peaceful sense can also be felt witnessing nature, a loved one (human or pet), hearing or reading poetry, wisdom literature, music, etc. This quality of awareness / life can be intentionally cultivated through, and experienced during meditation. What is awake awareness? Who are we?

     During the day, we can learn to regularly notice which mode we're in. We learn to increasingly choose awake awareness - to see with fresh eyes, think fresh creative thoughts, behave in fresh healthier ways. http://www.johnlovas.com/2016/07/fresh-opportunities-many-times-per.html
     Returning to the land of the walking dead (conditioned mode) is less and less palatable.

#451 Creativity, Growth, Change ... All Live Here

     Competitive athletes achieve both training effect & winning performances at a potent borderland - past their comfort zone, just short of injury. Creative folks create in this borderland - past the known, just short of chaos. Extreme sports enthusiasts thrive here - past normal safety, just short of recklessness.

     During sitting meditation we ride the energy of this potent borderland directly, without a saddle. In this laboratory of the mind, there are no buffers - no gym equipment, no art materials, no climbing gear - nothing to shield us from the raw energy of life - the "anxious quiver of being" - the "growing edge."
     Releasing the mundane, resting effortlessly in the timeless present, alert, curious, energized, at home in liminality. This is mindfulness practice.