#589 Resting in Awareness

     When we decide to "just sit" in meditation, we can embody a quality of presence we already know from previous experiences. We can feel at ease, a peaceful clarity of mind, kindness with warmth radiating from our neck / chest area, inner silence, stillness, timelessness ... This is a state we can simply remember as having experienced - perhaps while being with a loved one - human or four-legged, while savoring a walk through nature, or some other activity that deeply engaged the totality of our being.
     Then, when the ego again becomes noisy with self-talk, we gently acknowledge the noise, allow it pass, and return to resting in awareness. This evolved quality of being is immediately available, instantly, effortlessly.

Placentia Bay, Newfoundland, 1974 by Sam Abell, National Geographic   http://photography.nationalgeographic.com

#413 Patiently Learning to Tolerate Ambiguity

     We sit down to meditate, setting our timer to 50 minutes. Our intention is to let go of thoughts, let go of all our concerns of the day, concerns for tomorrow, concerns from yesterday. Just this is enough - just sitting. And then interesting thoughts come up, one after the other.
     We notice the thought, gently accept it, gently let go, returning to kindly embracing just this sitting. Just this sitting is enough. Allowing the physical feel of the present moment to fill our perceptions. We don't interpret or make a story out of these physical sensations - we perceive them directly as simple, constantly-changing physical sensations. We feel simply & directly (experiential attention), we don't interpose stories (narrative attention) between the sensations and our bodies. Another interesting thought, we notice, gently accept, let go, returning to just sitting.
     We repeat this process tens, hundreds, thousands of times per sitting, becoming increasingly patient, tolerant and persistent. Our patience, tolerance and persistence establishes new circuitry in our brains, like water wears a new channel in rocks - gentle, but relentless, unstoppable. Yes our brains secrete thoughts AND yes our awareness becomes increasingly more stable, still and calm. Thoughts & self-talk become quieter & quieter, less & less intrusive.
     Persistent intelligent training invariably, inevitably, undoubtedly enhances mindfulness.

#337 Mindfulness Meditation & Discriminating Mind

     "mindfulness meditation arose as a method to help a person let go of his or her discriminating mind by letting go of one’s usual identifications with the contents of consciousness. Discriminating mind can easily lead to an attitude of obtaining something, an attempt to acquire more control of the self or of one’s experience by obtaining increased awareness and understanding. It can be helpful, then, to consider the complementary practice of Zen shikantaza (‘just sitting’) meditation. Shikantaza eschews both attainment and even observing awareness; instead, it emphasizes dropping discriminating mind (although it includes discriminating mind, because it even involves dropping dropping). The emphasis is on letting go, to an opening up to ‘this Very Mind,’ which is not overly attached to ‘understanding.’ ’’ 

       Rosenbaum R. Empty mindfulness in humanistic psychotherapy. The Humanistic Psychologist 2009; 37(2): 207-221.

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