#683 Mindful Awareness - So Much More

     What do these words really mean? Obviously not daydreaming while performing activities requiring careful attention.
     But aren't there surprising similarities between the type of attention it takes to rob a bank, perform intricate surgery, watch a fascinating movie, yell at someone in a fit of anger? Could a fairly young person muster this type of attention? How about certain animals? Have you seen how quickly a crow can custom-design a simple tool? So there must be far more to mindfulness than focused attention. 
     Learning to stabilize attention on the flowing, changing content of the present moment is an important, but partial aspect. It helps us to let go of clinging to the past, the future, to stuff that never was & never will be. But replacing all that with clinging to the present doesn't help much! Everything in the present is also temporary, fleeting, can't be held onto, nor identified with - this is simply the way reality is.
     As we abandon our delusions & wishful thinking, our attention shifts from self-obsession to an open-hearted embrace of the big picture - everyone & everything - the flow of present-moment reality. And everything changes, both gradually and all-at-once.

The Biscuit Eater, Mahone Bay, NS

#374 Unbinding from "Our" Thoughts and Emotions

     Gradually, with ongoing mindfulness practice, we come to see clearly, directly experiencing, that like all other phenomena, thoughts & emotions arise, abide for a while, then cease. We become increasingly stabilized in observing the impermanent, evanescent nature of all phenomena, that are like birds that suddenly appear in the backyard, land, chirp a few times, then fly away. This includes "our" thoughts & emotions - just transient guests to observe in flight - not to be taken seriously, nor to identify with - these are not who or what we are - not 'I', 'me' or 'mine'.
     This gradual shift in perspective is tremendously freeing, a huge weight off our backs.

     "Can you imagine the possibility of having anxiety and not being anxious about it? Or having depression & not being depressed about it? In other words, can you imaging feeling discomfort without trying to get rid of it? The question is, how do we learn to live in this way? There is no easy answer, but the key is to learn how to welcome – with curiosity – whatever our life is in each moment.”            E. Bayda

Tyne   www.dpreview.com