Mindfulness MeditationMindfulness meditation is one of the most direct meditations for transcending the mind. It involves becoming aware of the present moment and the thoughts that arise in the mind-field. By doing so, you will establish a natural non-attachment to your thoughts and thinking process. This happens because you start to become the witness of your mind, instead of being involved in it. The unconscious identification with the mind will dissolve more and more when you deepen your witnessing. There are basically two primary forms of meditating. One of them consists of training and focussing the mind, while the other form consists mostly of mindfulness meditation, plus the no-mind meditation, which is basically the result of advanced mindfulness meditation. When you get the hang of mindfulness, you will gradually become mindless, meaning that all thought activities cease as you become fully aware of consciousness itself.
Practicing mindfulness:Mindfulness is not a meditation in which you focus on some thing or idea in specific, on the contrary; you try to become fully alert, fully conscious as you are, without any modifications of the mind disturbing your beingness in the now. You shift your awareness to the state of being a witness to everything that is, including your mind's content when it arises. It can be practiced in a meditative setting/atmosphere but the deepest purpose of this meditation is to make you capable of residing in full and awake consciousness at all times and in every thinkable situation.When practicing mindfulness meditation as an exercise you can just go and sit somewhere you are comfortable with and become focussed. Don't become focussed on anything in specific; just become focussed, centred in consciousness, aware, as if you are focussing on being focussed. As if focus itself is the 'object' of your awareness/meditation. This is tricky to understand as you need some experience with it to know of that 'place' or 'zone' that I am talking about, but once you truly know it, you can go back there rather immediately. The major difference between the form of concentration meditation and the mindfulness form of meditating is that in concentration you focus on content, while in mindfulness it is not about the content of your focus, but about the quality or level of your focus, or awareness itself. Mindfulness meditation is a way to raise your level of awareness, of consciousness immediately, without having to deal with and become involved in the infinite possibilities of content. While practicing this beingness, this awareness, thoughts will arise. All you need to do with these thoughts is nothing. Don't do anything with them, don't try to watch them, don't try to manipulate them, don't judge them, just don't try anything. Let them be and remain the witness to all that happens. Open up your focus but remain alert. If you notice you are getting involved with thought-forms, go back to the focussed state of alertness, of witnessing and retain this state of focussed awareness as thoughts pass by in the mind. The longer you retain this state, the greater the decrease in thought-forms will become and the greater the clarity and bliss. Note that the goal is not to notice or become aware of everything that is going on in the environment. This will happen in later stages automatically and it is not even the purpose of this meditation; it is just a possible result of mindfulness meditation. For now, don't try to focus on things that happen, only retain high quality awareness when things do happen to catch your eye or any of the other senses. Don't focus on them, just remain focussed, conscious and let distractions be and pass on their own account. Two primary stages in this practice will be experienced: Mindfulness Meditation for lifeBeing mindful in everyday life means to be pure consciousness in everything you do. You'll have to be in the world but not of the world. Be engaged in form and content, but not let yourself be affected by form and content. You will appear to participate, but you will be of a whole different level. This is the true purpose of mindfulness meditation. Practicing mindfulness meditation in everyday life is the next step in practicing Mindfulness. Once you can make the shift from unconsciousness to consciousness, from illusion to truthfulness, from distraction to awareness, you will find it much easier to apply this state of awareness to everything you do and to everything that happens to you in the external world. Situations will no longer activate your personal garbage of thoughts, emotions and other impressions and yet you are there, present; fully conscious as you reside in your centre of consciousness. Try this by witnessing everything that happens around you and within you while you live your everyday life. What do these situations in the external world activate in your mind/body system? What do you feel, what do you think about it, etc. Don't get too involved in answering those questions; just remain the witness to everything. Don't think about things, don't judge what you witness, just be. Practice retaining this state of beingness as often and for as long as you can while doing whatever it is you are doing. Always be aware of your inner self and the mind's process by a technique very similar and complementary in nature to the mindfulness meditation: Witnessing the mind.
Return from Mindfulness Meditation to Meditation Techniques
|
