Mindfulness



Mindfulness reflects kind, gentle acceptance.
While it is a direct expression of our human nature,
mindfulness can be an elusive and misleading ideal.
Yet we can be mindful, even of distractions.

Practicing Mindfulness generally increases awareness
of bodily sensations, emotions and thinking.
With practice the mind awakens to its openness and clarity,
as well as to its habits of thinking, reacting emotionally, and judging.

One very basic approach begins with internally scanning ones body
reflecting on the sensations perceived in each area.
Start by focussing on your toes, then your feet, ankles, calves and so forth,
fully experiencing each successive area as you progress up through your body.

Practice conscious breathing, returning attention to the present moment,
including the environment, and your sensations, emotions, and thinking.
Breathing in, acknowledge the present moment, breathing out, say thanks.
Note your impulses and thinking within your attention to the present.

Invite mindfulness, rather than trying to be mindful.
Open your thoughts and intentions to the present.
Without any expectation of "getting better" or improving,
Embrace and be embraced by mindfulness.

For more detailed instructions, attributed to the Buddha,
go through the 30 lines of the Anapanasati Sutra
in an appropriate place and frame of mind
but without pushing yourself beyond your comfort zones.

Following Thich Nhat Hahn, Right (Skillful) Mindfulness,
outlines mindful attributes and approaches, in relation to our human problems,
as one of the eight fold interdependent paths of Buddhism
that suggest and lead to the full awakening of our human nature.

Mindfulness is a practice that one cultivates and nurtures
in a manner that is consistent with our deepest ideals and aspirations.
Aimless mindfulness in particular provides an approach to meditation.
From Mindfulness to Meditation builds on mindfulness to embrace meditation.

Mindfulness Practices describes Easy, Intermediate, and Difficult Approaches to mindfulness.

Mindfulness, Concentration, and Meditation is an extract from a 1973 dharma discussion led by Kobun Chino Otogawa Sensei.


Some mindfulness and meditation teaching centers include:

Back to Mind and Meditation