To do this practice,
We find a comfortable stationary position and take a few moments adjusting the different parts of the body,
Arranging them in a configuration that would support relaxation,
Stability,
And vigilance in our practice,
Allowing our breath to move naturally and allowing our body to release more and more tension,
More and more deliberate movement with each natural exhalation.
And then with our body still releasing tension,
Still establishing a greater sense of ease with each new cycle of breathing,
We take a few moments to establish a truly positive motivation for this practice by revisiting our highest spiritual or psychological aspirations.
And then with that motivation as the foundation for this practice,
We first turn to the concentration on our own mental energy,
On the space of our mind and all the appearances arising there,
All the mental events.
And for that,
We can either direct our attention to our mind directly or use an artificial thought or an artificial image,
For example the image of an apple or the thought hello,
Holding those in our mind,
In our awareness,
Resting with them,
And then releasing them,
Allowing them to fade away,
And still keeping our attention,
Still keeping our awareness on the flow of our mental energy,
The domain where thoughts,
Images,
Desires,
Different types of emotions,
And memories manifest,
And observing that without grasping and without distraction,
Allowing these mental events to unfold in the sphere of our awareness and watching them with curiosity.
And every time we get carried away by one of them,
Every time we lose ourselves in a particular story or a particular thought,
We take a gentle step back and return to the overall space of the mind with the same attitude of curiosity,
Openness,
And focused observation.
To this general observation with regards to mental phenomena,
Mental events,
We add an element of discernment with regards to the feeling tone of these mental events,
Because each one of them is accompanied with a feeling of being pleasant,
Unpleasant,
Or quite neutral.
Each moment of mental activity,
Each thought,
Each image,
And so forth,
Would feel as somewhat pleasant,
Somewhat unpleasant,
Or quite neutral,
And now we're taking some time to notice those tones as they change and transform,
Or remain more or less stable for a few moments at least.
Moment by moment,
Discerning whether these permutations of our mental energy feel as pleasant,
Unpleasant,
Or neutral,
But doing that in a very gentle manner that would not prevent us from breathing completely naturally,
That would not make our body tense up,
Performing this observation from a space of restful ease,
With curiosity,
And no particular expectations.
And then we add a broader vision,
Not only noticing the feeling tone,
Not only noticing whether particular moments of mental activity feel as being pleasant,
Unpleasant,
And neutral,
But also noticing how on the basis of them being pleasant or unpleasant or neutral,
Other types of mental events start unfolding.
For example,
Grasping at the thoughts that are pleasant,
Or the images that are pleasant,
Aversion arising on the basis of unpleasant experiences and events,
And so forth.
And so observing the mental feelings,
And then seeing if they do initiate a sequence of reactions and responses in our mind,
Based specifically on these feelings being pleasant or unpleasant or neutral.
Essentially keeping our inner eyes open to notice any reactivity,
Any tendency to react automatically with grasping or aversion or indifference and apathy.
And then stepping back from this more focused observation,
More precise type of observation,
Into the general awareness of our mind and its expressions once again.
Once again simply observing the space of the mind and whatever is arising in it.
And then to ground our awareness,
Returning to the space of the body,
Noticing the sensations,
Noticing especially the sensations in the lower parts of the body,
Or the parts of the body that are currently in contact with the ground.
And then taking a moment to dedicate the energy and the insights of this practice by returning to our highest spiritual aspirations.
Then slowly returning to the physical space around us,
And gently concluding this practice as we invite the bell.
