Meditation on the four applications of mindfulness.
Begin by finding a comfortable posture.
Take a moment to reflect on your spiritual aspiration.
What is it that you hope to accomplish from this meditation?
What is it that you hope to cultivate or develop in your mind?
Who is it that you want to become?
What is it that you want to experience?
Begin with mindfulness of breath and body.
Draw the awareness inwards and rest the awareness on the breath as you experience the sensations at the nostrils.
Cool air coming in,
Warm air passing out,
The low slow flow of breath.
Let the mind begin to settle,
Finding a middle ground between past and future,
Between hope and fear,
Between memory and fantasy,
Grounding in the present moment.
After a few deep breaths,
Let the breath settle into a natural breath rhythm.
Once you've been distracted,
Without delay,
Bring the awareness back to the application or foundation of your mindfulness.
Imagine now from the breath awareness to body awareness.
Imagine your body is like a person-shaped bubble,
Very sensitive,
Very delicate.
Feel the sensations in the body as they arise in the present moment.
Notice what is occurring in the body without judging,
Without reacting.
Just be mindful.
Feeling the arising of sensations in the present moment.
If you notice pain and tension,
Allow the mind to hover evenly,
Observing the pain,
Noticing the raw material of the sensations in the body in the present moment.
Our goal here is to remain present with the raw material without reacting.
What you have done here is opened the telephoto lens of your awareness from its exclusive focus on the breath to the entire body.
Simply being able to be present,
Open,
Calm and centered with whatever is.
By developing this non-reactive,
Non-judgmental stance,
You can imagine its utility and crossover in your everyday life.
Let us now transition to the second application of mindfulness of sensations.
Here rather than just acknowledging the raw material of what is arising in your body,
You notice the affective tone or response.
Is it pleasant?
Is it unpleasant?
Or is it neutral?
Here we're working with both the raw material of the sensations rising in the body,
But also the emotional response.
Desire,
Attachment on one hand,
Aversion,
Avoiding on the other,
And boredom or disinterest in the middle.
How far can you allow your mindfulness to notice what is happening in response to what is arising in the body?
When you notice that there is attachment and desire,
Can you continue with the raw material?
When you notice that there is aversion and anger and disgust,
Can you come back to the raw material?
When you notice that there is dullness and boredom,
Can you come back to the raw material of the sensations arising in the body?
Understanding the response and letting it go.
Let us move now to the third application of mindfulness,
Mind itself.
Here what you are observing is the state of mind,
The container,
The field of awareness.
What you are observing here is the tendency for the mind to attach,
To avoid,
And to misperceive.
When there is pleasant experience arising,
Notice the tendency of the mind to grasp.
Notice the tendency of the mind to avoid what is unpleasant.
Notice the tendency of the mind to misperceive what is neutral.
Here again the tool is to label.
This label opens up a space where there can be clarity and choice and freedom.
By separating you from the process of mind,
You have now opened a window of opportunity.
From this window of opportunity,
You can return to present moment awareness of what is happening in the mind.
What is the field of mind and the state of mind in the present moment?
While observing you might notice that the state of mind is not negative,
Rather positive.
Your mind might be stable and tranquil.
You might have a compassionate state of mind,
One of loving kindness.
The mind might be dominated by wisdom and pure perception,
Seeing things clearly.
These are all the effects of contemplative practice accumulated over time.
Every moment of clarity,
Every moment of tranquility,
Every moment of wisdom is a result of practice.
Now let's transition to the fourth application of mindfulness,
Consciousness and the contents of mind.
How far is it possible to notice what is happening in your mind?
With detachment,
With care,
With objectivity and sensitivity,
Without reacting.
Here imagine if you're just an observer in a movie theater,
With your consciousness as the screen.
All the actors and scenes are your thoughts and emotions and sensations.
How far can you develop a detached perspective,
Observing the contents of your mind with equanimity and care?
Can you notice the arising of thoughts,
Allowing them to linger and allowing them to dissipate?
Learning how to be in your mind and body in this new way,
With detachment,
With objectivity,
With care and sensitivity,
Not being controlled or carried away by your thoughts and emotions.
Let's reflect for a moment on the power of choice that mindfulness provides you.
An opportunity for choice,
Of self-control,
Self-mastery and the path to freedom.
With each moment of detached observation,
We create a space in which we can consciously Here we have an opportunity to disarm our negativity,
To let go of what doesn't serve us and to embrace love and compassion.
So,
Now as we wind down on the four applications of mindfulness meditation,
Take a moment for dedication.
Commit any insights,
Positive energies,
A moment of clarity,
A moment of change to your ongoing study,
Reflection and practice,
For your own benefit and for the benefit of all those around you.
