Friday, January 27, 2006
Meditation and Mindfulness
It is crucial for you to understand what meditation is. It is not some special posture, and it's not just a set of mental exercises. Meditation is the cultivation of mindfulness and the application of that mindfulness once cultivated. You do not have to sit to meditate. You can meditate while washing the dishes. You can meditate in the shower, or roller skating, or typing letters. Meditation is awareness, and it must be applied to each and every activity of one's life. This isn't easy.
-Henepola Gunaratana, "Mindfulness in Plain English"
The art of meditation is so difficult to attain. I try but my mind bounces and a new thought disturbs the quiet of my mind. I let the thought go as if under a running faucet. Then bounce and another thought. Rinse, then bounce again!
The quiet of the mind is so brief that perhaps it is the string of thoughts that is important. But before I can come to that conclusion I must experience an extended mind quieting. Only then will I understand what mindfulness is.
Rosalind 2:59 PM
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