Monday, April 30, 2012

The process of mindfulness

The process of mindfulness:

Watch your words, for they become actions.
Watch your actions, for they become habits.
Watch your habits, for they become character.
Watch your character, for it becomes your destiny.”

This quote sums up the entire practice of mindfulness and meditation. For those who are wondering, meditation is practicing mindfulness and mindfulness is mindfulness.
So it all starts with thoughts. Wrong. It starts with you – watching or not watching. Paying attention or not paying attention. Trying your best or not trying your best. Then come thoughts. Are you watching your thoughts? Are you paying attention to your thoughts? The energy in your thoughts builds up - you become what you think about.
So you started paying attention to your thoughts. You’re wondering, is this it? This supposed to change me?  This is what meditation is about?!  (some think they aren’t doing it right)    
Yes. This is what meditation is all about. Watching. Being mindful. Applying yourself to what’s in front of you. Trying your best. Moving on.
How you think about life is like a dune. 1 grain of sand upon another. Your perception of life is the culmination of infinite moments of perception, one moment of perception piled up upon another. Mindfulness is about this moment of perception.
So yeah, you tried meditation. You added a few moments of awareness on top of that huge mountain of past moments. You think a few grains of sand are going to change the dune?  

                                                           

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