We had our Sunday Introduction to Meditation Class at Yoga Bliss yesterday. We’ve been working with the four foundations of mindfulness: awareness of the body, feeling tone, thoughts, emotions and then all phenomena. We drew our practice inspiration from B. Alan Wallace’s Minding Closely: The Four Applications of Mindfulness.
We included two practice periods and a walking meditation.
We continued to practice with the second application: mindfulness of feelings. We focused on the elemental sensations of the earth, water, fire and air in our bodies. You can feel them as solidity, firmness, wetness, fluidity, heat, warmth, expansion and lightness. Then we observed the reflexive way sensations evoke feelings: pleasant, unpleasant and neutral tones. We explored how feelings evoke thoughts and the nature of thoughts. We “self-identify” experience as “I, me or mine.” If we stay with experience long enough, inevitably we observe the whole process arise, persist and then dissolve. We see that there is no “there – there.” This is a direct experience of the truth of being: impermanence.
Each of us shared our challenges in practice. We all seem to be living with stress and undergoing life transitions. When we come to meditation, rather than enjoying the peace we seek, we seem to get swept away by the constant motion of feeling and thinking. How can this practice be of benefit? Truly, it takes faith and patience. I take faith that the endeavor will help me to see the world more clearly, be present with what is and respond with compassionate action. Wisdom teachers counsel us to extend patience with ourselves in the form of loving kindness. If we can’t extend this to ourselves, can we truly offer it to others?
In our small circle I feel touched by each of you. Touched by your presence and your willingness to be seen and heard. I take courage from you. While this practice may appear to be a form of withdrawal from the world, I believe it is really an experience of coming into deeper connection. As we enter this direct experience of being part of all that is, we come to know that everything we think, say and do really matters.
Perhaps we can approach “engaged” practice in three inter-related forms. There is no substitute for sitting still and becoming intimate with the workings of our own minds. When we practice mindfulness during ordinary activities we’re meeting the world with awareness. Finally, when we reflect on and share our experience with others we can recognize our humanity and realize such heartfelt empathy! These are three forms of meeting. A true meeting calls us to let go of thinking and open to being, right now, in the moment, with nothing added. It’s kind of exciting and maybe a little scary. Yet I find this kind of vulnerability promising. I don’t know what it promises. And that’s o.k.