This Very Moment in Time

     Clear awareness of what's going on right now occurs only in stillness, not in the process of chasing after something, nor in the process of running away from something. Perhaps that's why we fear to, and rarely stop & look carefully.
     Activity gives the illusion of "getting somewhere", whereas being aware of what's really here & now puts us face-to-face with Reality & gives us Ezra Bayda's "anxious quiver of being".

jr   www.dpreview.com

Timeless Process of Open-hearted Engagement

     The fundamental error we tend to make is rushing towards some desirable concentrated refined perfected essence - the perfect mate, the perfect job, the perfect holiday, the perfect meal, the perfect retirement .... 
     Mindfulness meditation practice is precisely the opposite or flip-side of this. We open to & embrace what is right here & now, with a timeless attitude. This is our life, on & off the cushion.

The Dream that must be Interpreted by Odilon Redon

Control, Force, Effort, Striving, Pushing towards Goals in Meditation

     "What if you let go of every bit of control and every urge that you have, right down to the most infinitesimal urge to control anything, anywhere, including anything that may be happening with you at this moment? If you were able to give up control absolutely, totally, and completely, then you would be a spiritually free being."

     "We think there’s someplace other than here to get to — that’s what drives the whole pursuit. Only when the pursuit ceases, is it possible to recognize what comprises you: pure being, pure consciousness. This is actually the very substance of your own self and being."                                                     Adyashanti


 

Tantramar Marsh from Middle Sackville by Peter Manchester   www.fogforestgallery.ca

Our Goals Change for the Better

     "When we meditate for a purpose - to be calm, to gain insight - we are striving, not meditating.

     The problem with having a known goal is that it is a purchase from the store of things we already know, when what we truly want is something glimpsed dimly and imagined in a haze.

     It's painful to let go of our original intentions but, eventually, they are in the way because we have changed, we are no longer the person who set off. Our intentions gave us the journey and that is enough.

     Attention is a kind of love and our way of showing up, and when we do that, life unfolds by itself." 

       John Tarrant, Shambhala Sun, September 2013

MBSR has More Breadth & Depth than Assumed

     "The overall goal is to enable clients to relate in a non-identificatory and flexible way to experience ...  The ACT (Acceptance & Commitment Therapy) model holds that psychopathology is due to relating to thoughts as literal truths (cognitive fusion), as well as maladaptive attempts to escape from or control unwanted experience (experiential avoidance). The strategies in ACT include metaphors, experiential work, exposure in the service of valued goals, as well as traditional mindfulness exercises to promote non-judgmental and non-reactive awareness of internal experiences."

       Vollestad J, Nielsen MB, Nielsen GH. Mindfulness- and acceptance-based interventions for anxiety disorders: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Br J Clin Psychol 2012; 51(3): 239-60.

      All of the above is included in Jon Kabat-Zinn's MBSR, particularly if the facilitator makes skillful use of the language of Western psychology. The components of MBSR form an organic whole, the purpose of which is identical to Buddhist practice ie awakening. The effectiveness of any of these practices is inversely proportional to how goal-oriented (to self-regulation***) the participant remains, regardless of what brought them to the practice. See also: http://www.johnlovas.com/2012/01/intention-shifts.html

Photo: chennai srobin   www.dpreview.com

Everything Changes

     With continued practice, a gradual shift occurs even in the intention behind practicing - from self-regulation, to self-exploration, and finally self-liberation.

       Shapiro DH. A preliminary study of long-term meditators: Goals, effects, religious orientation, cognitions. Journal of Transpersonal Psychology 1992; 24(1): 23-39.


     “Healing our personal wounds becomes a first step in a process that gradually widens to include compassion for the suffering of everyone & everything…”
       Germer CK, Siegel RD, Fulton PR eds. “Mindfulness and Psychotherapy.” The Guilford Press, NY, 2005.

Photo: BonzaiZG  www.dpreview.com