Meditation
Stable attention is the ability to intentionally direct and sustain the focus of attention, as well as to control the scope of attention. Intentionally directing and sustaining attention simply means that we learn to choose which object we’re going to attend to, and keep our attention continuously fixed on it. Controlling the scope of attention mea
... See moreCuladasa John Yates • The Mind Illuminated - A Complete Meditation Guide Integrating Buddhist Wisdom and Brain Science
As fellow teacher Stephanie Nash is fond of saying, “A good meditation is one you did—the only bad meditation is one you didn’t do.” Take her wise advice to heart.
Culadasa John Yates • The Mind Illuminated - A Complete Meditation Guide Integrating Buddhist Wisdom and Brain Science
Begin with shorter meditations. I suggest 15 or 20 minutes each day for the first week or two. Then, increase the length of your sessions in five-minute increments weekly or every few days until you reach 45 minutes. Use a meditation timer rather than looking at a clock, and train yourself not to look at the timer. Just listen for the bell. Some pe
... See moreCuladasa John Yates • The Mind Illuminated - A Complete Meditation Guide Integrating Buddhist Wisdom and Brain Science
Whenever we refer to the “breath” as the meditation object, we actually mean the sensations produced by breathing, not some visualization or idea of the breath going in and out. When I direct you to observe the “breath” in the chest or abdomen, I mean the sensations of movement, pressure, and touch occurring there as you breathe in and out. When I
... See moreCuladasa John Yates • The Mind Illuminated - A Complete Meditation Guide Integrating Buddhist Wisdom and Brain Science
The two main objectives of meditation practice are: Developing stable attention Cultivating powerful mindfulness that optimizes the interaction between attention and awareness.
Culadasa John Yates • The Mind Illuminated - A Complete Meditation Guide Integrating Buddhist Wisdom and Brain Science
“Although it can be useful to think of mindfulness as ‘being with things as they really are’, it is in fact more accurate, and more helpful for our purposes, to understand basic mindfulness practice as a way of looking that merely fabricates a little less than our habitual ways of looking.” -Rob Burbea, Seeing That Frees
Jude Star • How To Explore Meditation: A Primer
– Rob Burbea, Seeing That Frees
The key to this whole process is to embrace the stage you’re at. If you’re mostly seeing the world conceptually, really notice what that’s like. As you pay attention to the conceptual projection onto people and objects, you’ll naturally start to see things more apart from the projection, or with a little less fabrication.
It’s important to realize attention and peripheral awareness are two different ways of “knowing” the world. 2 Each has its virtues as well as its shortcomings. Attention singles out some small part of the content of the field of conscious awareness from the rest in order to analyze and interpret it. On the other hand, peripheral awareness is more h
... See moreCuladasa John Yates • The Mind Illuminated - A Complete Meditation Guide Integrating Buddhist Wisdom and Brain Science
While useful, the lists of goals, obstacles, skills, and mastery provided above can obscure just how simple the underlying process really is: intentions lead to mental actions, and repeated mental actions become mental habits. This simple formula is at the heart of every Stage.
Culadasa John Yates • The Mind Illuminated - A Complete Meditation Guide Integrating Buddhist Wisdom and Brain Science
Overview of the work of Jude Star, whose writing on meditation and and meaning I appreciate a lot.