[su_dropcap style=”flat” size=”4″]W[/su_dropcap]e have a large library of Dharma Talks, Guided Meditations, and Blog entries. Each piece of media has one or more tags that should help you find relevant and interesting material. Tags cover a variety of topics, from ‘What is mindfulness?’ to Teaching, from Story to ‘Why are we mindful?’ Click on the links below or the green tags that accompany each piece of media to see relevant material.
One way to think of our tagging system is that its a thorough and comprehensive conceptual framework for mindfulness. Therefore, if you are not familiar with a concept on this page, exploring that tag will help you to expand your understanding of mindfulness.
Let the perusing pleasure begin!
What is mindfulness? – Concentration
Concentration is our ability to remain focused on what we deem relevant at a given time. For example, ‘Can I focus on my breath for five minutes straight?’ Concentration is also our ability to accurately perceive our sensory experience. For example, ‘Is this sensation above or below my knee?’
What is mindfulness? – Awakening
Awakening is seeing clearly, insight, wisdom, and honesty. Awakening is also classical enlightenment, which is an experience beyond words.
What is mindfulness? – Equanimity
Equanimity is our ability to allow sensory experience to come and go without push or pull. Equanimity is also love.
What is mindfulness? – Responsibility
Responsibility is our ability to respond to real situations in the real world; it entails taking our practice ‘off the cushion’ by incorporating it into our lives in order to make the world a better place. More specifically, responsibility includes political engagement, social justice, community service, and environmental activism.
Why are we mindful? – Decrease Suffering
Mindfulness reduces the amount of suffering that we experience regardless of conditions.
Why are we mindful? – Increase Fulfillment
Mindfulness increases the amount of fulfillment that we experience regardless of conditions.
Why are we mindful? – Increase Self-knowledge
Mindfulness increases our knowledge of who we are at deeper and deeper levels.
Why are we mindful? – Increase Love and Service
Mindfulness increases our capacity and dedication to loving and serving all living beings.
Why are we mindful? – Positive Behavior Change
Mindfulness increases our capacity and dedication to making positive changes in our behavior, such as eating healthier food or quitting smoking.
How do we develop mindfulness? – Observing Practices
Keeping track of our sensory experience moment-by-moment leads to mindfulness. Observing practices come in many forms: from focusing on body sensations to focusing on mental images, from focusing on a variety of experiences to focusing on just one type of experience. The historical roots of observing practices include: Vipassana, Burmese Mahasi Sayadaw noting, U Ba Kin body scanning, thought-process meditations, the Five Aggregates, merging aspects of Zen, Anicca, Chi, Samatha/Jhana practices, and the Shurangama Samadhi Sutra.
How do we develop mindfulness? – Do Nothing
Dropping intention leads to mindfulness. The historical roots of do nothing practices include: Tibetan Dzogchen, some definitions of Just Sitting (Shikantaza), and some definitions of Non-dual Awareness (Advaita).
How do we develop mindfulness? – Nurture Practices
Intentionally creating positive experiences (e.g. compassionate body sensations, mental images of idols, or motivating mental talk) leads to mindfulness. The historical roots of nurture practices include: Lovingkindness/Metta practices, Smile/Laughter meditation, Cognitive and Behavioral Therapies, and moral training.
How do we develop mindfulness? – Self-Inquiry
Close examination of the self leads to mindfulness. Example practices include asking questions like, ‘Who am I?’ or ‘Where am I?’ to yourself over and over again. A historical root of self-inquiry is Zen Koan Practice.
Extreme urgency and playful creativity is an important part of mindfulness practice. An example of a way to cultivate extreme urgency is to say, “I will concentrate as if my life depended on it.” An example of a way to cultivate playful creativity is to say, “Haha, I lost concentration, what a fun game this mindfulness practice is! Maybe pretending that my breath is the wind could help me focus better? Let’s see!”
Non-Duality – ‘We are already there’
From a certain perspective, there is actually nothing that we have to do for we are already meditating perfectly and there is no enlightenment that needs to happen. This perspective was made famous by the book entitled, Zen Mind, Beginner’s Mind by Shunryu Suzuki.
Mindfulness techniques can develop an observer consciousness that systematically keeps track of our thoughts, feelings, and physical senses.
Non-Duality – Direct Experience
Direct experience is about collapsing the dualities of observer and observed and of self and world in order to create a unified, direct experience of reality. For example, there is no ‘you’ that hears a sound. Instead, there is just the activity of hearing.
It is important to be able to recognize and optimally deal with the many opportunities for growth and obstructive hindrances that we inevitably encounter on this path.
From a certain perspective, the fact that people are addicted to their own perspectives, worldviews, and ways of seeing things is the ultimate source of all of the problems in our world. Mindfulness is invaluable because it solves this basic problem; it is is a systematic practice that trains us to see beyond our human perspective in order to experience reality and our interactions clearly and openly.
The body affects – or perhaps is indivisible from – the mind. Incorporating our bodies in our mindfulness practice (e.g. by sitting up straight or doing yoga) helps us to explore the relationship between mind and body.
Stories are a powerful way to convey concepts and practices. Our stories range from tales of Soryu Forall’s training in Asia to Native American fables.
Traditional texts fill holes in and solidify our understandings of concepts and practices. Texts range from Buddhist Sutras to Sufi Poems.
Teaching mindfulness is a compassionate and effective way to change the world for the better, as well as a powerful way to deepen your own practice. Topics include practical and subtle advice about how to answer questions, speak clearly, encourage students, etc.
Each and every word has a rich history of uses and meanings. Exploring such history gives us insight into our mindfulness practice and how people see the world.
There is a wealth of psychological and neuroscience research that relates to mindfulness. Exploring this research brings about insight into our mindfulness practice and how people see the world.
There is a wealth of history and social science research that relates to mindfulness. Exploring this research helps us understand our mindfulness practice and our world.
