mindfulness — the what, why, and how

welcome to the first program in the mindfulness section. in this program, we’re looking at mindfulness and its origins. what is it? why was it done, or what is its purpose? and where does it come from? finally, we look at how it is done, and try to make the practice as clear as possible.

what does it look like?

mindfulness is an experience, or state of mind, rather than something which we do, or say. there is effort, but the effort is mental, like when you shift the focus of your attention from one object to another. most simply put, it is becoming aware of what is happening in your attention.

mindfulness has become an everyday concept for many people. its benefits have been well described, and most coaches and psychotherapists would know at least some of the material around mindfulness, and why it has such a prominent place in healing the mind and helping people grow. programs like Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction, founded by Jon Kabat-Zinn, and apps like Headspace, are common and sought after.

one can easily be overwhelmed with everything that is available online, including apps and podcasts. as much as it is wonderful that there is such a variety (which means more methods accommodating different personalities), mindfulness itself can still be misunderstood, in its essence (purpose), as much as its form (practice). and the availability of so many forms can lead to jumping around, trying to find the perfect form, which is not possible. the perfection comes from the practice, and not from finding the perfect recipe.

it is a practice

one must know mindfulness well and cultivate its acquaintance before one can appreciate its value and its silent penetrative influence. mindfulness walks slowly and deliberately, and its daily task is of a rather humdrum nature. yet where it places its feet it cannot easily be dislodged, and it acquires and bestows true mastery of the ground it covers.

Nyanaponika Thera

the first thing that we do know about mindfulness, is that it is a practice. and the more i give myself to the practice, the more the practice itself becomes clear. the more i knit, attentively, the more i know about knitting and how to use knitting for different purposes. a practice is something that i will intentionally repeat, and with every repetition, learn more about, or from. and when my ability to perform the task is more stable and stronger, i can start taking it into more difficult situations.

where does it come from?

to understand the practice, it is useful to go back to its origins, namely the contemplative traditions. all the contemplative traditions (Vedanta, Buddhism, Sufism, Christianity, and Judaism) refer to practices including mindfulness, meditation, prayer, reflection, and introspection. for Buddhism it is the heart practice, underlying all the methodologies of meditation. and seen as not only healing of the mind, but also expanding or maturing the mind.

satipatthana sutra

in the satipatthana sutra, or mindfulness teaching, the Buddha introduced the teaching with the words below.

this is the only way, monks, for the purification of beings, for the overcoming of sorrow and lamentation, for the destruction of pain and grief, for reaching the right path, for the attainment of Nibbana, namely the four foundations of mindfulness.

Shakyamuni Buddha

with this, he declared mindfulness as helpful in an all-encompassing sense — that all things can be mastered with mindfulness. those are big statements and, with experience, you will come to know their truth.

the Sanskrit word “satipatthana” means “setting up or establishing mindfulness”. it is generally translated as “discourse on the foundations of mindfulness”. “nibbana”, or “nirvana”, literally means “extinction”. extinction of what? the unhappy self. the wanting self.

this does not happen like a miracle, but more like the natural miracle of growth. this does not mean that our problems disappear or cease to arise when we practice mindfulness. our problems continue, and yet there is a remarkable difference: we are aware of the mind and how it can make the problem worse. and we know how to stop that. the wild horse of mind is tamed, and so becomes a powerful instrument. the environment is seldom a real problem, but how i feel about it makes it so. if i’m aware of this feeling and i know how to bring it back to stillness, then i can stop the pain, even though the event may continue. now, we can begin to understand why the Buddha made such a claim.

what does it do, and how?

ordinarily (and mostly unconsciously), our attention darts from here to there, to there. almost like it is just looking at something long enough to “recognize” it. “oh, that’s a tree”; “he walks funny”; “that’s what i want" / "that’s what i don’t want”. every thought or memory that pops into our mind is almost immediately followed with a habitual emotional reaction, judgmental thought (“it is wrong," "i don’t want it," "i must have it”) and/or repetitive action and mood.

this is the world without mindfulness. everything is quite predictable and can be very stormy. you feel like life is happening to you. you cannot get it right. it's a state of mind we all know. it is closed-minded, hurt, and defensive. and it does not even know it, because it is so unaware of itself. for the Buddhist, that state is samsara or suffering. mind is dictated to by circumstance, and when it is a hurt mind, it experiences terror.

we also all know a different state. one where we feel deep connection with another or the moment, our attention is focused, and we feel love. we want to understand more and feel more deeply with. our mind is attentive, able to focus, and holding the focus long enough to take in much more information. we notice slight changes in the person or situation, and we are able to reflect upon, and learn from, the experience.

this is a place of natural mindfulness, where the mind is naturally open and curious. and just as we feel the state of suffering, we can feel this state too. it is not so much a doing as it is attentiveness, and an awareness of this attentiveness. a state of open-hearted curiosity, with the capacities of love, compassion, joy, and peace.

not mindful
habitual reactions, attachment, repulsion, selective information, mood swings, life happening to me.

mindful
attentive, sensitive, actively listening, maintaining focus, receiving much more information, life happening from and within me.

"cultivate its acquaintance"

we do not need to create a state of mindfulness. our ability to be mindful is already there — we may just not be aware yet when it is there and when not. we don’t cultivate mindfulness, we cultivate the application of it. the application is the willingness to shift the mind back to the practice, or the stepping back from our habitual actions and making conscious choices. we see more, and deeper.

• i already know it, and do not need to cultivate the state.
• i do need to learn to bring it into every difficulty. because i'm working with my own mind.

the obstacle is the path.

Pema Chödrön

because we know it is a state, it is something we can start looking for in everyday situations. initially it may feel like hard work to pay attention, or we may become frustrated with our inability to hold the attention. yet, every time we bring this attentiveness (mindfulness) to ourselves, our thoughts, feelings, actions, or the processes happening in our mind, we become able to see things a bit more clearly, and slowly start breaking down habitual patterns. we no longer suffer our personality — we drive it. we are less afraid, and more skilful with difficulty (obstacles). we feel the pain of difficulty, but we do not see that pain as wrong. difficulty becomes the place where we can become more skilful. we’re no longer fighting life, or this moment, but rather learning from it, and adjusting to it. in Buddhism, our life is a path, not fully within our control. what is within our control is that we can bring mindfulness to the path.

not mindful

read through the following story, and see what you recognize about yourself, even though you may do it in different ways. reflect on what you would say to Sarah, as her friend.

mindful

again, see what you recognize in yourself. reflect on situations which were difficult, and yet you came through.

attentive awareness

good, now we know that mindfulness is a deliberate practice, and we know that it is a state of mind, or an attitude. and this attitude is attentively aware. so, what is it aware of? what are we actually practicing?

we are practicing holding our attention steady on the object of mindfulness (attentive), in an environment where we are also deeply aware of the input from our senses (awareness).

the object of meditation can vary. initially the breath is the most powerful, and we will look at that next. the object can also be a sense like listening, a particular mood or emotion, or the state of the mind itself.

we are attending to this object in an open-hearted, non-judgmental way, and practicing maintaining our focus, with the intent of slowing down thinking and becoming more fully present.

at the same time, we maintain an expanded awareness, being as aware of what is happening in the field around us, as we are of holding the object. this awareness is curious, and can be the space around you, the sense information, or the context you’re in. its intent is to understand and see deeper, or to generate insight.

experience or state — not thinking

attention is palpable. one is aware when your own attention is focused or expanded, and one is aware when another’s attention, or focus, is on you.

mindfulness does not exclude thinking, and at the same time, it does not give preference to it. there may well be thoughts, and we are aware of their content. at the same time, there is sensate information, emotional information, and a sense of overall connection or engagement. we are simply expanding into all the information.

what we don’t do with thought is follow or engage it. we simply notice it and use our recognition of it as a reminder to come back to fuller and deeper attention.

we cannot do this in thinking, because thought is only one part of perception. at the same time, we can know it very directly, because it is experience itself. this sounds difficult if you try to think about it, but you don't need to think in order to experience. right now, relax your gaze and read slowly, with the intent of following the instructions in your own experience:

• close your own eyes or lower your gaze (relax your gaze).
• become deeply aware of your breathing cycle and let the attention rest there.
• once you feel connected with this breathing cycle, add the space around you and the outline of your body to your attention.
• notice how you can feel the breathing cycle, and be aware of the outline of the body, at the same time. and you don't need to think it — they are both directly experienced.
• when you lose your focus on either, simply let it go, and if there is time left to your practice session, re-establish the mindfulness.

the effect, on mind

the traditional illustration of the effect of mindfulness is very helpful. think about stirring some very fine dry mud into water. as you stir, the mud will dissolve into the water and the water will become a uniform color. if you stop stirring, the water will swirl for a while longer and then become still.

thought, planning, strong emotion, wanting, not wanting, are only some of the forms in which we keep the mind in a swirled state. we want very particular outcomes, and our identification with these outcomes creates anxiety (“i cannot get what i want”).

when we practice mindfulness, we notice that our ability to hold an object in focus increases. we can come to stillness long enough for the water to settle, and the mud to sink to the bottom. furthermore, and paradoxically, by not giving all our attention to thought, we are able to take in more information. we become powerful in our capacity to have an open mind and heart. and because we receive more information, and our mind is not focused on a particular outcome, there is curiosity. the willingness to not know increases, and this gives rise to insight.

anapanasati: awareness of breath

we're typically unaware of the state of mindfulness, because of its simplicity. when we're imagining or idealizing an outcome, and searching for it, we forget to know—feel what is right here (not a thought). the most effective modes of regulating our mind are very simple, and obvious. they are also powerful, when we allow the state to "develop." looking into our experience and simply recognizing what is there, is enough. at the same time, maintain awareness of the breath.

“anapanasati” means an “awareness of breath” and is a very helpful starting practice. the simple rhythm of the breath is neither interesting, nor compelling, and yet powerful in grounding us in this “now” experience. simply focus deeply on your breathing, feeling it throughout its cycle. notice the sensations and movements it causes in the body. notice how its rhythm is naturally slower than thought, and how, when you fully focus on the sensation of breathing, the mind naturally becomes still. the original practice would just have the practitioner hold the attention steady for 16 cycles of breathing, and then later again.

if you notice that you are able to stay attentive for the duration of the 16 counts, simply continue without the counting and start becoming aware of thought, while maintaining awareness of your breathing. when you notice a thought, notice what your mind does or says. if it is angry and judgmental, drop it. let your mind smile at the thought and go back to the sensation of the breath. when thought, or discomfort, or boredom comes around, it is welcome. it can watch-know the breath with you. work with this intelligently. it is not necessary to force the mind into an experience. and when your capacity for mindfulness starts expanding, keep on challenging your reactions more deeply.