Mindfulness practice has the potential to help us understand how the mind operates, namely how it causes pain and how it may be eased.
Mindfulness requires a particular level of attention; without it, we can't fully notice the workings of the mind and become lost in our ideas about what's going on rather than experiencing it directly.
Because concentration is the cornerstone for mindfulness practice, the activities described generally described as mindfulness have primarily been concentration exercises. From focusing to being aware.
Most concentration exercises may also be used as mindfulness exercises in the following way:
- After you've found that your mind has calmed down during concentration meditation, you may go on to mindfulness practice.
- At first, this entails discreetly observing where the mind goes when it leaves an object of focus and naming these departures.
- If your mind begins to construct plans during breath meditation, for example, you might make a mental note of “planning” and then restore your focus to the breath.
- You can make a mental note of “judging” if you catch yourself thinking judgmental thoughts.
- You can note "hearing" if your mind travels to other experiences, such as a sound in the room.
- These notes are discreetly murmured in the background, while your primary focus is on your breathing.
- If your mind becomes particularly calm, you can try letting go of the breath entirely as an anchor and allowing your attention to be drawn to whatever objects are currently occupying your attention—whether sounds, sensations of contact as you sit, emotions as they manifest in the body, or other experiences.
- Because we allow the mind to be open to whatever enters our consciousness, this is frequently referred to as choice less awareness.
- The mind is free to roam, but unlike during moments of mindlessness, we stay aware of what is now in our consciousness.
- Allowing ideas and pictures to be objects of our attention is also conceivable, but because most of us become caught in them, this is typically only achievable during prolonged retreat practice.
It's a fine art to strike the right balance between concentration exercise, in which we return repeatedly to a pre-selected object of attention, and mindfulness practice, in which we let the mind to dwell on diverse objects as they emerge.
- You can usually rely on the intensity of your attention to lead you.
- When your attention is strong, you might want to try mindfulness more.
- You may return to concentration exercise more when it is weaker and your focus is more fragmented.
- You'll probably alter whatever sorts of meditation you like as you build a structured practice schedule.
- Depending on what you've learned about the impact of each of them for you, you may want to focus on sitting meditation at times and mix in the body scan, walking, or eating activities at other times.
- You'll vary when you complete each one as a concentration or mindfulness practice, regardless of whatever style you pick.
Because each person's intellect and life are unique, it's tough to prescribe a fixed pattern. However, here are some general rules.
- If you can only devote 20 minutes to formal practice on a less-than-daily basis, you'll probably prefer concentration practice because your mind won't have enough time to calm down.
- Because you'll notice more sessions in which the mind becomes concentrated if you can practice for longer amounts of time more regularly, you'll have more opportunity to add mindfulness practice.
- When your mind is busy or disturbed, even with more intense practice, you may be able to maintain attention for days or weeks at a time.
- During other times, though, you may start each meditation session with concentration practice, then extend your field of awareness to practice mindfulness—noticing where your mind moves or allowing your attention to rest on diverse mental objects—after the mind has settled a bit.
- The key to making these decisions is to be easy on yourself. There is no such thing as a "better" type of practice.
- Both disciplines, in the end, help us understand how our minds function and how we unintentionally cause misery to ourselves and others.
- There is also a lot of overlap between concentration and mindfulness practices—we may notice where our minds wander when we lose focus when we perform concentration practice, and we can still concentrate on the object at hand when we perform mindfulness practice.
- It's best not to stress too much about striking the right balance; with practice, you'll be able to detect which practices to prioritize at any given moment.
You may also want to read more about Mindfulness Meditation here.