Minding Closely: The Four Applications of Mindfulness by Wallace B. Alan

Author:Wallace, B. Alan [Wallace, B. Alan]
Language: eng
Format: azw3
Tags: four foundations of mindfulness
Publisher: Shambhala Publications
Published: 2011-07-16T03:00:00+00:00

7. Mindfulness of the Mind

THE THIRD of the four close applications of mindfulness concerns mental events and processes. Attending to mental phenomena is a subtle practice. Success in observing mental events as they occur is not achieved by trying harder but, counterintuitively, by relaxing more deeply while maintaining the luminosity of awareness.

NATURAL BALANCE

The practice I call balancing earth and wind was a mainstay in the Sha-matha Project retreats. The earth aspect entails full-body awareness—letting awareness permeate the entire field of tactile sensations, with special emphasis on the earth element, while attending to the sensations of the breath throughout the body. The wind aspect refers to the practice of settling the mind in its natural state, for in this practice we “face into the wind” of the ongoing flow of thoughts, images, and other mental events, like a falcon kiting into the wind.

These practices can be done in any posture, but the supine position is particularly good for evoking the earth element. Many people find that an upright position enhances clarity of attention. The best position depends on your tendency toward excitation or laxity. If your mind tends toward excitation, distraction, and restlessness, the supine position can be quite helpful. Excitation is overcome by the bodily feeling of profound melting in the corpse pose. A supine position promotes deep physical and mental relaxation, so often lacking in our hyperactive world. On the other hand, when the mind tends toward dullness, laxity, and lethargy, a vigilantly maintained seated posture offers the advantage of enhanced vividness and clarity of attention. Posture is of tremendous value in counteracting both mental excitation and laxity.

The following practice consists of two sessions, with a short break in between. The first session focuses on the earth element; a deep sense of relaxation results from full-body awareness in the supine position, ideal for attending to a large field of contact with the earth element. The second session focuses on the space of the mind and its contents, for which a seated position is optimal.

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