MEDITATION SKILL 49
Mindfulness of Touching
MEDITATION SKILL 50
Mindfulness of Knowing pt1
MEDITATION SKILL 51
Mindfulness of Knowing pt2
MEDITATION SKILL 52
Calming all Mental Activity
Simple Instructions:
Ground awareness in your body as it sits. Observe the doorway of touch as the world touches your body.
Purpose:
(Right view, intention, speech, action, livelihood, effort, mindfulness & concentration.)
Benefits:
Summary:
In this meditation, you develop your sensitivity to movements of attention towards the experience of the sense door of touch. Learning to observe awareness of touch sensation creates a grounding for mindfulness within daily life and also the ability to observe attraction or aversion as they arise towards what is felt. This sensitivity allows you to soften into your relationship towards what is felt, deconditioning any habitual pattern of attraction or aversion through mindful non-participation. The sense door of touch also has a significant role to play in MIDL for observing the mind through its reflections that arise as touch sensation within the body. these touch reflections of the mind are commonly known as feelings and emotions.
Instruction:
Meditation is practiced in a lying position on a yoga mat or the floor. It is helpful to bring an understanding that some sensations within the body arise from the touch of the world, others arise due to the touch of the mind.
The Eight Stages:
1. Ground your awareness within the experience of your body as it lays on the floor.
2. Start to develop sensitivity to areas of touch such as the touch of the hands and body as it rests on the chair or the floor.
3. Gradually relax through your body increasing your sensitivity to sensations within it.
4. Start to move through and soften into different touch points throughout your body.
5. Increase sensitivity to touch of your clothing, the touch of air on your skin.
6. Increase your awareness of your whole body as a mass of sensations, as a body listening to the world through touch.
7. At this point you can to start to experiment by bringing first pleasant and then unpleasant memories to mind.
8. Observe any changes of sensations that arise within your body, as a reflection of your mind and soften / relax into them.
How Often?
Practice daily for 1 week by bringing your awareness to the experience of your whole body as it sits. Gradually scan through and increase your awareness of your bodies sensate quality. Increase sensitivity to all the sensations that arise within your body as it listens to the world touching it. Bring to mind pleasant and then unpleasant memories and observe how the sensate quality of your body changes to reflect your state of mind. Soften into this reflection.
Investigation:
Be curious about the difference between sensations that arise within your body from the touch of the world and sensations that arise within your body due to the touch of your mind.
Simple Instructions:
Ground awareness in your body as it sits. Observe the sense sensitivity of of awareness as it rests on different experiences.
Purpose:
(Right view, intention, speech, action, livelihood, effort, mindfulness & concentration.)
Benefits:
Summary:
In this meditation, you develop your sensitivity to awareness as it sits on different experiences within the field of your senses. In particular awareness of your body, points of touch and thinking. Learning to observe awareness of the knowing quality of awareness creates a grounding for mindfulness within daily life and also the ability to observe attraction or aversion as they arise within the mind.
Instruction:
Meditation is practiced in a seated position.
The Eight Stages:
1. Ground your awareness within the experience of your body as it sits.
2. Develop sensitivity to the field of awareness resting within your body.
3. Bring awareness to just the touch of your hands.
4. Develop sensitivity to the field of awareness resting on this point of touch.
5. Expand awareness outwards to your five senses.
6. Develop sensitivity to the field of awareness resting on your senses.
7. Bring awareness back to the touch of your hands and allow your mind to wander.
8. Develop sensitivity to the field of awareness resting on thoughts / memories as they
arise.
How Often?
Practice daily for 1 week by bringing your awareness to the experience of your whole body as it sits. Soften into your body, developing sensitivity to the field of awareness that fills / knows it. Soften / relax into presence within this field of awareness. Bring awareness to one point of touch of your hands. Soften into the point of touch, developing sensitivity to the field of awareness that sits on / knows it. Soften / relax into presence within this field of awareness.
Widen awareness to open to your five senses, beyond your body. Soften into your senses, developing sensitivity to the field of awareness that sits within / knows them. Soften / relax into presence within this field of awareness. Bring awareness to one point of touch of your hands. Soften into the point of touch, developing sensitivity to the field of awareness that sits on / knows it. Relax all effort and allow your mind to wander developing sensitivity to the field of awareness that sits on / knows thoughts/ memories. Soften / relax into presence within this field of awareness.
Investigation:
Be curious about the about the experience of awareness and the ability to be aware of being aware. Play with the adjustment of the effort to 'know' and the depth of presence. Investigate what it means to disentangle awareness by softening into its field of knowing.
Simple Instructions:
Ground awareness in your breathing and sound. Observe the sense sensitivity of awareness as it rests within it.
Purpose:
(Right view, intention, speech, action, livelihood, effort, mindfulness & concentration.)
Benefits:
Summary:
In this meditation, you continue to develop your sensitivity to awareness as it sits on different experiences within the field of your senses. In particular awareness of your breathing and hearing. Learning to observe awareness of the knowing quality of awareness creates a grounding for mindfulness within daily life and also the ability to observe attraction or aversion as they arise within the mind.
Instruction:
Meditation is practiced in a seated position.
The Nine Stages:
1. Ground your awareness within the experience of your body as it sits.
2. Develop sensitivity to the field of awareness resting within your body.
3. Develop sensitivity to the flow of breathing in your body.
4. Develop sensitivity to the field of awareness resting on your breathing.
5. Bring awareness to the flow of breath at the tip of your nose.
6. Develop sensitivity to the field of awareness resting on your breathing.
7. Widen your awareness to your whole body as it breathes.
8. Develop sensitivity to the field of awareness resting on your whole body.
9. Bring awareness to sound and observe awareness resting on it.
How Often?
Practice daily for 1 week by bringing your awareness to the experience of your whole body as it sits. Soften into your body, developing sensitivity to the field of awareness that fills / knows it. Soften / relax into presence within this field of awareness. Bring awareness to the flow of breath in your body in a general way. Soften / relax into presence within this field of awareness.
Bring awareness to the experience of breath as it flows in and out of your nose. Aware of that one point of touch. Soften / relax into presence within this field of awareness. Widen awareness to the experience of your whole body as it breathes. The experience of expanding and contracting. Soften / relax into presence within this field of awareness. Observe awareness go out to sound. Observe it rest on its flow and change. Soften / relax into presence within this field of awareness.
Investigation:
Be curious about the about the experience of awareness and the ability to be aware of being aware. Play with the adjustment of the effort to 'know' and the depth of presence. Investigate what it means to disentangle awareness by softening into its field of knowing.
Simple Instructions:
Grounded within mindfulness of your body, silently observe and desire 'to do' that arises, soften that desire into stillness.
Purpose:
Benefits:
Summary:
In this meditation, you apply the skill of abandoning all participation through developing sensitivity to mental activity and softening the desire 'to do' in order to decondition the mind. While the previous training was concerned with deconditioning defensive emotional charge, this training is concerned with not conditioning it in the first place. With practice you will be able to bring all mental proliferation and commentary to an end, allowing you to experience the purity of awareness free from content.
Instruction:
Meditation is practiced in a seated position.
The Four Stages:
1. Ground awareness within your body and experience the flow of your breath.
2. Practice MIDL Mindfulness of Breathing to create your Viewing Platform.
3. Gradually abandon all effort through observing awareness interact with your six senses.
4. Soften the effort to hear, the effort to feel, the effort to think, the effort to be aware and the effort to give up effort.
How Often?
Practice daily for 1 week by grounding awareness within your body then bringing awareness to the experience of your whole body as it breathes so that the full length of the expansion of the in-breath and deflation of the out-breath become clear to you. Open your awareness to anything that arises within the field of your six senses, allow yourself to deeply experience it.
Investigation:
Observe your minds interaction with any experience that arises within the field of your six senses and soften into the effort behind that interaction. Cultivate the arising of Stillness through abandonment of participation and observe its affect on attraction and aversion.
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