This is the year we remember to wake up to ourselves…

This is the year to let the clouds clear. This is the year that we shift our attention to our universe within. The field of study is our own experience- our thoughts, feelings, and perceptions. This is the year to wake up to the realization of knowing that we all inherently have what we need within ourselves. Meditation and mindfulness practice are the tools to discover and free ourselves from the self-constructed, self-imposed, and self-limiting nature of our habitual minds.

This is the year to remember… To be clear in our seeing and knowing of what is and what is not- of what is wholesome and what is unwholesome- of what we are doing and how we should go about it. It is our mindfulness that lets us know when we are absent of awareness- in where are- and in what we are doing. It reminds us to attend and apply energy in a skillful manner toward our habitual tendencies- to be more free and less enslaved by our mental states- and to use sharpness and precision of mindsight to perceive changes- even subtle ones- in mind states before they become cyclical forms of cognitive and emotional drama.

This is the year to remember just how vital our awareness is to sustaining wakefulness- to noticing our changes in mental states. With a discipline to strengthen our concentration, focus our attention, and refine our awareness, there emerges a fitness of mind that frees us from our unskillful patterns. It is the penetrative quality of mindfulness and mindsight that dissolves our confusion and obscurity- and that neutralizes the defilements in the mind.

The gentle effort of coming back again and again to our mind- looking and examining- receiving and accepting whatever we find- as it is. This effort is the Mindful Way to remember. We directly participate in non-partial observation to better understand who and what we are. To remember to pay attention to how we condition our moments. To skillfully watch our conscious thoughts and the incessant rush of our emotions. All of this remembering is integral to being present to our own living.

We set the stage for our future by remembering to stay present in the moment. To know clearly from where we stand requires attention focused here and now. We may have forgotten that today was conditioned by our thoughts and deeds of yesterday. Remembering to stay directly and sensitively attuned to the flow of our lives is a transformation of consciousness. It requires us to slow down, settle into our breath, and take pause- to unlearn mental habits that mindlessly steal our attention away from being fully present. To remember to be resolute this year- refining our mindsight– cultivating our mindful intelligence– and applying their benevolent wisdom in our daily lives. This is the year we remember to stay open to the truth in any form, from any source, and at any time. The choice is yours. It’s your free will, but the “truth” will genuinely change your life.

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