The process of psychological awakening is at the core of our ‘sitting’ regimen. Through mindfulness practice and insight, we come to know that… (i). everything changes (i.e. impermanence); (ii). all we ever have is the present moment; (iii). our thoughts are not reality; and (iv). we are all part of a larger ‘whole’. In light of these revelations, we become part of a rather radical Way– a shift in consciousness that opens our awareness and frees our attention to truly see who and what we are. The mystery of our humanity becomes clearer in the light of this psychological awakening. With an illuminated and discerning awareness, we come to a healthy realization in openly and objectively abiding our experiences- regardless of their content or their quality. We learn to take ourselves less seriously- and the events of our consciousness and our mind states less personally. We soften into accepting the changes that are inevitable to our emerging and developing process as human beings.

In the face of our difficult and challenging mind-body experiences, we come to embrace rather than resist these conditional and temporal states of being. It is our mindful outlook- our curious and generous attitude toward our direct experience that carries an open invitation to explore and examine all aspects of the mind-body process- the multi-dimensionality of our finite being. The image we call ‘self’ is just that… a projection of mind- neither solid or separate in its existence- and some day our aspirations for this ‘self-image’ will let us down and ultimately fall apart. As we learn to let go of this separate ‘self’- this image of ‘self’- we awaken to the fluidity of our ‘presence’- to be one with our awareness of the mind-body experience.

Awakening of mind helps us to live ‘lighter’ & ‘freer’, and to shed the burden of ‘weight’ cast by imagining things to be different from what they already are. Here and now, we learn to pay closer attention to the ordinary, everyday moments- and to be more sensitive to the subtleties of the mind-body process- both pleasant and unpleasant. Without the ‘critical mind’ perpetually measuring and judging the contents of our experiences, life takes on a whole new meaning- a ‘dimensionality’ that opens our mindsight to seeing the infinite possibilities of fully relating to our process of both ‘emerging’ and ‘becoming’ who we already are. Fears and aversions are faced with confidence as we embrace parts of our being with greater sense and sensibility that these, too, are states of mind from conditioning and patterns that are often fueled by emotions devoid of any substantive core.

The more we explore and examine informally and formally- the more heightened our sense of curiosity becomes in this awakening process. Discovering the nature of our being is no little undertaking. The steadfast devotion and discipline we bring into our practice ultimately yields deeper revelations of ‘truth’. Purposeful and meaningful reflection does not go unnoticed by the universe. It gives back what intentionally we put in- whether we see the ‘light’ of this truth or not.

Awakening to our capacity for being more mindful human beings is a process that will help propagate living more vivid and fuller experiences. Through greater sensitivity to our sentience of being, we will become more aware of both our thought & feeling process- in becoming less reactive and more responsive to our moment-to-moment experiences. Awakening to the objectivity of calm, stable, and concentrated observation penetrates and illuminates the obscurities of our mind states. When practiced routinely, the simple yet challenging process of ‘attending’ in an abiding manner can bring the nature of our being- the mystery of our humanity to ‘light’. It is this capacity and this ‘light’ that resides in us all…

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