The Storytelling Mind (Part Two)
(Read Part One of The Storytelling Mind) When we look at the constant and repetitive process of our own thinking, we see how habitually it…
Tag: Mindfulness
The Storytelling Mind
When I first took robes and entered the monastic community of Ajahn Chah, I had already been practicing meditation for two years. Now, sitting…
Disentangling from the Story
It is a great relief to discover that our stories do not fully define who we are, or what is happening to us. Â One practitioner…
The Primary Feelings
Buddhist psychology helps us distinguish two critical aspects of feeling. The first and most essential quality is called the primary feeling. According to this perspective,…
Learning from the Precepts
Pick and refine one or more of the five basic training precepts as a way to cultivate and strengthen mindfulness. Work with a precept meticulously…
Establishing a Daily Meditation
First select a suitable place for your regular meditation. Place a meditation cushion or chair there for your use, and add any books or images…
Enacting Mindfully
The fifth skillful means for working with difficulties is called Enacting It Mindfully. Let’s face it, we act out most of our desires anyway. In…
Heart Wisdom – Ep. 16 – Factors of Enlightenment
Our fundamental wakefulness can be described by certain qualities of enlightenment that speak to our inherent nobility. It is in the remembering of these factors…
How to Begin Naming
Begin by sitting comfortably, focusing awareness on your breathing. As you feel each breath, carefully acknowledge it with a simple name: “in-breath, out-breath,” saying the…
Purification: The Gateway to Higher States
Learning to concentrate, though initially difficult, works. Gradually, through repeated focus on our subject over hours and days, the mind’s wandering diminishes. It settles down…
Discover What Is Asking for Acceptance
Discover what is asking for acceptance… This may sound like a very complicated and busy way to meditate, but in practice it is very simple.…
The Entry to Expanded Consciousness: Access Concentration
The gateway to both the Realms of Absorption and the Realms of Dissolution is a stabilization of heart and mind called access concentration. Access concentration…
