Report 72

Mindfulness

 Mindfulness seems to be a method for seeing through the ignorance and delusion caused by the labels we put on people and things that creates a 'division between the observer and the observed, because what we experience is not the observed but the reactions of the observer.' Peter Strong

  The aim is to develop satisampajanna, 'a clear knowing' that allows fresh, direct experience in the present moment. We learn to overcome the limitations of our blind, habitual reactivity and try to develop what Suzuki called a 'Beginner's Mind.'

A very important part of this is cultivating an awareness of the feeling energy vedana that can power emotional reactions of craving and attachment. This is usually achieved by vipassana meditation.

MIndfulness does not proceed through analysis or understanding, but is more of an experiential process that unfolds at a deeper intuitive level.