In Part 4, we become psychonauts – exploring the space of the mind and our objective and subjective experience of the parade of content that goes through our consciousness. We use introspective observation to notice our thoughts as they arise, abide, and dissolve, as well as our emotional response to them. It is a journey of surprise and discovery (move over Netflix!)
NOTES TO HELP YOUR PRACTICE
1) Start your practice as normal – focussing on the benefits of meditation and drawing your attention inwards through your 5 senses.
2) As you build stability of your attention, add watchfulness as the close companion to awareness, pro-actively noticing when your mind starts to wander/go dull; do a mental check-in every 5 or 6 breaths (whatever feels comfortable) and use the antidotes of clarity / relaxation breath and postural shifts to re-align yourself.
3) When you feel you have the necessary stability – turn your attention towards your mind, opening with the statement said out loud in your mind: “This is the space of the mind. Thoughts arise, abide & dissolve.”
4) Watch the objective appearance of content passing through your consciousness, as they arise, abide & dissolve – without grasping, or wishing them to stay or go.
5) Watch the subjective appearance i.e. your response to the content (as positive, negative or neutral). Take your subjective response as the object of your attention, without grasping.
6) Surrender control of the breath, of the mind. Surrender grasping to concepts.
7) Once you have spent sufficient time watching the content and your emotional response, move to watching the gap between appearances. This feels imbued with non-conceptuality, stillness, luminosity.
8) If / when you find your mind wandering, congratulate your awareness / watchfullness for catching it, and bring yourself back to the object of attention, re-saying the statement “this is the space of the mind; thoughts arise, abide & dissolve” and start again.
Final thought
You’ve seen how thoughts and their stories affect us all emotionally and physically. This impacts our mindsets, behaviors, and actions – which in turn impacts the way we turn up in the world and therefore the way that we are received.
Our mind determines our concept of the world. When we change our mind – we change our world – not just for the sake of ourselves, but for the sake of all others too.
Your psychonaut journey is just beginning : ) Enjoy.
