August 18, 2014
This issue is now obsolete. For latest references please see: KHTK Mindfulness. The specific reference that updates this issue is The 12 Aspects of Mindfulness.
This was part of a basic series of essays, which started this blog. These essays were later revised and the original versions were deleted. However, these essays were then added back to maintain a complete record.
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You may do these exercises once or as many times as you wish. The whole idea is to practice the following skill:
LOOK AND SIMPLY OBSERVE WHAT IS THERE WITHOUT THINKING, OR ATTEMPTING TO GET AN ANSWER.
Basically, one is looking at things in the physical environment or in the mind. He should be noticing them for what they are, without calling them by name, describing them, or trying to figure out what they are.
LOOKING includes recognition of the fact that if NOTHING is there, then that is the case.
LOOKING is totally non-judgmental. Any judgment belongs to the activity of THINKING.
Lastly, LOOKING is totally effortless. If there is any thinking going in the mind, don’t try to block it. Simply look at it for what it is, and move on.
Practice LOOKING, as you go through your daily routine until it has become a second nature to do so with no effort at all. As you do so you shall be able to resolve the difficulties in life much faster and more often.
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The ideas of the 12 aspects of mindfulness were developed right here in these essays.
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