Reference: Mindfulness Exercises
Mindfulness is “seeing things as they are.”
One wants answers; but answers do not come from desiring, expecting and speculating. Only when you know what is there, can you truly know what is to come.
Uncontrolled thinking comes about when desires, expectations and speculations rule your mind.
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MINDFULNESS # 02: Observe without desires, expectations and speculations.
In a class of students, first call out “Mindfulness 0” instructions to start mindfulness meditation. Next, explain this exercise as follows.
“In this exercise we meditate on desires, expectations, and speculations.
“Desires can act as filters and prevent you from recognizing what is actually there. For example, you desire your team to win. You look only at strong points of your team, and weak points of the other team. You do not look objectively at the strong and weak points of both the teams.
“Expectations also act as filters and prevent one from recognizing what is actually there. For example, you may see a person in priestly robes and trust him implicitly because you expect him to be a man of God. But he may be a crook who can take you for a ride.
“Speculations do not reflect what is actually there. For example, you may speculate on what you need to be for others to like and admire you. But that may hide your natural talents and attractiveness from yourself, and you fail to recognize yourself.”
Call out the following instructions slowly and clearly. Pause for 15 to 20 seconds after each instruction to let the student settle down with it.
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Become aware of the desires that are there.
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Observe nonjudgmentally. It is neither good nor bad. It is what it is.
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Do not resist anything. Do not suppress anything. Do not interfere with what is there.
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Simply become aware of the desire and move on.
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When it is difficult to move on, simply observe the desire more closely. Let further details appear as they may.
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Let the realizations come as they may and move on.
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Become aware of expectations. Trace them back to the underlying desire. Simply become aware and move on.
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Become aware of speculations. Trace them back to the underlying desire. Simply become aware and move on.
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Expand your span of attention to your whole life as far back as possible. Let the perceptions pour in.
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Become aware of the desires, expectations, and speculations as they were during various stage of your life.
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Expand your span of attention to others that you have come across during your life. Let the perceptions pour in.
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Become aware of the desires, expectations, and speculations as you saw them in others.
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Observe nonjudgmentally. It is neither good nor bad. It is what it is.
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Do not resist anything. Do not suppress anything. Do not interfere with what is there.
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Simply become aware of the underlying desires and move on.
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When it is difficult to move on, simply observe the desire more closely. Let further details appear as they may.
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Let the realizations come as they may and move on.
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Continue meditating on desires, expectations, and speculations till the end of the meditation session.
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