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Reference: The 12 Aspects of Mindfulness

In order to practice mindfulness, you will have to let your mind associate data freely. Mindfulness is being comfortable with the very activity of thinking itself. So, let the mind associate data freely on its own.

Purpose:

To practice associating data freely.

Pre-requisites:

Complete Exercise 8: Do Not Suppress.

Instructions:

In this exercise you associate data freely. You may do this exercise while sipping coffee in a café or strolling along a river. You may even find a place where you can sit comfortably for a while without being disturbed. Then patiently observe the world go by.

Address any medical condition appropriately before starting this exercise. Make sure the body is well-rested, well-fed and free of stimulants. Make sure the environment is safe and free of disturbance.

As you observe let the mind associate that data freely on its own. Observe the mind without interfering with it. Expand your span of attention to as wide a context as possible, and let the physical and mental perceptions pour in. If you go into deep meditation let it happen. You will certainly come back out from it.

Review earlier exercises as needed to ensure that you associated data freely.

Continue this exercise for at least 20 minutes. You may repeat this exercise as many times as you wish.

End of Exercise:

When you are confident that you can let the mind associate data freely, then this exercise is passed.

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Reference: The 12 Aspects of Mindfulness

Experiencing is the deepest form of mindfulness. A person is deeply mindful of his feelings, emotions and impulses when he is experiencing them. So, dive into the very heart of whatever arises in the mind without resisting. If the mind is racing, then experience it racing without contributing to it.

Purpose:

To experience fully whatever comes up naturally in your mind.

Pre-requisites:

Complete Exercise 6: Un-stacking the Chaos.

Instructions:

In this exercise you simply experience whatever is going on in the mind without reservations. You may do this exercise while sipping coffee in a café or strolling along a river. You may even find a place where you can sit comfortably for a while without being disturbed. Then patiently observe the world go by.

Address any medical condition appropriately before starting this exercise. Make sure the body is well-rested, well-fed and free of stimulants. Also make sure that the environment is safe and free of disturbance.

Look at your old family album or old pictures. Whatever emotions are arising in your mind experience them fully. Visit some old familiar locations if you can. Experience any nostalgia fully, as long as it lingers. If you are afraid then experience the fear fully. Dive into the very heart of the feelings without resisting them.

Expand your span of attention to as wide a context as possible, and let the physical and mental perceptions pour in. Review earlier exercises as needed to ensure that you fully experienced what was needed to be experienced.

Continue this exercise for at least 20 minutes. You may repeat this exercise as many times as you wish.

End of Exercise:

When you can experience fully whatever comes up naturally in your mind, then this exercise is passed.

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Reference: The 12 Aspects of Mindfulness

We associate the idea of sense organs with eye, ear, nose, tongue, and body. We use them to observe physical objects, such as, chair, car, house, etc. However, the mind is also a sense organ, which senses ideas, thoughts, feelings, emotions, etc. These are mental objects. When being mindful, recognize both physical and mental objects for what they are.

Purpose:

To discern that mind is an organ that senses mental objects.

Pre-requisites:

Complete Exercise 4: Something incomprehensible.

Instructions:

In this exercise you become aware of mind as a sense organ. You may do this exercise while sipping coffee in a café or strolling along a river. You may even find a place where you can sit comfortably for a while without being disturbed. Then patiently observe the world go by.

Notice things like the wetness of water, the sight of the trees, the sound of birds chirping, the smell of flowers, and the taste of coffee. These are perceptions of physical objects by the physical sense. Notice also a memory, a visualization, a thought, a conclusion, an emotion, an impulse to do something. These are perceptions of mental objects by the mind.

Recall a memory from your childhood. Notice that it is a mental object that is made up of physical perceptions in the past. Visualize your favorite activity. Notice that this visualization is a mental object made up of the rearrangement of perceptions received. Think of a mathematical equation. Notice that this thought is a mental object. Look at what you decided to eat for dinner. Such a decision is a mental object. Think of something that makes you angry. Notice that this feeling of anger is a mental object because you can look at it. Feel some impulses that move the body. Notice that these impulses are mental objects too.

Continue this exercise for at least 20 minutes. You may repeat this exercise as many times as you wish.

End of Exercise:

When you can recognize the mental objects as different from the physical objects, and that they are sensed by the mind, then this exercise is passed.

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