Search results for: "Attention"
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- It’s Good to Talk to Yourself… Which ones are you going to pay attention to? Which ones can you pay attention to? That’s a useful question. Which ones are clear enough so that you can maintain your focus all the way through the in-breath, all the way through the out-, for many, many breaths? Search around in the body and find some breathing sensations that look like they …
- Expanding Your Skill Set… That’s the property of mindfulness, reminding yourself of what’s important to pay attention to, what’s important to remember. For the time being, there’s only one thing you really have to worry about, and that’s staying with the breath coming in, the breath going out, noticing where you feel the process of breathing, so that it’s not just the …
- Focal Points… Find some out-of-the-way spot in the body that’s been neglected and place your attention there. Whether or not you feel the breath there isn’t the issue. Just remind yourself that there is breath there, so whatever you feel there qualifies as breath. You don’t have to make it move or do anything special. Just notice it. Aside from …
- The Best Work Around… The second is through our own appropriate attention: asking discerning questions about our likes, questioning our assumptions. Dogen once described the practice as, “dethinking your thinking.” In other words, it’s not just that you stop thinking, it’s that you question your attitudes, your assumptions about, “This is good and that’s bad.” Well, look at what’s actually appearing in the mind …
- Complexities of Karma… That’s why we meditate, focusing our attention on the present moment, because what we do in the present moment is going to make a big difference. Not everything is determined by the past. Sometimes we hear a simplistic idea of karma, that what you do in the past shapes the present moment, what you do in the present moment will shape the future …
- Safe at Home… Now bring your attention back to the present moment. What have you got right here? What are the resources you’re going to develop? You’ve got the body sitting here breathing, and you’ve got the mind thinking and aware. Put all those things together. It’s by putting them together that they develop. Think about your breath and be alert to how …
- Things as They Function… Eventually the focal point will move from the breath to the mind as it’s with the breath, but for the time being, focus a lot of attention on the breath, because here you’re creating a state of becoming. A state of becoming is basically centered on a desire. Then there’s a sense of the world in which that desired object can …
- Lean into the Present… The Buddha did it, many other members of the noble Sangha in the past have done it, and what’s the difference between your breath and their breath? It’s the same thing—the difference is in the attention they paid to the breath itself, and the attention they paid to questions around the breath. So pay attention to the breath. How’s it …
- Reclaiming the Breath… This is the basic glue that keeps the mind and body in touch with each other and keeps us alive, yet we don’t pay much attention to it. Our attention goes outside. As soon as we come back in, we’re not familiar with the territory. It can seem confusing at first because there are lots of different types of energies going on …
- Clearing a Space… They’re really good at screaming for your attention, demanding your attention, saying, “This has to be dealt with right now, do you hear?” As for the practice, getting the qualities that you need in the mind, that has to learn to be vocal, too. And it has to be strong as well so that it can make room for itself, push these less …
- Five Precepts, Five Virtues… You don’t have to pay them any attention. They’re there, you know they’re there, but you don’t have to make them your focus. Your focus is on the sensation of breathing in your body. To do this, you’ve got to develop some good qualities in the mind: Mindfulness is the first one. You’ve got to keep in mind …
- The Shape of a Circle… In other words, when you’re doing your formal meditation, try to give it all your attention. Even if you can only manage five minutes out of the day, make sure you give it full attention for the full five minutes. And as you’re going through the day, try to keep in touch with the breath as much as you can. Try to …
- Not Getting What You Want… It’s the seeds that you water—i.e., you pay attention to them: Those are the ones that will sprout first—and the act of paying attention is part of what the Buddha calls fabrication. We take these potentials and we turn them into a present-moment experience. Fabrication has three types: There’s bodily fabrication, which is your in-and-out breath …
- The Focus on Suffering… And because we’re paying attention outside, we don’t see what’s going on inside. So we end up paying attention to things that we can maybe change a little bit but can’t change all that much. And we ignore the big thing that we do have the power to change, which is how we react to feelings of pleasure and pain …
- Permission to Play… Notice where you feel it, the sensations that tell you when it’s coming in and going out, and then keep your attention focused on those sensations. You have to be careful, though, in how you focus. If you put too much pressure on the breath, it starts getting constricted. If your attention to the breath is too light, it slips off and floats …
- The Skill of Renunciation… Focus your attention there—and then try to keep it there. Part of keeping it there is not just by forcing the mind to stay, but by taking an inquisitive attitude: What kind of breathing would feel best right here? Longer? Shorter? Heavier? Lighter? Faster? Slower? Experiment for a while to see what kind of breathing feels good now. As for any other thoughts …
- A Magic Set of Tools… You focus your attention on one particular thing and then keep reminding yourself to stay there. This is how concentration is developed. But concentration is not just a question of memory. To be a part of the path, it has to be alert as well. We’re not trying to put ourselves into a trance. We simply want to stay focused on an aspect …
- The Body In & Of Itself… Which spot in the body seems warmest? You can focus your attention right there and then think of the warmth growing stronger. As it grows stronger, you can think of it radiating out. So instead of obsessing, say, about feeling too cold, you’re looking for the potential for warmth in the body. It’s there, and you can bring it out. In this …
- Bringing Right resolve… As the Buddha says, one of the factors that can spark right view in you is hearing the voice of another person who teaches appropriate attention; one of the factors that get in the way of right view, in the way of right practice, is hearing someone who teaches inappropriate attention, or explains things wrongly. But all the other factors have to depend on …
- Stay with the Breath… It may be useful for somebody else, or for the person giving the talk, but you don’t have to focus your attention outside. Just keep it on the sensation of the breath. When you breathe in, know you’re breathing in; when you breathe out, know you’re breathing out. Notice where in the body you have the sensations that tell you, “Now …
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