Search results for: "Focus"

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  2. Don’t Sell the Buddha Short
     … So when you’re convinced that the path is aimed at a goal that’s really worth pursuing, then you can focus your full attention right here. Some people ask, “Why is it that, when we’re trying to understand the mind, we’re focusing on the breath? Why are we focusing on the body?” It’s because the mind needs something to focus … 
  3. Strength in Humor
     … the arousing of desire to abandon unskillful qualities and to develop skillful ones—or, once you’ve got something skillful going, the desire to maintain it, realizing that this is the important thing to do and the important thing to focus on—and finding the energy and the ability to stick with it. That requires reminding yourself again and again of how important this … 
  4. Square One
     … You focus on knowing, “Now the breath is coming in; now the breath is going out.” And you notice the quality of the breath. This involves the next type of fabrication, which is verbal fabrication, what the Buddha calls “directed thought and evaluation.” It’s basically the way you talk to yourself. You choose a topic to focus on, try to keep your thoughts … 
  5. It’s All about Action
     … When we focus on parts of the body, we tend to tense them up. So you’ve got to learn a new skill: Learn how to focus on something at the same time relaxing it. Find some part of the body where it’s easy to think, “Relax,” and the body responds. Then, when you get used to that, you can start moving to … 
  6. Control
     … But you have the choice in the present moment as to what you’re going to focus on. And in the focusing, you make things grow. So the question is: What are you going to make grow in your mind? You could spend your time obsessing about things you can’t control, but what does that foster? What does that make grow? It fosters … 
  7. Scramble the Image
    Scramble the Image December 9, 2014 A common habit when you focus on the body is to tense up at the spot where you’re focused—which may help maintain the focus for a while but it’s going to cause problems in the long term. It blocks the flow of the blood, makes you uncomfortable, makes it hard to stay. So you’ve … 
  8. One Thing at a Time
     … You realize you can’t simply just tell yourself, “Let go.” You have to let go through understanding, which is why we focus on one thing at a time. Focus on the breath, and the issues of feelings and issues of the mind will gather right there where you can see them all together clearly. They all become one big issue. And you realize … 
  9. Patience & Sensitivity
     … Often as soon as you focus on the breath, things tighten up. How can you focus without the tightening up? Why does the tightening up have to go with the focus? Sometimes it relates to our preconceived notions of what it means to be focused. Sometimes it has to do with our ideas of what has to be done to make the breath do … 
  10. Different Minds, Different Bodies
     … two breaths here, then focus the awareness on another spot in the body, two breaths there, and then just keep moving it around, top to bottom, top to bottom, here and there. After I got over that phase of sleepiness, then I got the mind to settle down and just stayed in one spot. So that’s another way of dealing with sleepiness or … 
  11. Calm & Insight
     … In some places it’s more prominent than others, and you want to focus your main attention there. Then eventually, as that area becomes more comfortable, you want to think of that comfort spreading throughout the body. Your awareness spreads throughout the body, so that you’re bathed in breath and awareness. As for insight, the questions are: “How do you view fabrications (the … 
  12. Stick to Your Duties
     … As Ajaan Lee pointed out, this is the most difficult part of the path, because it requires that you really focus on developing a skill. As for the part of the mind that likes to figure things out, try to figure out concentration. If the mind has trouble settling down, try to figure out why. Then, once it settles down, try to figure out … 
  13. Meditation as Play
     … Try to get a sense of what it means to focus. Can you focus without tensing up around the focal point? And when you focus, are your eyes involved in the process? Can you do it without** involving the eyes? In other words, be aware of the chest **in the chest. Be aware of the stomach in the stomach. Be aware of the eyes … 
  14. Dhammacentric
     … Why does he focus instead on keeping in mind the body in and of itself, feelings, mind states, mental qualities in and of themselves, with no direct mention of the duties of the four noble truths or the duties with regard to skillful and unskillful qualities? Now, there is indirect mention in the quality of ardency. Ardency is what knows its duties and tries … 
  15. Honesty
     … You focus on the effort, you focus on the causes, and the results are sure to come. If they’re not coming, then you reflect on what you’re doing and what you might be doing wrong. You can consult with other people, but ultimately you have to be the judge of what’s working and what’s not. The other quality you bring … 
  16. A Noble Warrior’s Path
     … So you focus on the form of the body; you focus on the breath, as you feel it. Breathe in a way that gives rise to feelings of well-being and ease. Hold a perception of the breath in mind and try to adjust the perception so that it allows you to breathe in a way that’s really comfortable. You have to question … 
  17. Ripples Go Far
     … But then when you see the larger pattern, you understand what’s going on and where to focus your attention. That’s the second knowledge that he gained on the night of his awakening: seeing all beings in the cosmos being reborn in line with their karma. And that’s when he began to focus in on the karma his mind was doing in … 
  18. Strength of Discernment
     … You have to focus on where you should pay attention. Because we’re trying to give rise to discernment, and discernment lies in knowing which things are fit for attention and which things are not fit for attention. That’s the diversity of these things. You have to ask yourself: “What are my duties right now? Where am I responsible?” And you focus there … 
  19. Inner Baggage
     … So you can experiment to see with what level of breathing sensations you want to focus on. Which ones are more comfortable? Which ones are more stable? Which levels of focus are more stable? Looking at this, you can see very simply how the way you relate to the breath can have a big impact on how you experience the breath. If you weigh … 
  20. Tranquility, Insight, & Concentration
     … Wherever it’s clearest—that now the breath is going in, now the breath is going out—focus your attention there. Then ask yourself if long breathing is comfortable. If it is, keep it up; if not, you can change. You could try shorter breathing; or in short, out long; in long, out short; fast, slow; heavy, light; deep or shallow. Try to find … 
  21. A Small, Steady Flame
     … We tend to overlook it and focus on other things, but our primary sensation is right here. It’s breath. As we meditate, we’re learning to get back in touch with that primary sensation so that eventually we can use it as a mirror for the mind. Because, as I said, it’s where the mind and the body meet. It’s the … 
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