Search results for: "Focus"

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  2. Strong Through Admirable Friendship
     … So that’s what you want to focus on. That’s where your time is best invested. Of the different strengths of the mind, strength of persistence is one of the most important. When you believe that what the Buddha taught was true, then you want to carry it through. You don’t just sit there believing. You act on that belief—and it … 
  3. The Mirror Inside
     … You give them focus—you focus on your actions. This has to do with not only actions of the body, but also actions of speech and actions of the mind. Like right now as we’re meditating, we’re engaged in actions of the mind, and you want to observe these, too: What are you doing right now? When the Buddha talks about developing … 
  4. Happy to Be Here
     … Where it feels good to focus your attention. You’ve got lots of choices, so explore them. There’s nobody hovering over you to tell you that you have to breathe like this or focus like that. You’re free to explore. That fact, in and of itself, can make the meditation really pleasant. Something you enjoy doing. Then the more you enjoy being … 
  5. Brahmaviharas at the Breath
     … If there are pains in your knees, pains in your hips, you don’t make that the focus of your attention. You focus on the parts that are comfortable. You remind yourself, after all, that those knees and those hips are not really yours. You have the choice as to whether or not you want to lay claim to the pain in those knees … 
  6. It’s Good to Talk to Yourself
     … So when we sit down to focus on the breath, we get frustrated when we see that the mind is still talking to itself about the breath. Then it wanders off and talks to itself about something else. Then it comes back and talks about the breath. It’s important to realize that talking to yourself is a necessary part of getting the mind … 
  7. Fires of the Mind
     … Just make up your mind, “Okay, what I did in the past is past; what we’re going to focus on now is the present moment.” On the one hand, there is this negative meaning to fire in the mind. But there’s also a positive kind of fire. It corresponds to the different words they have for burning in Pali. A lot of … 
  8. Being Your Own Teacher
     … See how long you can stay with the breath and not lose your focus. If you do lose your focus, see how quickly you can come back. And learn which of these exercises the mind enjoys the most so that when one of them starts getting dry and the practice as a whole starts getting dry, you can switch to the exercises you enjoy … 
  9. Conditions for Concentration
     … Ajaan Suwat would talk about bringing an attitude of confidence, glad that you’re here, inspired by the fact that you have time to focus on your mind and do some inner work that’s unrelated to the drudgery of the world. You can lift your mind above its ordinary concerns. Ajaan Lee, when he talks about settling down in concentration, has one point … 
  10. Magha Puja
     … You do your best to alleviate whatever pain there may be, through the breath, through the way you focus on things. But many times there will come a point where nothing you can figure out with the breath helps, nothing you can figure out with the way you focus the mind will help. So you’ve just got to watch so that you can … 
  11. Not Crushed by the World
     … So focus on the breath or, as the Buddha said, the body in and of itself: in this case, the breath in and of itself. As you breathe in, breathe out, where do you feel it? What way of breathing is comfortable? Focus on that. When you find something comfortable, see if you can maintain that sense of comfort. Then, as you maintain it … 
  12. Raise Your Standards
     … We each focus within. Because this is the source where happiness comes from: a mind that’s very clear, very still, so it can be very discerning, seeing clearly where the actions are. These movements of attention, now focusing here, now focusing there: Ask yourself, what caused you to change focus? When you frame things to yourself, what are the terms you use to … 
  13. Analysis of Qualities
     … You need to have something in mind that’s your main focus. Then you ask yourself, “What is the world of this focus?” The world is your body as you feel it from within. And then you as the meditator—the part of the mind that’s directing things: That’s the identity you take in that world. So you actually are creating a … 
  14. A Mind Like Earth
     … The trick to endurance is that you don’t focus on the things that are difficult. You focus on the areas where you have a source of strength, you have a source of sustenance inside that you can draw on. This is one of the reasons why we develop concentration, to have a sense of well-being inside that provides our food, our nourishment … 
  15. Oozing Bodies, Oozing Minds
     … So you focus first on the object. Remind yourself that it’s not really all that attractive if you look at it in all of its aspects. What we tend to do is look at it only in a certain way, and we tend to block out all kinds of stuff. You look at the skin, and you tend to block out the fact … 
  16. The Pursuit of True Happiness
     … It’s just there from the continuity of your focus, the sensitivity of your focus. There can even be a sense of rapture, a sense of fullness. You breathe in feeling really refreshed, breathe out feeling really refreshed. And the more you get absorbed in the present moment like this, the further away the past and the future seem to be. This is a … 
  17. Practical Wisdom
     … We tend to focus on what other people do, what they say, or what they might do to us or say about us. That can consume us, to the point where we tend to forget to look at what we’re doing. This is a typical pattern in the human mind: to focus on things that you’re not responsible for and to forget … 
  18. Responsible Happiness
     … To whatever extent you can sense that, focus there. And then ask yourself if it’s pleasant. Does it feel good? Does it feel nourishing? If the in-breath is too short, you feel like you’re not getting your full ration of breathing energy. If it’s too long, it becomes tight towards the end. The same when you’re breathing out. If … 
  19. The Four Bases of Success
     … If you lose that focus, then you’ve lost the focus of the meditation. If you’re sitting and anticipating, remember that right anticipation is not one of the factors of the path—it’s certainly not one of the factors of concentration. Just focus on what you’ve already got. And the next question is, “What would be a more pleasant breath?” Be … 
  20. Craving & Desire on the Path
     … So you focus on developing the path. You don’t just sit there hoping to realize the cessation without the path, or think that you can somehow clone awakening without going through the path. The path is a series of strategies. It borrows elements of the first and the second noble truth. This is paradoxical, because all too often we’re told that the … 
  21. The Power of Intention
     … With that thought as the background, then we focus our intention on being with the breath. The question came up yesterday, How is it possible that people can have evil intentions and still get the mind into concentration? Well, it’s possible with all kinds of intentions to get the mind focused, but if you want your concentration to lead to awakening—in other … 
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