Search results for: "Focus"

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  2. Anger
     … That’s when you can drop your focus on the object of the anger and turn to look at the anger itself in the mind. Here the problem is complicated by the fact that anger is usually accompanied by a physical reaction. When a flash of anger bursts into the mind it really sets our bloodstream churning. All sorts of hormones come roaring out … 
  3. Determined to Be Undefeated by Death
     … You’re true to your focus here in the present moment. And you let go of anything that’s going to pull you away. Of course the breath itself will stop at some point. But by that point, you should have gotten to know your mind. The mind is where you want to focus. Put aside all your other cares and responsibilities. Make sure … 
  4. Specifics
     … If you notice you lust for particular things, particular sights, sounds, smells, tastes, whatever, focus on what specifically seems to be the main obsession of the lust. If you find yourself, say, focusing on a particular part of somebody’s body, well, focus on the area around it inside the body. You begin to see that it’s not so much lust in general … 
  5. Looking Inward
     … That’s where we focus when we come to meditate. And what are you doing right now? Where is your mind right now, where is it focused? Ajaan Lee says that good meditation is composed of three things. One is the right intention: You make up your mind you’re going to stay with the breath for the hour. And the second is the … 
  6. Breath Meditation: The First Tetrad
     … The body also benefits if you focus on the breath in the way that he recommends. So it’s good both for body and for mind. Stop and think. Is this something you would have thought up on your own? It’s good to remember that we owe these teachings to the exploration of other people, people like the Buddha, who put his life … 
  7. As They’ve Come to Be
     … The first emphasizes the focus; the second protects the focus, but each combines tranquility and insight in a different way. The Buddha recommends a five-step program to take apart the becomings that tend to form in the mind, and it’s good to master that program because you’re going to need it as you age, as you grow ill, and particularly as … 
  8. Let Pleasure & Pain Fall Off the Plow
     … Directed thought is when you focus your thoughts on staying with the breath. Evaluation is asking yourself, “Does this feel good? If it feels good, how do I keep it up? If it doesn’t feel good, what do I change?” That’s the kind of thinking that enables the mind to settle into this sense of the body felt from within without pushing … 
  9. Go in Brightness
     … So regardless of how we come, we have to focus on where we’re going. All too many people in the world come into the world and, even though they come in brightness, they run into suffering, and all they can think about is how to get away. So they go running in whatever direction seems to get away from the suffering. For the … 
  10. Fully Here
     … Because if you have an unhealthy habit, then, when trying to focus on the breath, you’ll force that habit onto the breathing process. If you stick with it long enough it’s going to be bad for you. This is why the Buddha talks about getting the mind into a state of concentration, developing a sense of ease, and then allowing that sense … 
  11. Inner Wealth
     … That’s what you’re actually focusing on when you focus on the breath—not so much the air coming in and out of the lungs, but the flow of energy in the body. And that exists on many levels. You start with the energy that allows the air to come in and go out, but as you get more and more sensitive to … 
  12. Seriously Happy
     … So when you find yourself missing a particular pleasure, you have to focus back on the drawbacks of that pleasure, which may seem harsh. But again, are you serious about your happiness? Do you really want to be happy? As the Buddha said, it’s through our experience of suffering or stress, dukkha, that we look for a way out. Like sukha, dukkha has … 
  13. The Five Faculties Confirmed
     … But it also gives focus to our discernment. To begin with, we focus on our actions because, as the Buddha says, our actions will make all the difference on the path. And where do our actions come from? From the mind. So we realize we’ve got to train the mind. Training the mind will require seeing things in terms of the four noble … 
  14. Permission to Play
    Permission to Play March 16, 2009 Focus on your breath. Know when it’s coming in; know when it’s going out. 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 … 
  15. Helping Yourself by Helping Others
     … When you focus on your practice of mindfulness, you benefit directly and other people benefit, too. When you focus on developing goodwill, sympathy, patience, and equanimity in your dealings with others, other people may be the immediate recipients of the benefit, but you also benefit in the long run.
  16. Happy to Be Here
     … But for the time being, focus on the spots that are most obvious. And see if you can stay here. If you have trouble staying here, it’s useful to think about how the Buddha taught meditation. He often didn’t start off straight with the breath. When he taught breath meditation to his son, he started with a few other topics as well … 
  17. Gifts of Noble Wealth
     … That way, when you focus your efforts here on your own mind, you’re focusing them on the right place. You’re not going to regret it. Built on that conviction comes a cluster of three qualities: virtue, shame, and compunction. Virtue means holding to the precepts. Sometimes you hear that holding to the precepts is a fetter. There is the word *silabbata-paramasa … 
  18. Acceptance
    As you focus on the breath, see what kind of breathing feels best. You can focus on any spot in the body where you’re sensitive to the sensation of breathing. It doesn’t have to be where the air is passing through the nose. It can be the rise and fall of the stomach, the rise and fall of the chest, or anyplace … 
  19. When You Hit a Plateau
     … After all, what’s happening right now to shape your experience? There’s bodily fabrication, the way you breathe; verbal fabrication, the way you talk to yourself; and mental fabrication, the images you hold in mind—the perceptions—and then the feelings you focus on. You’re engaging in these activities all the time, but how conscious are you of what you’re doing … 
  20. Cutting the Fetters
     … He told her, “Just put it aside and focus on your breath.” She responded, “Shouldn’t I try to cut it at the root?” He said, “If you try to cut it at the root, the fruits of the tree are going to fall down on the ground and create new trees.” Of course, what he meant was, you try to cut away one … 
  21. Taking a Stance
     … Then you go out to focus on something outside that you decide you don’t like, and the anger builds on that. The same with lust, with fear and anxiety: Sometimes the feeling comes bubbling up and then you look for an object for it to focus on. So it’s not the case that all problems come from outside. Actually, most of them … 
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