Search results for: "Focusing"

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  2. The Noble Truths of the Breath
     … This is one of the reasons why the Buddha focuses on the breath. Apparently, on the night of his own awakening, this was the topic he was focused on. And as he said, this was one of the topics that he focused on most in his meditation in general. When he describes breath meditation, it’s not just a matter of being aware of … 
  3. The Joy of Monotasking
     … There’s a lot to be learned by focusing on one thing at a time. You see things more clearly. Your powers of judgment are better, and the joy that comes from doing it is also increased. There are some ways of finding joy in life that come from gaining certain things: the joys of gaining nice sights, sounds, smells, tastes, tactile sensations. That … 
  4. The Hedgefox
     … He focused on learning how to observe the mind really well through mindfulness and concentration. And focusing on that one thing, he began to see that it divided out into lots of little things. So we can keep those Dhamma concepts in the background, for the time when they will actually apply to what we’re experiencing. Meanwhile, we focus on this one thing … 
  5. Ānāpānasati Day
     … In this particular case, you breathe in and out focused on inconstancy. You breathe in and out focused on dispassion. You breathe in and out focused on cessation. And you breathe in and out focused on relinquishment. This is an expansion of the last step of the third tetrad, releasing the mind. Whatever it is that’s causing trouble for your mind, you try … 
  6. The Language of the Breath
     … What’s working, what way of focusing on the breath puts you to sleep, what way of focusing the breath can wake you, what way of focusing on the breath can develop too much tension in different parts of the body, what ways of focusing on the breath can relieve that tension. Part of that comes from evaluating it on your own; part of … 
  7. No-Tech Meditation
     … It can read your brain waves, telling you when the mind is focused and when it’s not. It gives a little beep when you’re not focused, warning you to get back in focus. In other words, it’s doing the work of reflection and alertness. There are other devices that can induce certain brainwave patterns so that you can have an experience … 
  8. Your True Responsibility
     … You’ve got the quality of attention in your mind that focuses on this, focuses on that, asks questions, frames issues so that you can work on them. This is not the rote feedback of a thermostat. There’s an element of attention and intention in there as well, all of which explains why we are able to learn. It’s because we’re … 
  9. Feeding Frenzy: Dependent Co-arising
     … When you’re focused on the breath, thinking about and evaluating the breath, you’ve got all these things right there. You’ve got the breath, you’ve got yourself thinking and evaluating the breath, and you’ve got the feelings of pleasure and pain that come from the breath, along with perceptions that keep you focused both on the breath and on the … 
  10. Even Shame Can Be Skillful
     … There’s verbal fabrication, which is the mind talking to itself—what it focuses on, how it evaluates what it’s focusing on. It’s called directed thought and evaluation. You’ve got that in meditation as well. In this case, you keep directing your thoughts to the breath and you evaluate the breath. And then there’s mental fabrication, which is feelings—feelings … 
  11. Letting Go
     … If you’ve got a job that requires focused, continued awareness, they help you stay focused. If you’ve got big issues in life, heavy responsibilities, then having these skills allows you to put those responsibilities down, so that you’re not carrying them around all the time. I was talking today with someone whose job is as a financial advisor. This is a … 
  12. The Four Bases of Success
     … Meditation that’s done with a sense of properly focused desire, focused on the causes of what you want; persistence; intentness, sensitivity; using your powers of analysis and imagination properly focused—that kind of meditation opens up all kinds of possibilities, brings all kinds of results that you wouldn’t have gotten otherwise. So, more than anything else, it’s what you bring to … 
  13. Doing, Maintaining, Using
     … Instead of focusing on those questions, you’re focusing on: How is the breath right now? You give the mind a good place to stay where it can maintain its stance of mindfulness, alertness, and ardency, even in spite of the illness. And as we all know, if your mind is in better shape, it helps the body through the illness, so you’re … 
  14. The Power of Attention
     … That’s what we’re focusing on as we meditate. Of course, we’re dealing with this body, we’re dealing with this mind, and there are things in the body and mind that are coming in from the past. But there are many things coming in from the past. Sometimes we think that, with kamma, what you see at any moment in time … 
  15. The Origination of Suffering
     … you stay with the body in and of itself, as when you’re focusing on the breath right now: letting the breath come in go out, having a sense of ease as it comes in, as it goes out. Deal with the breath on its own terms. All too often, it gets shunted off into the background as you feel you have more important … 
  16. No Resistance
     … So you have to be especially careful to stay focused right on the breath. You can’t wait for everything else around you to get quiet, even though we do try to meditate in places that are conducive like this. It’s quiet outside right now. There’s not much going on. Still, you can’t limit your meditation just to ideal circumstances. You … 
  17. Finding Balance
     … in other words, focusing on the topic of your concentration, which is the same thing as the process of developing mindfulness. Take, for instance, the body in and of itself. Focus on the breath in and of itself. Work with the breath in a way that makes it a good place to stay. If you’re feeling lazy, try to breathe in a way … 
  18. Cutting Through the Hype
    Stay focused on the process of breathing. Whatever sensations in the body tell you that now the breath is coming in, now the breath is going out, try to stay with those sensations. You don’t have to listen to the Dhamma talk. Let that be in the background. It’s like a wall. If you leave the breath, you’ll run into the … 
  19. Just-Right Concentration
     … It’s thinking focused on the breath, focused on the mind, trying to be with the breath. Sometimes the other thing you have to think about is: Is your mind ready to settle down? If it’s not, if it’s got issues that it won’t let go of, what ways of thinking can you devise so that you don’t spend the … 
  20. Mindfulness of Breathing: Four in One
     … you’ve got the breath, you’ve got the feeling of pleasure, you’ve got the mind focused on the breath, and then you’ve got this quality of looking at all of this. Those four things correspond to the four frames of reference in establishing mindfulness. Now, if things are going well, you don’t have to think about all four. Actually, you … 
  21. Mindfulness: The Whole Formula
     … He explains only one part—what it means to be focused on one of those four things in and of themselves. That’s it. He doesn’t explain what mindfulness means. He doesn’t explain what alertness and ardency mean. He doesn’t discuss putting aside greed and distress with reference to the world. So he’s obviously not giving a full description. Even … 
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