the eightfold path #7

mindfulness

this is the most important technique

it means being a silent observer

of yourself

at one time krishnamurti called this

the highest form of intelligence

the ability to observe yourself without judging yourself

when you can do this

there is a spontaneous change

in your thinking

in your behavior

in your speech

in your emotions

because you've become your silent witness

which is the deepest part of your being

this can be practiced just by observing your breath

or the sensations in your body

this is called vipassana meditation

an aspect of mindfulness

today i'll be conscious of my breath

or the sensations of my body

anything - pick one thing

and practice mindfulness

the value of practicing mindfulness is

it spontaneously changes who you are

you start to have insight

mindfulness is the prelude to insight

it spontaneously changes everything

that we call reality

but the other value of this is

it actually gives you another idea/insight

and that is - that you are not your thoughts

you are an observer of your thoughts

you are not your emotions

you are an observer of your emotions

you are not your body

you are an observer of your body

and of course

you are not your mind

you are an observer of your mind

your thoughts and your emotions

and when you have that insight

then you realize

that the observer is your consciousness

the personal observer

is a product of the collective observer or consciousness

who is a product of the universal observer

so just by cultivating mindfulness

we spontaneously get deeper and deeper and deeper

until we get to that ground of being

which is enlightenment/nirvana

this person/you is constantly in the domain of changing - impermanence

the ultimate observer is eternal/infinite/unbounded

it gives rise to these transient manifestations

which appear as the personal observer

and all the other objects of observation

that is freedom

and loss of fear of death

and realizing perhaps that

oh - i had the wrong sense of who i was

that is vipassana - mindfulness

the most important aspect to practice