On Mindfulness

The thinking, intelligent mind likes to take possession. It appropriates whatever is happening to “you” using words like “I”, “me” and “mine”. It loves telling stories in the first person. The truth is that it is not “You”. It is only a part of you-an aspect of you. It has a task to make you functional in a society. Its occupation is to make you safe and successful (that’s actually the same, where successful means safer). It helps you to have some order, logic and communication in life so you can decide about your diet, your clothes, politicians you vote for or not… It is so diligent and hardworking that it will dominate you completely and utterly; it will make you believe that IT is YOU. In fact YOU are so much more. And YOU need to get YOUR life back. YOU need to put things in place, regain your true position and retrain the system.

Meditation is a wonderful tool for that purpose.

When I meditate I consciously move my attention from the thinking, talking mind. I move it towards my body and all the feelings and sensations it experiences. And when my thinking mind grabs this attention back I tell it: “thank you very much, but I don’t need you right now” and I gently but decisively refocus on sensing, experiencing and being. Sometimes it goes very smoothly and sometimes it can be a struggle. Of course this mind was in charge and ruling position for so many decades of my life; it enjoys the authority. The habit of favoring thinking is strong; I am changing it now. I have discovered so many other aspects of ME and I get acquainted with them.

I listen to sensations, emotions, feelings, visions and thoughts without getting attached to them. I allow them to be and to move. I am in the here and now, I am present, I am aware, I AM…That’s meditation.