Aligned, Relaxed, Resilient (eBook)

Introduction 'Letgo of what is past. Let go of what is not yet. Observe deeply what is happeningin the present moment, but do not become attached to it.'—,SiddharthaGotama, TheranamoSutta Thepractice of mindfulness has been called 'the royal road to enlightenment.' Acentral feature of Buddhist practice, it can be found in one form or another inall spiritual traditions whose goal is to awaken from the slumber of illusionsinto an awareness of what is truly and profoundly real. Mindfulness can perhapsbest be defined as a condition of relaxed alertness in which we see what ishere to be seen, hear what is here to be heard, feel what is here to be felt,taste what is here to be tasted, smell what is here to be smelled, and areaware of the condition of the mind that either supports the clear perception ofour sensory fields or interferes with it. The emphasis is always on what ishere. In a condition of mindfulness, we do not hold on to or yearn for an eventthat has passed. Neither do we miss what is present by our anticipation of anevent that is about to occur. Althoughthe practice of mindfulness can be incorporated into our formal meditationpractices, its real beauty lies in its ability to transform themoment-to-moment passage of our everyday lives into an aspect of practice thatis every bit as important and valuable as the time we spend sitting on ourcushions. Taking up the practice of mindfulness can be a very humblingexperience because when we first begin to practice, what we may be most awareof is how unmindful we generally are. At least some of the difficulties that we experience when we begin to practicemindfulness can be ascribed to the connotations of the word itself. The word mindfulnesswould suggest that the practice focuses solely on the arena of our minds, butwithout establishing a bodily posture and base that can naturally support thecondition of mindfulness, our attempts to remain mindful may be frustrated andunsatisfactory. Just as our attention during the practice of sitting meditationneeds to be focused as much on creating a supportive posture with our bodies ason an exclusive focus on the activity of our minds, so, too, in the practice ofmindfulness the posture and experience of our bodies are as important as theattitude and movements of our minds. The very same principles that create the posture that has been shown to supportthe practice of sitting meditation are equally important in supporting theengaged practice of mindfulness. By applying the principles of alignment,relaxation, and resilience to the structure and experience of the body, wecreate a condition in the mind that is naturally awake, aware, and mindful. Ifwe don't pay adequate attention to establishing this bodily base, we may findourselves floundering in our attempts to remain successfully mindful, notunlike a surfer who, in his eagerness to get out into the waves, overlooks thepreparation of his board and finds that he misses wave after wave or, worse,gets wiped out with every attempt. Mindfulness is not just an action of the mind. It begins with an awareness ofthe body. If we can become adept at remaining aware of the constantly changingpresence of the body through the establishment of the posture of meditation,then the practice of mindfulness becomes a much less daunting undertaking. Byworking with the three major principles that cocreate the posture ofmeditation, the experience of mindfulness becomes far less elusive. The structure of this book shares a similar format with ThePosture of Meditation (Shambhala,1996) and can be considered a companion volume to that first book. Both...