It's a simple message.
A way to consider.
Maybe the main benefit.
One of the main benefits of mindfulness practice.
And I think that benefit is that the mind becomes less sticky.
The mind becomes more and more of what you might call a non-stick surface.
A non-stick surface.
You may or may not have heard the sound of a bird or something that just happened.
It arises and it passes.
And as they say in Zen,
It leaves no trace.
The sound of the bird maybe is quite pleasant or totally neutral.
Where this is really impactful is when we have negative experiences or experiences that are deemed or interpreted as negative.
They'll still happen.
But with this practice,
They become less and less sticky.
The mind becomes more and more of a non-stick surface.
The sound of an airplane.
It's here with us.
And the mind could attach to it or push it away,
Maybe on my side or your side.
While it's here.
It's here.
And when it passes.
It leaves no trace.
This could also be experiences of anxiety,
Anger,
Reactivity,
Judgment,
Defensiveness.
All of this still happens,
At least it still happens for me.
But I think the more I practice,
My mind just becomes less and less sticky.
The things arise.
I feel them.
I don't push against them,
I don't hold on to them.
They don't attach so deeply to old stories.
Sometimes they still do.
But in most cases,
They arise and they pass.
A non-stick mind.