Observation Of Mind Meditation

Imagine your mind is a sky. Sometimes sunny, sometimes stormy. We spend most of our lives trying to chase away the clouds. In Buddhism, there is a practice called Cittanupassana - the observation of the mind. It teaches us to stop being the weather, and start being the sky. This guided meditation walks you through how to sit, notice what you're feeling, watch it change, and finally, rest in the clear space between thoughts. If you're tired of being tossed around by your emotions, this meditation is for you.

Transcript

So, Sit nice and comfortable. Get your body into a position where it's relaxed and you don't need to move. And lightly close your eyes. And we'll begin by doing the nine round breathing. So, Close off your right nostril and breathe in slowly and deeply through the left. And hold the breath. And breathe the air out through the right nostril. In left. And out right. In left. And out right. And breathe in through your right nostril. And out through the left. In right. And out left. In right. And out left. And breathe in through both nostrils. And out through both nostrils. Breathe in. And breathe out. Breathe in. And breathe out. And breathe out. So, That's one round. So, We'll just do another two rounds. So, Close off your right nostril and breathe in through the left. Breathe out right. In left. Out right. Out right. Now, In right. Out left. In right. Out left. In right. Out left. Now, In through both. Breathe out. And out. And out. And one last round. Close your right nostril and breathe in left. Breathe out right. Breathe in left. Out right. In left. Now, In right. Out left. In right. In right. Out left. Breathe in through both nostrils. And breathe out. Breathe in. Breathe out. One last time. Breathe in. And breathe out. Now, Breathe normally. Just in and out through your nose. And just let the breath return to its natural rhythm. So, Don't try to control it, Just feel it. And feel the weight of your body pressing down against the earth. And feel the space in the room around you. And feel the sensation of the air touching the skin on your face and your hands. And for the next few minutes, Anchor your awareness in the physical sensation of the breath. Just notice the rising and falling of your stomach. Or maybe the air passing through your nostrils. So, This isn't about thinking about the breath. It's about feeling the sensation of the breath. And if while you're doing this thoughts come, Then that's okay. Just simply acknowledge them. And then very gently, Without any judgment, Just return back to the physical anchor of the breath. So, Now hopefully you're feeling a little more settled. So, We can move our attention away from the sensation of the breath. And now look at the nature of our mind. So, In this next phase, We begin the practice of the contemplation of the mind. We're going to shift from feeling the breath to observing the observer. So, Imagine that your mind is like the sky, Vast, Open, And clear. And within that sky, Weather patterns arise. Sometimes it's sunny. Sometimes it's cloudy. And sometimes there is a storm. So, In this practice, We are not the weather. We're the sky. So, Let's just take a reading of the current weather patterns in your mind. So, Right now, In this moment, What is the quality of your mind? Just take a mental snapshot. Is there a sense of wanting, The mind reaching out for something? Is there a sense of resisting? Is there boredom or irritation or impatience? Is there a sense of fogginess? So, The mind feeling sleepy or scattered, Confused or spaced out? Or maybe right now, The mind is relatively calm, Peaceful and clear. So, The point here is not to change the state of your mind. Don't try to get rid of the irritation. Don't try to hold on to the peace. Just recognize what is already there. And just say to yourself, Silently, Ah, This is how it is right now. So, Think of yourself as a scientist observing a specimen. The scientist doesn't yell at the specimen for being angry. They just record the data. So, For the next few minutes, Continue this simple noting. Noticing whatever your mind state is at the moment. And as you sit, Just notice that dominant flavor of the mind. Is it wanting mind, An angry mind, Sleeping mind or a clear mind? Just label it and let it be. And just sit with that mind for a moment. So, Now we can move to the second stage of this meditation. And that's noticing the change. In the first stage, We identified the weather. Now, We watch it move. So, Bring your attention back to the state you noticed earlier. Perhaps it was irritation or sleepiness or calm. Now, Watch it closely. Is it solid? Is it permanent? Notice how even as you watch it, It begins to shift. The irritation may get stronger for a moment and then suddenly a memory comes into your mind. The sleepiness might suddenly be replaced by a burst of energy. Or that calm mind might be interrupted by a sound that triggers an annoyance. The mind is not a static thing. It's a river. It's a flux. A series of different states are rising and passing away, One after the other. So, Let's watch this flux together. As you sit here now, Don't just note one state. Note the next state and the next state. Maybe a sound enters your awareness. Is there a reaction? Just note, Hearing, Mind with irritation. Then, That irritation passes. So, Then note that the irritation has passed and the mind is at rest. And then, A plan for dinner arises. So, Again, Just note planning. The mind is thinking. Then, Maybe that thinking fades. So, Just note, Thinking fading, Mind open. You're tracking the inner weather report moment by moment. So, Don't try to stop the thoughts or emotions. Don't try to create a good mind. Just keep up with the flow. See if you can notice that no single state lasts. Everything is in a state of constant motion. So, For the next several minutes, Let go of the idea of a single state. Just watch the braid. Watch how the mind changes all by itself, Moment after moment. So, For the next few minutes, Just watch your changing mind and understand the impermanence of it. So, Now we come to the third stage of this practice and that's called noticing the absence. So, In the flux of all these changing states, The thoughts, The emotions, The moods, There's a tiny gap. Moments where the mind is not caught in greed, Not caught in anger or confusion. Just moments of pure awareness. So, In this final phase of the practice, See if you can notice the space between the thoughts, The silence between the sounds, The clarity before the next mood arises. This may only last for a split second, But try to look for it. When a thought fades away and before the next one appears, What is there? When the irritation dissolves and before the next emotion comes, What is the quality of that moment? It's often a state of simple, Open, Clear awareness. The sky itself, Unobstructed by the weather or the clouds. So, When you notice this, You can simply notice as mind free or clear mind. You don't need to force this. You can't make a gap appear. You can only become sensitive enough to notice when one naturally arises. So, Just relax, Let go of the labeling, And just rest in the awareness that is watching all of this. And see if you can sense the awareness itself, The vast sky, Rather than looking at the clouds passing through. So, Relax and try to find that gap between your thoughts, Emotions or your moods. As we come to the end of this practice, Just gently release the focused observation. Just allow your awareness to expand. Feel your whole body sitting here. Feel your breath moving naturally. Feel the space around you. And notice that the true nature of this awareness, The mind that I've been contemplating, Is not harmed by the storms, Not improved by the sunshine. It simply knows. It's simply awake. So, Bring this quality of open, Non-judgmental knowing with you now, As you prepare to come back to your day. And as you go about your day, Just see if you can remember this practice, Just for a moment here and there. And in a moment of stress or joy, Just pause. And you can ask yourself, What is the weather in my mind right now? Is there wanting? Is there confusion? Is there restlessness? So now, Whenever you're ready, Just very, Very gently start to open your eyes. Look down on the floor in front of you. And just sit there looking down for a moment. Just gently bringing yourself back into the room.