Tension In The Mind

One of the things we learn through meditation is how to practice mental formations and activities of the mind. We practice so we're not caught in them. However, if we're focusing only on relaxation and calm, we might not become experts at perceiving tension. Most of the tensions we feel in the body probably represent some way in which the mind is clinging to something. So the idea is to start becoming more sensitive when we're tense.

Transcript

So last week we were looking at the activities of the mind and one of the things we learned through meditation is how to practice with these mental formations and activities, These mind states, And we're practicing so that we are not caught in them, So they don't pull us around. So when we're doing this meditation practice, It's helpful to relax and I know that that is an instruction that I offer over and over again, To calm the overactive places in the body, To relax the overly tense parts of the body. It's an important skill to develop on this path of practice and it's also an important skill to practice with the heightened sensitivity to tension, To the way in which we get tense. We want to become skilled in being able to recognize it clearly so that we pick up on it early when there's tension. If we're focusing only on relaxation and only on calming, We might not become experts at perceiving tension and most of the tensions we feel in the body and on our bodies probably represent some way in which the mind is clinging, Like the mind is fixated on something, Pushing on something, So much so that there's physical tension, There's physical tension given this deeper holding in the mind. So on the surface we might feel some anxiety or some upset and likely it represents something deeper, Some deeper place of holding. So we want to become familiar or more sensitive when there's tension and you know when we start to become skilled at recognizing tension, Seeing how it's manifesting in our practice, Like looking for it in a way, What happens, Like what's happening when there's tension. So we want to start to really recognize the pushing or the striving perhaps. There's a contraction with tension and where is that? And as we begin to let go, We can recognize the impact that the tension has on letting go. It's a powerful skill and it might be subtle. You know we might get fixated on something, Maybe get fixated on okay so the instruction is to incline the mind towards gladness, Gladdening the mind. So we might get fixated on that and then all of a sudden there's disappointment that we don't have that and that disappointment, That's tension. So if we're skilled at looking at tension, We catch it right away, Like we don't get tripped up on it, Like oh there's tension. You know if the instruction is to make the mind tranquil and we're looking for that tranquility and all we feel is tension, You can be like oh there's tension. So we start to investigate that and when we do, What naturally happens is that we relax and soften. We're not limited by the tension in the body. So keep remembering that this recognition that Sharon talked about when she was sharing about RAIN, The first practice of RAIN to recognize. Keep remembering that recognizing and learning to feel and sense and become more of like a connoisseur of the different flavors and textures of our experience, Including tension. Like getting to know the flavor and the texture of tension, The way a clinging feels, The way holding feels. It's a really important part of our practice. So taking some time to get to know that which is a little bit more uncomfortable instead of being in a hurry like we often are to get rid of anything that's uncomfortable. The lesson is to really learn to feel fully that discomfort, That unpleasantness so that we're more prepared for it the next time that it comes up. So we're more prepared to okay that's just tension, Let me relax around it and that in that way it's a protection from getting caught. So this is a big part of the Buddhist practice to become skilled in tension, Not to become skilled in tensing. We know how to do that pretty well. We don't want to learn how to tense better but how to become skilled at recognizing tension and sort of seeing its beginning. Relaxing and calming, Becoming peaceful and tranquil are definitely supports for this practice but we don't want to overlook the importance of working with and becoming skilled at recognizing when we're not relaxed and tranquil, When we're experiencing a tense mind and body and all the different ways that is experienced. And sometimes our attention to like paying attention to the unpleasant, It gets hijacked. We may be paying attention and recognizing tension in the body and then we get pulled into our desires of you know wanting a different experience, Our aversions, Our doubts about it and then it's sort of like the attention gets sucked into a black hole. We don't step back and see the bigger picture. We just get swept into our inner world, The preoccupations, The thoughts, The fantasies, The stories, The resentments, All these mental activities, They hijack awareness. So there are other mental activities that enable awareness, That support opening the mind. They don't hijack awareness but rather they enhance the quality of the mind and the Buddha made this distinction between mental factors that close the mind and those that open the mind. And so the distinction is laid out as the five hindrances and the seven factors of awakening. So the five hindrances are sensual desire, Lust, Craving, Aversion, So ill will, Hostility, Sloth and lethargy, Sleepiness, Restlessness, Resistance, Agitation, Anxiety, And confusion, Uncertainty, Doubt. And these hindrances can have a really strong gravitational pull. We get pulled into them again and again. So just to repeat myself, Desire, Aversion, Sleepiness, Restlessness, And doubt. And these are often just always operating in the background of our experience. And they come with a lot of authority, Like this is really important, I have to be involved in this. And the consequence is the attention, The presence gets hijacked. So the Buddha calls this attention getting hijacked as a loss of wisdom, An obstruction in the mind, Kind of a covering over. The words used in the suttas are the mind becomes fragile, Or brittle, Hard. So the other pulls that open the mind are known as the seven factors of awakening. And we've gone through some of these, We've gone through both of these, These factors of the mind, These distinctions, And we will probably again. So these seven factors are awareness, Mindfulness itself, Just paying attention, The clarity of mind, Investigation, Which Sharon will go through when we approach RAIN again, Effort, Joy, Tranquility, Or relaxation, Concentration, And equanimity. So these seven factors can work together as a whole, Or just singularly to open the mind. So you can just work with awareness. And you'll notice that if you're just working with awareness, There's a bit of effort that goes there. There's some investigation, Some clarity, So they kind of merge into each other. And these seven factors of awakening are supports. They're supports for mindfulness itself. You know, The more they operate together with awareness, The more they tend to open and strengthen awareness. They create and support wisdom. They remove the obstructions of doubt, Of restlessness, The coverings that keep us from seeing clearly. And it's said that these seven factors, They make the mind malleable, Workable, Receptive. And this is something you have to see for yourself when working with them. So we're talking about mental activities that represent this divide between getting more closed or more open. And it's possible to cultivate the seven factors of awakening by themselves. You know, They tend to grow when we're emphasizing mindfulness and we're emphasizing attention. And mindfulness is not a closed activity. You know, It's not. It's just not. So this ability to track the mind states allows us to protect mindfulness from being hijacked. You know, We can focus on mindfulness and if the mind gets more closed, If there's more tension, To see the tension that is there. And maybe I can find a way to be more open and more relaxed with it. And just being attentive to that simple movement of the mind can can free us from getting caught in whether it's right or wrong or whether I'm a good or bad person. You know, You can say that you have more preoccupation than anybody in the history of mankind, Humankind. And that begins with the mind state. It really doesn't matter. What matters is that you recognize that you're closed down and that you got tight. And to experience that tension. And then there's an opportunity to allow yourself to open and to let go. Move towards that openness of mind. And that simple movement, That's the direction to go. You know, For this practice to become simpler. It's very forgiving. So thank you for your kind attention this morning.

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