The first spiritual faculty is faith or confidence.
On some level,
Faith in the practice is likely part of the reason you're meditating right now.
You have either gained benefit from meditation in your life already,
Or someone you trust has led you here.
Even if it is difficult to articulate,
There is value.
Begin your practice of mindfulness of breathing.
Let your breath be refreshing,
Filling your body with awareness and ease.
Allow a tone of faith and confidence to pervade your mind.
Let your posture be confident,
Dignified.
You are here with a purpose,
The purpose of well-being,
Of goodwill,
To move beyond current boundaries.
Naturally,
When confidence builds and doubt is removed,
It is easier to unfold the second faculty,
Energy for the practice.
Allow confidence to fuel energy and effort,
Energy to become curious,
To be more and more present for the subtleties of how it is to be right here.
Allow the strength of energy to keep bringing you back to the ever-settling breath,
Body,
And mind.
It is the regulating factor,
Seeing how actions,
Thoughts,
Lead to benefit or harm,
And choosing a path based on that awareness.
Mindfulness is the Mindfulness is the Mindfulness remembers,
Reminds,
And is ever watchful.
Let mindfulness bloom as you become a more vigilant and wise observer.
As mindfulness becomes strengthened,
It is maintained less through effort and more through a concentrated,
Composed,
Tranquil mind.
This is the fourth factor,
Also known as samadhi.
A culmination of wise mindfulness,
Good choices and good outcomes,
Allows the mind to settle,
As if the effortful energy has given way to a kind of self-sustaining spring.
It has been said that samadhi often arises while generating skillful qualities,
Without anticipating results.
Observe the breath,
Body,
And mind as truly saturated with awareness.
In this space,
It becomes easier to encounter wisdom and discernment.
We have been using discernment all along,
Of course,
But built upon a more composed mind,
It is more refined,
Like a scientist's instrument on a clean,
Level surface,
Or a musician's instrument,
Well cared for and precisely tuned.
Observe how a more unified,
Calibrated vessel has emerged through the practice,
And so can apprehend the world more truly.
You you The refinement of each of the faculties strengthens the others.
Reflect upon the profound value of faith.
It is the faculty of allowing,
The permission for renewed energy,
Leading to mindfulness which sees the path laid out with greater ease,
With a composed mind of unified purpose,
Aware and deeply understanding,
And increasingly at peace.
You Allow these reflections to resonate as they will.
With the breath at the center,
Allow the meditation to take its optimal form for right now.
You you The bell will ring soon,
And remember that these strengths are not just aspects of a meditating mind,
But of a being seeking to be skillful and ultimately to be free.
You Bell.
Bell Bell.
You
