The Nature Of Importance Meditation (12 Links Practice)

This meditation explores the way certain experiences become charged with importance: the feeling that something must happen, must be avoided, or must mean something about us. By noticing how the mind assigns weight and urgency to particular outcomes, we can create more space around our habitual patterns and respond with greater freedom. This practice is part of a series exploring the 12 Links of Dependent Origination.

Transcript

Find today's posture, Whatever that looks like. Simply open a tension wide and rest. Zoom out, Sit back. Whatever language helps you access that part of your experience. Simply rest in this moment. As it's all we ever have. This knowledge. And just see what is in each moment. What's here? What's being experienced. Was being felt. What is being craved. What's being held onto. And today, We're looking into what's receiving an extra charge of importance. We can notice these different colors, Tonalities of what all of this shows up like. And that's different for every person, But see if you can notice where they show up in the body. Perhaps there's a feeling of leaning and craving. And there's a tightening and a clinging. But for today with importance. So see what you notice about that when some part of your experience gains that charge of importance. See what it's like for you. And if it feels right to do so in the moment, We can choose to work backwards when we notice something with this importance charge. We see the importance. You might ask, What am I holding on to? What is it that I want? What feeling and sensation are associated with that? Is there a pre-existing view or expectation underneath it? Sometimes we might be able to go right to the bottom. Take this apart piece by piece. And understand what it is that we want and why this importance is showing up. And as with all of our practices. Greet everything that arises with compassion, Love, Curiosity. Notice if self-loathing or criticism shows up. We're here to just learn about our patterns and the ways that we are. Oftentimes, Shining a light on it allows us to soften and slow down. We don't need to go hunting. Things will arise on their own. We're just here to see it when it shows up. Notice if you're not doing any of this kind of investigation. If you've lost the mindfulness. There's a fine line between doing the work of taking an interest. Having curiosity, Investigating, And simply getting lost in a trance of thoughts. And it's okay if you get lost in thought. It's normal. Always allow that to be an opportunity. Be curious about that too. What was it that was so captivating about that thought? Was I so attracted to a thought or an idea that I simply wanted to be in it? Is there something else happening that I was afraid to feel or be in? What was I trying to do to move away from or towards? What was the function of leaving the present? Let's come back. Resting in awareness, Pure noticing of whatever's happening. Getting caught in thought loops doesn't mean you're doing something wrong, It's just what the mind does. So scan the body again, Scan the senses, The feelings. Rest in awareness. Just notice how ephemeral these phenomena are. In this moment, We're free from all of it. Or just sitting. Just sitting, There's nowhere else to be. Nothing to hold on to. This is practice for life. Every city is different. There's always something new and fresh in each moment. The Buddha's preliminary instructions say to find a quiet place to sit secluded. Once you're there, Just commit and stay. Whatever distractions or things come about, You just go with it. Every moment of our lives, What are we working with now? We could be sitting in a busy, Crowded place. We could be sitting at the dinner table with family. Maybe some of them are arguing. We still have the ability to access awareness just as it is. Sit back and rest in that. Slow down. Take a breath. And over the next minute or two, Just. . . Feel free to begin transitioning out of formal practice. All right. The link of importance is such a crucial link in understanding the structure of our suffering because it's that glue between patterns of craving and clinging And the next link, Which is full on story and identification. Our reactions to phenomenon of wanting more, Trying to hold on to it. It's one thing, But then when we start to take those patterns and give them this extra weight, It starts to push that so much more easily into the realm of our own personal stories and identity, Which really generates the suffering we experience, The dissatisfaction that we feel day to day. And the beauty here is that we can simply see it, Not feel like we have to do anything about it, And let it go. So let's end our practice today with one final breath. Breathing in. And out. Thank you for joining me. And thank you for your practice.