One of the most profound benefits of a contemplative,
Meditative,
Introspective practice is detachment.
If we can step back and step outside of ourselves and view our lives,
Including all of its issues and joys and pleasures and challenges,
From a detached objective perspective,
We will be far better positioned to make decisions.
We'll be able to see where we've come from,
Where we are,
And where we're heading,
And better direct that process towards positivity,
In whatever way that means for you.
The more we practice meditation,
The more we find ourselves free from the trap of ego and thought and emotionality.
It's like we're over here,
But our thoughts are now over there.
There's a space.
There's a gap.
Mindfulness enables us to extend that gap more and more and more.
Have you ever had a friend or a family member who has a clear issue or problem,
And they just can't see it?
They can't see the forest for the trees.
They are so close to the problem,
But from the outside perspective,
You're able to see that if only they just did this,
Or if they just worked on that,
Or if they just made this change,
It would make a world of difference over time.
The problem is,
From their perspective,
They see the full story,
At least their full story,
They're right in on it,
And they might not be able to project to you the full extent of the story,
Or be able to explain to you why they can't just implement the plan that you know will work.
The benefit of mindfulness and meditation is that you get to be both people.
You get to be the person that is detached,
Providing the external solution,
But you also have the in-depth knowledge of being the person that it actually involves.
You are both.
You get to see the detached perspective,
As well as the inner workings.
So I encourage you,
Practice mindfulness meditation daily.
The most simplest approach to mindfulness meditation is to sit with your eyes closed,
A timer on for 5,
10,
20 minutes,
And just draw your attention to the breath,
The sensations of the breath entering and leaving the nose.
That's it.
And when your mind wanders,
You just observe it and bring it back.
A thought pops up.
You take a look at that thought.
You acknowledge the thought,
But you try not to get trapped by it,
To get pulled into it.
You're over here,
And the thought is over there.
You let it pass in the same way an environmental sound will pass.
If a bird cheeps,
Or just the sound of my voice here,
You can't hold on to it.
Nothing you can do can prolong that sound.
It arises,
You notice it,
And then it goes.
But,
If you're not careful,
As in,
If you're not mindful,
You'll get trapped by it.
You'll go down rumination paths.
And this is particularly true with thoughts.
In my experience,
Thoughts,
Moods,
Emotions,
Memories,
Feel a lot closer,
Or they're a lot more tricky.
They're a lot more trappy.
But the more you meditate,
The more practice you get at seeing them for what they are.
They're just another aspect of consciousness.
They're just another stimulus to observe.
They're just another thing that you can see and let go of.
So the best way to get the benefits of detachment is to practice daily.
So let's do a little session now.
We're just going to do a couple of minutes of silence.
So,
Take a seat.
Get comfortable.
Have a nice strong posture,
One that's sort of upright,
But not painful.
One that you can maintain for a few minutes.
Close your eyes if you want to.
And take a big slow breath in through the nose and out through the mouth.
And just draw your attention to the sensations of the breath entering and leaving the nose.
In a moment,
I will go silent.
And for the duration of the silence,
Just keep returning your focus back to the breath.
If your mind wanders,
Return it back.
If your mind wanders,
Just gently return it back.
That's it.
Let's begin.
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.
.
.
.
.
.
Well done.
So,
How'd you go?
That break then was three minutes.
Just three minutes of silence.
And,
Really,
Anything,
Any amount of time each day is better than not practising.
If you like,
You could choose to play this session again and have it as a daily session.
Or you could choose just to simply set a three minute timer.
Get yourself into a position,
Get a three minute timer going and just make that pledge that for this three minutes,
I'll focus on my breath entering and leaving the nose.
When my mind wanders,
I'll bring it back.
Just do that daily.
And over time,
You'll notice a distinct ability to detach will be improving.
You'll notice that whilst increased emotions do come,
You're less trapped by them.
You're less impacted by them.
They don't last as long.
So I encourage you,
Meditate daily.
Get those benefits of meditation practice and take it into your life.
Good luck.
This talk was taken from the book Mindfulness,
A guidebook to the present moment.
