One essential ingredient in meditation is the attitude we bring to the practice. The word “attitude” could trigger some discomfort if we’ve heard it often, something our parents and bosses say to us, go fix your attitude. In the context of mindfulness meditation, attitude is something kind and gentle.
In this practice, the attitude we invite is one of keep coming back, inspired by a chapter in Pema Chodron’s book “How to Meditate”. Keep coming back to say the breath or a part of the body whenever the mind drifts off, usually down a rabbit hole of habitual thoughts, such as self-blame or blaming others or our circumstances. While it appears perfectly justifiable and valid to do so, we have to ask if this is helpful to our wellbeing and in breaking out of our suffering or finding a solution to our woes. So keep coming back is an invitation to disrupt our habitual thinking process and come back to the present moment, so that we could start to see situations with a fresh perspective, with unlimited possibilities, and with joy and equanimity.
In the arc of your mallet, by Rumi (extract)
Don’t go anywhere without me.
Let nothing happen in the sky apart from me,
or on the ground, in this world or that world,
without my being in its happening.
Vision, see nothing I don’t see.
Language, say nothing.
The way the night knows itself with the moon,
be that with me. Be the rose
nearest to the thorn that I am.
Guide: Noelle Lim
Image credit: Anton Lochov, Unsplash
Kindermind Center 