Mindfulness of mental states allows you to conduct a continuous inward monitoring by asking, “How is the mind?” From this perspective, outside events — where all our attention usually goes — become secondary. What really matters is your mind’s reaction to them. Developing this awareness is the main task of this mental exercise, which is … Read more
As a Buddhist practice, mindfulness of feelings provides clarity when you ask, “How do I feel?” The significance of this inquiry for your everyday life becomes evident when you observe how any outside stimuli, however small, provokes your reaction. But its efficacy depends on a genuine interest in your current experience. “Contemplation of feelings shines … Read more
In Stillness Speaks, Eckhart Tolle writes that one of the most powerful spiritual practices is to meditate deeply on the mortality of physical forms, including your own. This is called “die before you die.” Of course you know you’re going to die but that remains a mere future possibility until death enters your life through … Read more
Mindfulness of the four elements in Buddhism is designed to remind us that our existence is entirely dependent on the outside world. The division we tend to create between the elements within this body, which we perceive as something ‘I am,’ and the manifestations of the elements outside this body, which we view as something … Read more