27 Settling the mind (4)
Some take to settling the mind easily, and others have a harder time. For the latter, start by focusing on mental images (without the soundtrack) which everyone can do, then the soundtrack alone, and mental images with the soundtrack. Among the 4 types of mindfulness, the first is called single-pointed mindfulness which means being simultaneously aware of the stillness of your own awareness and the movement of thoughts. Such mindfulness is accessed through deep relaxation. In post-meditation, maintain a peripheral awareness of the breath or the space of the mind in order to cast a shield against rumination. Meditation: The Buddha’s instructions to Bahiya, including the mentally perceived. 1) “In the seen, let there be just the seen.” Let your eyes be open. Direct mindfulness to the visual field without any add-ons. 2) “In the heard, let there be just the heard.” Close your eyes. Direct mindfulness to the auditory field. 3) “In the felt, let there be just the felt.” Keeping your eyes closed, direct mindfulness to the space of the body and the tactile events arising therein, including sensations of the 4 elemensts and somatic feelings. 4) “In the mentally perceived, let there be just the mentally perceived.” Let your eyes be open. Through the process of elimination, what do you perceive not by way of the 5 senses? Let your body be like a mountain, and let you mind be like space. Deliberately generate a thought or an image, if needed. Meditation starts at 5:50
