The Art of Unknowing

The mind likes stability and predictability. The accumulation of knowledge confers a certain degree of order and certainty to our world. Our knowledge, which consists of deeply entrenched ideas, beliefs and assumptions, provides a frame of reference with which to judge the outside world. This approach to life would be fine insofar as all the conditions and circumstances of living remain fixed and unchanging. However, reality itself is but a succession of thoughts, actions, and events that are constantly arising, passing, and evolving, and we change with them.

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The Art of Living in the Present Moment

Mindfulness is the art of living in the present moment.  It is the practice of engaging reality on a moment-to-moment basis. While fully engaged in whatever we are presently doing, we attune our minds to what is happening right here right now.  We watch our thoughts and emotions come and go, but we do not cling to them.  Our primary focus is to maintain a calm, attentive, nonjudgmental state of heightened awareness.

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Embracing Stillness

In mindfulness we embrace stillness.  Stillness leads to clarity.  If puddle of muddy water  is left undisturbed for a period of time, it eventually becomes clear as dirt particles settle to the bottom.   Clarity is an addition by subtraction– we value what is not there rather than what is there.  Just as clear water is a potential of a muddy puddle, a clear mind is a potential of one filled with mental clutter.  When we breathe mindfully and observe the arising and passing of our thoughts, without resisting or clinging to them, our mental turbidity will gradually decrease, leaving a clear mind that dwells in stillness. 

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