Stabilizing heedfulness

FleaMarket

For me maintaining heedfulness is often a kind of balancing act in paying attention. Like paddling a tippy boat across choppy waters from wind and other larger boats. Like keeping the unbroken attention of a wild squirrel living in the back yard or like me not burning breakfast every morning . But that's just some view of heedfulness through my eyes.

Beyond me, heedfulness is already stable.

I see it as calm and understanding. A careful attentiveness. The water unbothered by wind and boats, inviting and supportive. A quiet understanding the squirrel is wild and will do what wild squirrels do. A perfect breakfast because without me, there's no one here to burn it.

I would truly like to be as stable as I perceive heedfulness.
Maybe I will be just that.

Jeroen

Heedfulness is often about clearing the decks — if there is too much else going on in your head, it is difficult to be heedful. When the mind is empty, paying attention to the thing you are doing becomes easier.

David

For years I looked for ways to clear thoughts away so I could pay better attention not knowing that paying better attention clears thoughts away.

FleaMarket

So very true, and those statements cut through a lot of the bologna.
It's hard to think yourself into no thought.
Best not to think too hard and be happy.

Jeroen

@FleaMarket said:
So very true, and those statements cut through a lot of the bologna.
It's hard to think yourself into no thought.
Best not to think too hard and be happy.

Yes, very good, that’s right. It’s about letting go, removing blockages, distancing yourself from the mind. Forcing the mind to think hard about letting go is not the way to do it. Take a step back, relax, then focus and let insight do the work for you.

Shoshin1

Beyond me, heedfulness is already stable.

Thus have I heard...

Awareness is fundamentally Non-conceptual, before thinking splits experience into subject and object ..It is Empty and so can contain everything including Thought...It is Boundless...And amazingly it is intrinsically Knowing

More often than not, one is/becomes what one thinks, however, awareness alerts one to the fact one is not one's thoughts...

This information is brought to you by...Just A Thought..........one of many...

Jason

Somewhat related, I saw this on the FB page of the offshoot of a temple I once went to in Michigan (edited for grammatical errors) and thought it applied:

Mindfulness is like a car with brakes. If the car has good brakes, it can stop the car as soon as you want. Mindfulness is the same. If we do meditate until it's strong enough, mindfulness will help to immediately stop what is happening in our mind as well.