Four Foundation of Mindfulness

person

Listening to Sam Harris today talk with one of the original mindfulness and attention researchers. They talked about the 4 foundations of mindfulness in a way that unlocked probably a basic, but new way for me to look at them. I had just never thought of how in a practice someone would tend to focus on one of them. It made me realize I've focused on the body as a locus of meditation.
Mindfulness of the body: (kāyā)
Mindfulness of feelings: (vedanā)
Mindfulness of the mind or heart: (citta)
Mindfulness of qualities: (dhamma)
They were talking in the context of attention development and he asked the question if when someone begins practicing mindfulness meditation if there is a distinction in the quality of mindfulness one develops depending on which foundation they focus on. An interesting discussion followed.

Also mentioned later was how mindfulness meditation, as opposed to other forms with different aims, doesn't necessarily reduce the amount of thoughts one has. Rather it changes our relationship with them, we don't take them so seriously.

Only the first half is freely available, but I believe I have the ability to share the whole episode with someone if they wanted to hear the second half.

lobster

It made me realize I've focused on the body as a locus of meditation

I tend to think of me as Everything or Nothing according to circumstance... (karma)
Anyone else have a better 'excuse me'?

Jeroen

@person said:
Also mentioned later was how mindfulness meditation, as opposed to other forms with different aims, doesn't necessarily reduce the amount of thoughts one has. Rather it changes our relationship with them, we don't take them so seriously.

Sam Harris is interesting, but I often find him too analytical and grounded. I’m generally in favour of the direction of mindfulness which encourages watching one’s thoughts and feelings, letting them come and go — what Osho calls “being the witness”. But it can be helpful to unshackle one’s thoughts from reason and instead pursue poetry, lyricism, the flow of the creative mind.

That generally allows one to see more widely and fly high. Reason and logic keep one on the ground, moving slowly but steadily. It is a movement which is busy with absorbing, with my-making, with creating chains of memory and encouraging consistency. It’s something that I find limiting, not freeing.

Anyway, my thoughts with my morning coffee…

Jeroen

@person said:
It made me realize I've focused on the body as a locus of meditation.

Mindfulness of the body: (kāyā)
Mindfulness of feelings: (vedanā)
Mindfulness of the mind or heart: (citta)
Mindfulness of qualities: (dhamma)

That is a very sensible place to start. I did that as well, focussing on the body, and in fact it is still an important part of my daily routine.

But the oft-repeated adage “you are not the body” makes exploring mindfulness of the non-physical areas probably more important.

person

@Jeroen said:

@person said:
Also mentioned later was how mindfulness meditation, as opposed to other forms with different aims, doesn't necessarily reduce the amount of thoughts one has. Rather it changes our relationship with them, we don't take them so seriously.

Sam Harris is interesting, but I often find him too analytical and grounded. I’m generally in favour of the direction of mindfulness which encourages watching one’s thoughts and feelings, letting them come and go — what Osho calls “being the witness”. But it can be helpful to unshackle one’s thoughts from reason and instead pursue poetry, lyricism, the flow of the creative mind.

That generally allows one to see more widely and fly high. Reason and logic keep one on the ground, moving slowly but steadily. It is a movement which is busy with absorbing, with my-making, with creating chains of memory and encouraging consistency. It’s something that I find limiting, not freeing.

Anyway, my thoughts with my morning coffee…

I suppose I like being grounded and steady, I would say reliable. At least for me it doesn't seem to prevent one from seeing more widely.

Rather than embracing one or the other a saying I've heard many times over the years is, "Keep your head in the clouds and your feet on the ground". Meaning think big, but stay practical enough so you're able to take the steps needed to reach your big ideas.

While many of us move back and forth on this spectrum, most of us have a natural place where we settle – i.e., we’re more of a “dreamer” or a “doer.” Once we recognize where we are on the spectrum, we can choose to move and create more of a balanced approach. It’s important to remember how strong we are – in this specific regard and in general.

By acknowledging and understanding where you are on the spectrum, you can set goals and create new habits to help you live a more balanced life.
https://mike-robbins.com/keep-your-head-in-the-clouds-and-your-feet-on-the-ground/

person

@Jeroen said:

@person said:
It made me realize I've focused on the body as a locus of meditation.

Mindfulness of the body: (kāyā)
Mindfulness of feelings: (vedanā)
Mindfulness of the mind or heart: (citta)
Mindfulness of qualities: (dhamma)

That is a very sensible place to start. I did that as well, focussing on the body, and in fact it is still an important part of my daily routine.

But the oft-repeated adage “you are not the body” makes exploring mindfulness of the non-physical areas probably more important.

And no doubt, superior.