An excerpt from Jon Kabat-Zinn’s book, Wherever You Go, There You Are:
Our thoughts can act like shades, our dream glasses. When we have them, we see dream family, dream job, dream colleagues, dream partners, dream friends, etc. We can live in a dream present for a dream future. Without knowing, we are coloring everything, putting our spin on it all. While things in the dream may change and give the illusion of being vivid and real, it is still a dream. If we take off our thinking shades, maybe, just maybe, we might see a little accurately what is here.
The shades of anxiety, fear, insecurities, energy field from my past actions, running around to tackle multiple things, chasing my cravings, denying what I don’t like, etc., can also taint and limit how I see and experience life.
Taking off these shades would make my life simpler, smoother, fuller, brighter, lighter, happier, and more comfortable. How can I do that? I have developed ten nuggets to explore mindfulness, each captured from a book, a video, or a meditation visualization. I have listed my references at the bottom of this blog post.
Clarify My Mind: Ten Nuggets
ONE OF TEN: Beginner’s Mindset – Embrace each moment with childlike curiosity, openness, lightness, and freshness without imposing presumptions, feelings, desires, or past judgments.
> Clarify My Mind: 1 of 10: Beginner
TWO OF TEN: Be a witness, not a judge – Observe a stream of thoughts without condemning or pursuing them.
> Clarify My Mind: 2 of 10: Witness, not a Judge
THREE OF TEN: Accept – Accept, allow, and welcome the current moment without resisting or fighting with it. Let it be.
> Clarify My Mind: 3 of 10: Accept
FOUR OF TEN: Let Go – Let fear, insecurities, anxieties, likes, and dislikes play out in the light of awareness: avoid clinging to or holding on to them. Let them emerge, pass through and dissolve.
> Clarify My Mind: 4 of 10: Let Go
FIVE OF TEN: Trust or Faith or Belief – Tune in, listen to and believe in the voice from inside. It will unlock my innate natural intelligence and inner abundance to emerge and enlighten me with insights and answers.
> Clarify My Mind: 5 of 10: Trust or Faith or Belief
SIX OF TEN: Patience – Patience brings me to my senses at the current moment. It guides me to accept the present moment as it is. It is healing and therapeutic.
> Clarify My Mind: 6 of 10: Patience
SEVEN OF TEN: Generosity – I am part of the universal consciousness, which is pure joy and abundance. There is a core inside of me that is rich beyond reckoning. Can I tap into it and cultivate a mindset to give, to offer myself to others? It can soothe, heal, and nurture me from the inside, breaking away from reactive thinking patterns.
> Clarify My Mind: 7 of 10: Generosity
EIGHT OF TEN: Proact, and not React – Tune in the bliss, intuition, and voice from the inside. Listen to it and take on initiatives that have a deeper meaning for me from the inside.
> Clarify My Mind: 8 of 10: Proact, and not React
NINE OF TEN: Gratitude – Count my blessings. Be grateful for the positives in life.
> Clarify My Mind: 9 of 10: Gratitude
TEN OF TEN: Lose Myself – What do I enjoy doing? What gives me moments where I forget about my surroundings and situation? Pursue that and go with the natural flow. It clarifies my mind and unlocks healing energies.
> Clarify My Mind: 10 of 10: Lose Myself
Awakening
I think the ten nuggets are interconnected; any of these is opening doors to the others.
Can I hold space where peace, calm, and a nurturing flow emanate from a very relaxed and nurturing core? Can I be compassionate and empathetic in my relationships with family, friends, customers, and colleagues? Can I channel my creativity to conceive and develop innovative ideas that benefit others? Can I be part of, be in harmony with, nature’s collective conscience that includes all things and all living beings?
It starts with clarifying my mind, being in the present moment to tap into the stillness, spacious awareness, abundance, and love from the inside. There is no overnight miracle or magic wand; I try my best to stay in the present moment. It is a journey, a process.
Henry David Thoreau: Only that day dawns to which we are awake.
Wu Men Hui-k’ai:
Ten thousand flowers in spring, the moon in autumn,
a cool breeze in summer, snow in winter.
If your mind isn’t clouded by unnecessary things,
this is the best season of your life.
References – Links, Videos, Books
I am grateful for the following books, videos, articles, conversations, meditations, training, etc., that gave me insights.
- Wherever You Go, There You Are by Dr. Jon Kabat-Zinn
- Mindfulness Daily by Jack Kornfield and Tara Brach (meditation visualizations audio training split over forty 10-12 min sessions)
- Minding Your Body, Mending Your Mind by Dr. Joan Borysenko
- Spontaneous Healing by Dr. Andrew Weil
- Power of Now by Eckhart Tolle
- Creative Visualization by Shakti Gawain
- Video from Dr. Jon Kabat-Zinn – Nine Attitudes of Mindfulness
- Article from Sayadaw U Tejaniya – Awareness from the Moment You Wake up
- Readings from Pema Chodron
A couple of other sources that inspired me when I was much younger to explore more about my consciousness and how it connects to everything that I do:
- Atma Siddhi from Shrimad Rajchandra Ji
- Self-unfoldment from Swami Chinmayananda Ji
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Which of these ten nuggets resonates with you?