how do you talk about mindfulness?

[sky]

Originally Posted by Maisy

I pay attention purposely to what is not thought related. The now as it is without mind or thought interpreting it.

Just curious but how do you do that ?

[Maisy]

Originally Posted by sky

Not according to Buddhist teachings,

Actually I think we are pointing at the same stuff using different words lol. I was going to say according to which Buddhist teachings as millions of Buddhists have talked on the subject I would guess in their own way.

[winter light]

Originally Posted by Maisy

...
This is a good link if one wants to know the science behind it:

https://mpfi.org/how-does-mindfulnes...BoCdPQQAvD_BwE

Thanks. Good quote from the article: "Mindfulness is focusing your attention on experiencing the present without judgment from the past or worries about the future."

For my discussion on the topic. If you want to go abstract, my answer would be "wind chimes". Imagine that we are responsible for creating a work of art with motion and sound. You cannot control the energy coming in, and you only have given materials to work with.

So all you can do is some kind of arranging and then with watchful attention, adjust it carefully to get some kind of harmony that sounds good to you. And if you are generous, you would wish to share that experience with others. And likewise appreciate their creations.

The energy is the energy of life. The chimes are how your actions and words and thoughts express themselves. The adjustment is your perspective that changes how you respond to these things.

Notice you have no direct control over the energy, the conditions, or the outcome. But you can make observe, listen, then make changes. And then do it again and again. It becomes a basis for your relationship with everything and everyone.

I have my own regrets and wish I could make this ideal more real. And I imagine a world where everyone had this as their main focus. To get along with harmony while creating something beautiful.

[sky]

Originally Posted by Maisy

Actually I think we are pointing at the same stuff using different words lol. I was going to say according to which Buddhist teachings as millions of Buddhists have talked on the subject I would guess in their own way.

They might describe it in millions of different ways but as Buddhist they would follow The Buddha's Teachings on Mindfullness....

[Maisy]

Originally Posted by winter light

I have my own regrets and wish I could make this ideal more real.

One can work on another part of this which is selflessness or "having no self interest" as Meister Eckhart worded it. The point is a state of consciousness of liberation or transcendence in the now. Mindfulness is just one way to approach this state.

Wanting the now to be something other than what it is is an idea or thought. So one could try to want nothing which involves "mindfulness" right as mindfulness is taking the attention off of thought. Wanting now or myself to be something different is an attention focusing on the mind or thought or self. So being in a state of "seeking" is the opposite of mindfulness.

I think it's kind of like building a puzzle and all the pieces are needed to accomplish it. Try to have zero thoughts or desires of achieving some spiritual state. Instead assume you already have it and are only not experiencing it as your attention is on other things. Know it is already here, completely! You can't make it or bring it. You are it. There is nothing to do, only something to see. And seeing is a gift or grace which appears when one asks the right questions maybe. It comes on it's own with insights.

Explore having no self interest. Do things for others instead. Be a nothing and a nobody. Seek nothing. Take a vacation from yourself. There are over 8 billion people (egos) in the world. One less will not be missed. It may not seem like it, but I think this is just another way to practice mindfulness. Giving up a spiritual pursuit is a spiritual pursuit! To be selfless. Empty.

"To be full of things is to be empty of God. To be empty of things is to be full of God." Meister Eckhart

“Emptiness which is conceptually liable to be mistaken for sheer nothingness is in fact the reservoir of infinite possibilities.”
― Daisetz Teitaro Suzuki

[sky]

Originally Posted by winter light

Thanks. Good quote from the article: "Mindfulness is focusing your attention on experiencing the present without judgment from the past or worries about the future."

Good quote, that's exactly what Buddhism teaches. It's extremely liberating to live in the present moment but sometimes not so easy as it sounds. Unlike Thích Nhất Hạnh when washing dishes I sometimes wonder how many more before I'm finished

[Maisy]

Originally Posted by sky

Just curious but how do you do that ?

I'm not doing it. It exists with or without me. It's always here. It's a doing, placing the attention on mind or self, which prevents the experience of it. So maybe it could be described as a "not doing." But then "not doing" is not the opposite of "doing" as both involve a doer who is doing or not doing. One can find the opposite though I think. It's being selfless.

Mine is a homeless home and a selfless self. - Soen Nakagawa | Zen proverbs

[Redchic12]

Sky #21……yes I was wondering the same about Maisys comment.

Maisy……So how can you pay attention to what is not thought? How do you manage your days with no thought at all?

Just curious.

[Maisy]

Bodhidharma: The mind is the root from which all things grow if you can understand the mind, everything else is included. It's like the root of a tree. All a tree's fruit and flowers, branches and leaves depend on its root. If you nourish its root, a tree multiplies. If you cut its root, it dies. Those who understand the mind reach enlightenment with minimal effort. Those who don't understand the mind practice in vain.

Huineng: Those who realize this teaching do so through ‘no-thought,’ ‘no-memory,’ and ‘no-attachment.’ Don’t create a bunch of delusions. You yourself are the nature of suchness. View all dharmas with wisdom. Neither grasp nor reject them. This is the way to see your nature and become a buddha.

Bodhidharma was a semi-legendary Buddhist monk who lived during the 5th or 6th century CE. He is traditionally credited as the transmitter of Chan Buddhism to China, and is regarded as its first Chinese patriarch. According to a 17th-century apocryphal story found in a manual called Yijin Jing, he began the physical training of the monks of Shaolin Monastery that led to the creation of Shaolin kungfu. He is known as Dámó in China and as Daruma in Japan. His name means "dharma of awakening (bodhi)" in Sanskrit.

Huineng (638—713) a seminal figure in Buddhist history. He is the famous “Sixth Patriarch” of the Chan or meditation tradition, which is better known in Japanese as “Zen”

[Maisy]

Originally Posted by Redchic12

how can you pay attention to what is not thought?

how do you pay attention to thought?

I would guess the answer is you place your attention on it.

If you want more info on this or have an interest in this subject that link I provided is great.

From the link:

"Mindful meditation changes the balance of brain activity between the higher order cortical regions responsible for attention and strengthens executive control over the activation of these attentional networks."

The DMN is responsible for the focus being in and on thought.