Part of the goal of meditation is to create more ease, and more of a gentle and open heart—gentle to ourselves and gentle to others. So when we practice meditation, we can have a very light touch with our thoughts. When we let them go and we’re not grasping or judging them, they become more transparent. With the following meditation, we can take this idea beyond the traditional mindfulness practice with contemplation and inquiry. The phrase that applies here is “not-knowing.” We’re asking ourselves what’s really true. This kind of inquiry can interrupt a rapid thought pattern that creates bias. We can loosen our grip on what we think we know. Frank Ostaseski, a mindfulness teacher who has done lots of work with people who are dying and ill over the years says that not-knowing is extremely important for him. He says that when you’re spending time with someone who is sick or dying, our inclination may be to fill up the space, but it’s better to realize that you don’t really know what they’re going through. You can experience the situation more intimately with this attitude of not-knowing.
A 12-Minute Meditation to Explore What’s True
Show Notes
Find more from Barry Boyce here: Come As You Are: A 7-Day DIY Mindfulness Retreat “The Only Constant Is Change” “How COVID Reminded Me We’re All Connected” Barry on mindful.org And more from Mindful here: The April 2022 issue of Mindful magazine: The Resilience Issue More episodes of 12 Minute Meditation The Real Mindful Podcast Let us know what you thought of this episode of 12 Minute Meditation by leaving a review or by emailing [email protected].
