Right Attitude IV

The New Year is usually a time for setting intentions, making resolutions, and active engagement with our vision for the coming year.

I am going to suggest only one resolution… Slow down.

We can get so caught up in what is going to happen, what might happen, or what we want or expect to happen, that we miss what is going on right now, in this moment. We let desire and the seeking activity of the mind monopolize our attention to the point where we are unable to be fully present to our current situation and those we are interacting with. I am not saying that planning and goals are bad. Simply that when they become all-consuming, we end up missing the joy that can be present in each moment.

If this sounds familiar to you, and you would like to practice slowing down, where do you start?

You begin in the only place you can, Now, the present moment. Notice the flow of sensations that are your experience of the body. Let your attention rest with those sensations. This can be done in a meditative setting or even in the midst of your daily activities. Being present to the sensations of the body can be very grounding, bringing you back into the present moment, the only place and time where you really ever experience anything.

After you have spent some time grounding your attention like this, remember to notice the movement of the mind. We are not trying to direct the mind to be more calm or peaceful, we are just noticing where the mind wants to go. Noticing our thoughts and feelings in mindful awareness helps us recognize the we are not our thoughts, we are not our feelings. Thoughts and feelings are held in a broader awareness that is closer to our true nature, closer to who we really are.

If you are in a setting that would allow it, then you can loosen the grip on whatever thoughts are engaging the mind, relaxing into the spaciousness of the awareness where these thoughts occur, and returning our attention to the experience of the present moment – without seeking or resisting whatever arises.

This compassionate presence to our experience is one of accepting and allowing, opening us into the innate peace and joy of natural presence.

This is the intention in “slowing down.”