Cattāri Brahmavihārā

During this morning’s meditation session I experimented with a technique (or rather, a skill) which was mentioned by my teacher during last night’s Dhamma talk. In essence, in order to train the mind to make better and more skillful choices we have to give it the space and opportunity to do so. So, during meditation, rather than hurriedly ridding oneself of an extraneous thought or sensation, we are encouraged to take a moment to look at it and see where such an incliination of mind or train of thought may end up taking us. Once we see for ourselves that the line of thinking is not beneficial and certainly won’t aid in developing the breath it becomes much easier to let it go and return to the theme. At least, that is my understanding of it.

This technique has been a breath of fresh air because I have ever been prone to stifling anything that is arising if it is not the theme. For the most part, this panic-driven response is unconscious but it clearly runs counter to the development of awareness. In many ways I believe that this semi-conscious desire not to see certain things and to do away with whole parts of my experience may have helped to create the problems of sleepiness and torpor that were the bane of my formal sessions for years. Opening to the phenomena as they arise and putting my discriminating awareness to good use has created a space and a fluidity that I have never really known before. I am excited to experiment along these lines and ever greatful to my teachers. Namo buddhaya!