Normalizing The Practice of Mindfulness

If we look at Vedic teachings, we understand that we are a Soul - an aspect of Source, Higher Power…God - living out life experience in a human body, yet still connected to that Source.  And this aspect of Source occurs not only in us, but in all human, animal, plant and mineral bodies…this is why everything is connected. With human beings, in particular, there developed a sense of “I”-ness or ego, a sense of separation (myself, me, my, mine) from Source.  Every experience we have from birth gets cataloged as a like or dislike, a preference or desire, a distaste that the ego stores as perceptions or stories to support this “I”-ness and sense of separation from Source.  Not only that, humans, being highly social by nature, also listen to and absorb and take on the stories of other humans, narratives based on those individuals own unique experiences of separation, ego and “I-ness” (a.k.a “baggage”).

Waking from the dream

The issue is that each narrative feels like a truth.  Each person walks around with their own perception, their own world view.  The yogis described this experience of humanity as each person living in a play or in their own little world [Prajnanananda, 52].  I like to think of it as each person walking around wearing a virtual reality (VR) headset, disconnected from the Truth of who they really are, caught up in the dramas of a world of their own design in which their desires, likes and dislikes, and preferences create suffering and unending, unfillable desire.  The narratives, preferences, and limiting beliefs are an illusion that keep the individual in delusion to their True Reality, the realization of the indwelling Self or Soul, connected to Source.  

At some point, an individual grows weary of suffering and begins to question their existence and this nagging sense that there is so. much. more.  Then they are able to start objectively examining their worldview and beliefs and why they react the way they do in their day-to-day lives. They begin to see patterns and common themes and trials repeating over and over again, and begin to examine their lives to find out “why?” And, sometimes, “Who am I?” 

The Practice of Mindfulness and Meditation

This is where mindfulness and yogic practices like meditation, pranayama (breathing techniques), and yoga nidra come into play.  They quiet the mind so that we have the opportunity to perceive our true nature.   This true nature is not loud and clamoring like the ego.  It is a still, quiet voice that reveals itself when we search for it with our whole being.  

First, quieting the mind puts us in the role as an objective observer of our nature and life events which in turn helps us to unpack, reframe and dissolve what triggers us to act and react in certain ways:   samskaras, the well-worn grooves or stories in the mind that keep us stuck in patterns or cycles of suffering (more about this in The Power of Habitual Thinking).  Second, when we quiet the mind, we observe and respond to life in humility and acceptance that our mind has emotions, thoughts and beliefs (and others have emotions and thoughts directed towards us).  But these emotions and thoughts come from the mind, not our true nature, and we can let them pass or dissolve in the ocean of Truth:  we are whole, perfect, divine, connected, worthy, expansive, complete, etc.

From this place of Truth, we can pursue our true nature’s greatest desire, our purpose, unencumbered by doubts, self-sabotage and anxiety.  Instead, we step into the flow of living in the sweet spot of our created purpose or dharma, in a state of compassionate detachment, contentment, observation and joy.

The takeaway: 

Once you practice the mindfulness process of 1) pursuing your true nature’s desire and 2) dissolving and reframing your limiting stories, you stop visiting these old stories and patterns of thought, because you know they are not true.  Yes, we process trauma through stories, but the stories are meant to bring the unconscious hurts stored in the mind and body up into the conscious mind so that they can be released, not held onto as an identity that separates us from Truth.

Therefore, in order to maximize the benefits of mindfulness, we need to do our best to normalize our practice, to make it a moment-to-moment, day-to-day practice of objectively observing, processing, and releasing the stories that hold us back.

Reference:

Know Your Mind by Paramahansa Prajnanananda, Prajna Publication, 2012