Key Concepts
In progress, need to finish reading.
@The Little Book of Being
Notes
Chapter 5 — what is meditation?
Meditation — any practice that cultivates inward investigation Analogy: it’s like the general term ‘sports’ with many categories of sports and variations Awareness, concentration, prayer, healing and many other types of meditation practices The focus of this book is awareness practices Practice — to actively and deliberately work to cultivate a skill Can be confusing since often shorthand for meditation Example: ‘glimpse practices’ — short moments of meditation practices Drop the question into your mind — is it ok to be aware of just this?
Chapter 6 — what about regular old mindfulness practice?
Helpful but not the full picture of what’s possible Way to distinguish classic mindfulness practices with natural awareness Mindfulness — paying attention to present moment experiences with curiosity and willingness to be with what is Can be brought to any moment throughout the day Example: placing your attention on an object of awareness like your breath Informally mindfulness by paying attention to present moment sensations or breath Many students find it helpful to start with classical mindfulness meditation prior to natural awareness
Chapter 7 — the spectrum of awareness
Exercise: look out the window, focus on a single car, then focus on the scene overall, then
Diana Winston