Mindfulness practice, in formal sitting and in daily life, is about being free of clinging to and pushing away ideas of self, and dwelling in the larger consciousness of the witness, the observer. 

It takes a simple re-orientation of the mind to do that. Without that re-orientation, we fall back on old habits, unconsciously, and are controlled by the cycle of thought, emotion / body sensations, more thought, and action based on those often erroneous phenomena, i.e. our karma.

But when we re-orient our minds in this simple way, we are freed from all that, and our natural, pure awareness is revealed and allowed to experience life, make better decisions, and take constructive, and more naturally-flowing actions.

That simple re-orientation is this: we observe thoughts, emotions, and feelings that come up, just as we observe other phenomena that appear, such as sounds, tastes, smells, and the actions that we do. 

Establishing and re-establishing this orientation allows us to see these thoughts, emotions, and feelings clearly, not clinging to them or pushing them away, but letting them fade away as they invariably will; and not allowing them to take control of us unconsciously. 

With this awareness, we can follow mental prompts that we see as correct into action, and actions happen in a smooth flow.

Insights into thought patterns that may be non-constructive  happen, often showing us how they are a product of past experiences.

Often, thoughts which previously would have disturbed us now are seen as a bit silly, and we see the humor in that.

Establishing and re-establishing this orientation daily will result in this awareness and freedom becoming our way of life - wide, pure awareness, and freedom from the erroneous clinging to an idea of “self”!

Checking out my recent musical endeavors - mostly, releasing music on streaming services. Checking out the ROI for doing playlist promotion (high- and low-$), and Facebook / Instagram ads. With what streaming services pay, not so great!

But, of course, I dig making and releasing (sharing) this music, and it is a great form of Zen / mindfulness practice, esp. since I've been doing it most of my life!

But then, started thinking about what's most important, esp. in view of the fact that I'm headed into the proverbial “3rd Act” of my life. What's most important to accomplish and leave behind when I'm gone? (Correct Zen answer: “Sitting here, writing this”!) 

Musical endeavors notwithstanding, most of my life it's been about being more aware and less lost in thought, and sharing that practice / way of life with others. 

So although I will continue making and sharing music - mostly as part of that practice, I''m letting go of ideas of “making it” in the music biz, and any other goals, except for the one above! Simplifying and focusing!

So looks for more reporting and thoughts on my podcast, and for more songs related to it and designed to inspire people to practice as well - check out my mindfulness songs.

I practiced meditation (sitting, walking, chanting, everyday-life-mindfulness) for many years, but, due to an error, only got so far.*

The error: I kept and developed some ideas-

• That there is this “me” who is practicing
• That there are these things called “practices”, “traditions”, and “teachings” that “I” am “practicing”
• That there are “other people” like “teachers”, “Zen masters”, “Buddha(s)”, “fellow students”, etc. that “I” am “practicing with” and “being taught by”
•   That there are “things to attain” and “progress to keep track of”

As Zen Master Seuhn Sahn used to say, “Just do it!”

Just do the practices! Better yet, just be aware!

And, “Don’t check!”

Allow, but then let go of, checking “how ‘I’ am ‘doing’”.

Come back! Come back to NOW!!!

*Of course, this assumes “somewhere to get to” and “someone to get there”...

Reading stuff about Seuhn Sahn in Jon Kabat-Zinnʻs book “Coming Back to Our Senses”...today, remembered about his / Kwan Umʻs core teachings: keep clear mind, perceive correct situation and function, and help this world / save all beings from suffering.

Helped me to rethink the mindfulness trip a little. 

Despite the fact that mindfulnessʻ (and the Zen Masterʻs) teachings are largely about letting go of thought and (as he would say) “just doing it”, a bit of concept to get (and regain) oneʻs bearings is helpful! Perhaps at the beginning of a day, and renewed when needed.

That guidance is (as above, the core teachings), that mindfulness practice is both for the purpose of, and naturally leads to (!) letting go of self, of “agendas” (as Ron Kidd, our local Chicago teacher would say), of self-promotion and -preservation...And, being available to being of service, as the moment requires! Thus, a natural, uncontrived way of helping this world / saving all beings from suffering!

This is not some noble quest, some lofty goal! Those tend to reek of “self” - ego! This is simply what one becomes, how one lives, moment-to-moment, as mindfulness - awareness and letting go - allow the True Self to shine through!!!!!!

So the importance of a vow is reaffirmed! Itʻs an orientation, a reminder of why Iʻm doing this - practicing mindfulness, even, living!! I vow to be a Buddha - to be enlightened, through mindfulness, in order to help people and this world!!!

But wait! Better yet: I AM A BUDDHA, AND, BY NATURE, I AUTOMATICALLY HELP PEOPLE AND THIS WORLD!!!

Oh yeah!!!

Iʻve practiced meditation and mindfulness, and studied Vipassana, Zen, and general mindfulness for a long, long time, but have just recently realized a big error that I would like to help others avoid from the “get-go”!

Practicing mindfulness, both formally and in everyday life, is a wonderful, life-changing thing, but it only goes so far, and can be very limited, if one approaches it as something to accomplish, or something to evaluate to determine its value.

It all boils down to holding on to the concept of “me”. 

Being constantly concerned with “me”, “my life”, “my body”, “my mind”, “what Iʻm doing”, “how Iʻm doing” - we have this ongoing dialogue in our minds while weʻre doing what weʻre doing, which distracts us from fully doing it! This makes being truly mindful impossible, or, at best, very limited!

There is a place for evaluating, planning, etc., but there can be a dedicated time for that. 

While doing meditation or engaging in other action in daily life, as Zen Master Soen Sahn, founder of the Kwan Um School of Zen, was fond of saying, “Donʻt check!”. In other words, donʻt evaluate how youʻre doing, whether or not mindfulness is working, etc. As he was also fond of saying (before the Nike commercials came out), “Just DO IT!” Just do the action; just come back to this moment, again and again!

So when we find ourselves evaluating how weʻre doing with mindfulness practice, and “checking” whether itʻs valuable or not, do we fight against those thoughts and try to squash them? No! Mindfulness means being aware of whatever comes up, including these thoughts, and, without judgment, coming back to the next moment, which naturally involves letting them go.

So itʻs very important to have an understanding about practice to avoid the trap of constant evaluation, of “checking”. We begin by understanding, and remembering, that this “I” that we get so attached to, and want to defend, is really just a concept. Our focus is to be aware, totally involved in life, in what weʻre doing, and save the evaluations for a dedicated time, sparingly. 

While mindfulness is a great tool, and progress can be made, itʻs not a self-help program! Itʻs actually a way, a wonderful way, to live! Itʻs life itself! 

So be aware of the concepts of “I” that come up, of the evaluating, the “checking”, let go, come back to this moment, and just DO IT!!!

We want to practice mindfulness, and that means being present in this moment, rather than lost in thought. But thoughts invariably come up - so what do we do with them?

Weʻre talking about a fine line here, but how we treat thoughts that appear makes a big difference in our state of mind and our degree of presence in each moment.

If we donʻt do anything with thoughts - a very common way of living, which we had before being aware of mindfulness, and which we slip into when we forget about mindfulness - weʻre often taken over by thinking, and get lost in thought.

The other extreme is to push thoughts away - to forcibly clear our mind when we notice thoughts appearing. Although this can serve to bring us back to the moment, it is counterproductive, because it creates a disturbed state - a conflict - in the mind. Opposing our thoughts tends to make them stronger - almost like setting up an internal argument between thoughts and our intention to be present.

A lighter approach is to let go of thoughts when we become aware of them. “Let go, and come back to this moment”. This is better than forcibly pushing thoughts away, but there still is an element of rejection of the thoughts. A lighter, but still present, conflict happens here: although not rejected, the thoughts are mostly ignored.

But what if we apply awareness to everything, including thoughts? Not pushing them away forcibly, or even lightly, as in when we let go, but just being aware of them? For example, weʻre driving, being mindful / aware / present with the experience of driving, in the moment. A thought appears - maybe something related to what weʻre going to do when we arrive at our destination. Weʻre aware of the thought, then we gently come back to the next moment of driving. (More often than not, this happens automatically as our attention is drawn to the next moment).

This way of dealing with thoughts eliminates the inner conflict. Itʻs almost as if our thinking mechanism needs to be heard! And our awareness allows that to happen! When a thought is heard, it fades away much more quickly, and itʻs much easier to come back to the next moment. Itʻs almost like a child - if you ignore what the child has to say, he / she will say it louder, longer, and more forcefully. If you listen, the child (often) will calm down!

So itʻs about awareness, always. Awareness of action, of perceptions, and of thoughts - and emotions, too. 

Not pushing thoughts away or ignoring them, but being aware of them, is the practice of mindfulness in itself, and will strengthen the “mindfulness muscle”, just as being aware of what weʻre doing in the moment will! 

And other benefits of mindfulness apply to thoughts, too: being aware of them will give us insights about how our mind is working, where our thoughts are coming from, and that moment of choice to decide whether or not to act on them.

So, letʻs remember: thoughts, actions, emotions, perceptions, whatever - only aware, aware, aware!!