2021-11-09-Gil-Mindfulness of Mind (2 of 5) Simplicity of Recognition

3:59PM Nov 9, 2021

Speakers:

Gil Fronsdal

Keywords:

recognizing

recognition

awareness

preferences

simple

hijacked

guest

welcoming

tape

judgments

breath

electrical wire

goodness

house

complicate

mindfulness

electrical cord

attention

simplicity

desires

continue today and that talks about mindfulness of mind also could be called mindfulness of attitude, or in the purity of it the mindfulness of recognition. And that's the theme for this from Tuesday's is recognition. And recognition is a powerful factor. If it can be simple if we can simplify our recognition of all the baggage, all the associations that it comes along with it. So for example, if you maybe look around wherever you are sitting, and can you find something to look at, where you can recognize what it is, but that it's very neutral, this doesn't evoke any ideas of for and against, I want that I don't want that. It just there in a simple, very, very simple way. And so for my eyes narrow landing over in the far wall, there's an electrical cord, two o'clock, then you see the electrical cord, and they just there, I don't have any reactivity to it, or preference around it, or for against city just there. And then if I look, turn my eyes up now and look at something that I find that like, there's a statue of Buddha statue on the other house, near near their electrical wire. And now I find that there's a kind of liking and wondering and engagement with Edward as no more not just recognizing it with now, there's appreciating, remember the history where it came from, who gave it to us, all kinds of things. And then I look down and there's some tape on the floor here at IMC. And I have a little bit of a issue about the tape on the floor, because it's a long piece of tape to mark a spot on the floor. But it's crooked, it wasn't laid down straight. And so I thought, Oh, we measure? Did I change it? And can I use the same tape or to throw it away. And so suddenly, my involvement is much more much more complicated than look at the electrical wire again, and it's just very simple, just a wire. So if you could look around in your space, and can you see the different ways that you can recognize something there? How simple can it be just recognizing it, and how much is it are coming with preferences coming with judgments coming with, for and against coming with commentary. It's part in meditation. And other times the movement is towards becoming cleaner and cleaner, simpler and simpler with recognition. So that we can see things as they are not as we want them or not, through the lens of what we don't want. They're simple, there is a time there's a place for preferences for desires for things we don't want, there's definitely a time and place for that. This is not doing away with that forever. But it's there's also a time and place to learn the art of very simple recognition. And it's so simple, that we're not It's not this, the recommendations are not distracted by our desires and our thoughts or commentary. It just we recognize so simple, just there. There's an in breath, just an in breath. And the you know, so simple that the in breath hasn't doesn't, isn't tied to connected to notions of time. Oh, if I need to get concentrated, I need to stay here so that in the future I can be contrary so that I don't so that I'm present for the next exhale, which is coming in the future. I lost it. I lost my attention to the breath a few minutes ago, a moment ago, a few breaths ago. I can't have that happen again. I have to kind of be able to stay with the breath. All those ideas are complicating the simple act of recognition. For this moment, I'm able to recognize this inhale as if there's no before and no after. It's that simple. And if your mind wanders off in between and At some point, you come back to the indexed inhale.

The past is gone. Just this inhale just that recognition. And, and at some point as the simplicity of recognition is there, just this breath, this step, this chewing my food, this sitting in a chair, this walking down a hallway, in the simplest possible way. Then at some point, what we recognize is recognition itself. We recognize that recognition, as we're recognizing, we see that recognition is simple. We see that recognition is free of associations, commentary, preferences, desires. And, and then, while there's this thing called recognition, there's this thing, this experience this movement of recognition of knowing of being aware, and it becomes its own kind of object of awareness. And it starts being kind of special, wow. There's this clarity, there's this openness, it's kind of like awareness not becomes a guesthouse, that all travelers are welcome to come into the guest house. But that guest housekeeper is very gracious and allows each, everything to have its room. And so we can rest. So you'll be left alone. So be accepted as it is. Nothing's needed. No judgments, no nothing. So this idea of recognizing recognition, aware of awareness, knowing that we're knowing can seem like a hard thing to do, challenging, you know, and would even nonsensical to some people. But one of the ways we come to that is that we begin recognizing, as a guest keeper, welcome. We started recognizing that we are seldom aware, simply, there's all kinds of things we bring along with a recognition, we recognize something, and we recognize that we don't like it, we do like it. We want it to be a little bit different. It should be sitting over there, not there. Could I have that? We go into a room of people. And we started recognizing what's there. But it's not just simple recognition is who is nice to sit next to who should I not sit next to is it safe here, where's the where's the, the good snacks, and I think I'll eat it. That's what I want. And so there's all these preferences and agendas going on that and our awareness or recognition is being used by our agenda. It's being driven by it. Now, of course, this is normal and healthy to do that, in many circumstances, it has to be that way. But the meditation practice and mindfulness, one of the potential it has, is to start recognizing how we complicate or engage, awareness, use awareness in the service of our agendas, our preferences. And sometimes it's wise choices we make what we pay attention to, when we're driving pay attention to the road. But sometimes our attention is hijacked by things that we don't really, if you thought about it, you was I don't want to do that. Focus on that, again, that I've had the same complaint about my neighbor down the street. Now, it's probably 1000 times I've had that thought, and I feel lousy after I have, it doesn't feel good to have it. And it kind of hijacks my attention. And and whenever I drive down the street and see that neighbor, or see that house, you know, I get contracted my attention, I feel my awareness looking at pull away from the house. So all kinds of ways in which you see how awareness is being used, and hijacked and influenced, as it's being used. When we do that in mindfulness meditation, sitting in meditation, welcome at all. Don't add judgment on top of judgments. But there's an art to welcoming it allowing it to be there, which is paradoxically a movement towards simplicity of recognition.

When we're not for or against things, then it can just be itself and there's a room for us to recognize it as It actually is. And then, as I've said, this kind of Sperry special time comes, when we start recognizing recognition itself. In and of itself, the recognition is this tool is this amazing capacity. And this ability to recognize or To be aware or to know, depending on how that attentional faculty is showing itself, in any given time, can become its own strong presence, its own strong kind of entity that are about and have the right languages that don't us feeling of strength, its own territory, it's, it feels like a guest house feels like it has a room for things. And it's okay for things to arise. And, you know, the idea of welcoming is too much, just allow them to be there. Why do this, it seems like maybe then you're just victims of the circumstances, things come and happen. Because when we can keep our attention, very simple. Just recognize, just recognize the thing that's happening, including just recognizing how we complicate recognition, how I have desires and aversions, we just keep doing the simple recognition, being the guest house allowing it to be there, then the best in us begins to come forth. That which needs to rest that which needs to relax, that's which has a chance to relax. It's not being fed, it's not being egged on or encouraged on. And as in, in this way, as the simplicity of recognition of awareness starts happening, then, it's almost like their space then, for us to hear ourselves, their space to know ourselves and deeper wave their space to start recognizing that there is goodness here, there is wholesomeness, here there is space begins be cracks in our, in our, in our, in our cracks in our maybe our hearts, so that we can see where there's kindness and love and care, generosity, goodness, that resides. The simplicity of recognition, the simplicity of awareness, is a key to recognizing our own inner beauty. Because we just welcome all the inner ugliness, it's okay to come, my guest house for all of you. And it's in the guest house in the space it makes in the allowing that there is this welcome this generosity, this goodness, that allows something to settle and relax. And I suspect you'll be surprised by how much goodness exists within you through this simple act of recognition. So all along in mindfulness practice, we're practicing recognition that the breath of the body of emotions of thoughts, and everything I've been teaching before still applies. But at some point, as we continue this practice, at some point, it's appropriate to start recognizing recognition itself. And recognizing that the way we are aware of breath, body, emotions and thoughts is not neutral, it's not welcomed. If there's an agenda, there's complications we bring to it. And so is turning around and being mindful of the mind mindfulness of awareness of attitude is begins to free awareness from all this extra baggage all this extra stuff that we add to it. And and goodness, has a chance to grow. So thank you, and may. You did for this day. May you practice being a guest house for all things that come along? And maybe look for you know, remind yourself look for particular, appropriate places where try being receptive and welcoming. Instead of they be the usual habits of mind of how to be Withings? Thank you very much.