Inquiry is specific. You take a thought in the form of a statement and break it down into every little bit of meaning it might have. You look at every little part and ask yourself if it’s true. When you’re done, there’s nothing left. It’s reduced to ashes. Mindfulness is witnessing thoughts, feelings, and sensations nonjudgmentally. This could be formal, as in sitting, or informal, as you go about your day. These are both the same process viewed from different angles. It’s really about awareness ― becoming aware of what’s going on inside of you.
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Persistence & consistency. If I had the key to allowing THAT to be more natural, maybe the process would be easier. It brings up a fear of “doing it wrong” or “not following-through”… probably masking a deeper fear of “oh no! what if it works?!”
And I guess the question becomes… what does consistency & persistence look like? Perhaps it’s a defense mechanism to see it as failure to put off inquiry, not do it intentionally daily, when allowing that to ebb and flow and watch if my mind creates expectations or judgments around the time frame IS consistent & persistent action.
Or is that a cop-out?
August 21st, 2010 permalinkJust watch
That is inquiry and mindfulness… Love you, BTW. It is fun to read synchronicity with you along the way…
August 25th, 2010 permalinkI can really relate to what Rebecca said about the deeper fear of inquiry – oh no! what if it works?!
September 14th, 2010 permalinkIndeed!
September 14th, 2010 permalinkRebecca,
You have to feel into your practice and let it tell you whether you’re doing too much or too little. It’s a kind of intuitive listening that becomes clearer with … uh, practice.
So, basically, if you are wondering whether you’re doing it enough, you’re probably not doing it enough.
September 17th, 2010 permalink