‘But
how can I be constantly aware?’ a student said to me the other day. ‘Surely
that’s impossible---not to mention very tiring!’
He’s
right, you know. Yet so many books on mindfulness and meditation generally talk
about the need to be constantly aware. For example, Krishnamurti wrote, 'True meditation is constant
awareness, constant pliability, and clear discernment.' But how is that possible?
Well, it’s not. It’s just a manner of speaking, so to speak. We must look
beyond the words, as Krishnamurti would also say. ‘The word is not the thing,’ he
often said. Good advice, that.
The
fifth international president of the Theosophical Society, of which I am a member,
was a very spiritual and enlightened man---N Sri Ram [pictured left]. He wrote
much that I have found to be both inspiring and very practical. In one of his writings Sri
Ram addressed the very matter I’m talking about now, namely, this idea of 'constant awareness.' He wrote:
At the
same time it is not possible to be turning the attention to what passes in our
minds all the hours of the waking day. We would find it too fatiguing, the
attention would wander, just as when we try to meditate on a particular theme.
To be constantly aware is a manner of speaking. When you try to meditate or contemplate something, you will find that the
mind wanders off within a minute or two, and exactly the same thing happens
when you try to pay attention to your thinking. This difficulty was put to
Krishnamurti, and in one of his talks he replied, ‘play with it,’ that is, take
it easy. He also lays stress on non-effort, that means it has to be done easily
and pleasantly. …
Sri
Ram goes on to refer to so-called constant awareness as simply the immediate
perception of something taking place. ‘We have to become so sensitive that as
soon as something takes place, whether outside or inside ourselves, we
immediately perceive it, like a well-trained musician who becomes conscious of
a false note as soon as it is struck. … This requires a certain sensitivity, without
which one will not be aware.’
I
have often written about the need for non-effort. ‘Resist not’ is the great wisdom of
the ages. When we resist (something), there is an immediate loss of immediate perception. Straightaway we embark upon translation, interpretation, analysis, judgment,
and condemnation. Meditation, wrote Sri Ram, requires a mind '
The
essence of mindfulness is the immediate perception of what is, from one moment
to the next. The content of that which is perceived may be outside or inside
ourselves. It will always be an uneven mixture of both. So be it. Such is the
flow of life. Stay with it. Be with it … and live. Mindfully.
RELATED POSTS
MINDFULNESS AS BARE ATTENTION
MINDFULESS AS SOFT FOCUS AWARENESS
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MINDFULNESS AS BARE ATTENTION
MINDFULESS AS SOFT FOCUS AWARENESS
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