Three Stages of Mindfulness
At the beginning of cultivating mindfulness there is deliberate or effortful mindfulness. There is friction in this stage, and typically requires great effort to stick with, especially given our culture's tendency towards busyness of mind and body. Because of this, sitting still and settling the movement of mind can be quite difficult as we initially embark on this journey.
With practice and devotion to the practice, however, this initial level matures into effortless mindfulness.
Effortless mindfulness has both an inner and outer component. On the outer level, mindfulness simply becomes easier and eventually effortless. Instead of the friction of initially carving out the groove required to maintain practice, the groove has begun to form, and the gravity of our practice pulls us in, our attention naturally flowing in a mindful direction.
On the inner level, we are beginning to open up to an awareness of the true nature of mind.
With ongoing, intentional, and regular practice, effortless mindfulness flowers into spontaneous mindfulness. On the outer level, you are able to bring mindfulness to everything that you do, beyond the meditation cushion and into your everyday activities and responsibilities. The most mundane activities like waiting in line at a grocery store (where the busy lives of wildly different humans scurry around underneath fluorescent lights amidst a bounty of commodities) become opportunities for mindfulness, and blossom into the wonders of experience they are.
On the inner level, you are never distracted from the true nature of your mind and self. And what could this possibly be like?
These three stages of mindfulness also have an encouraging practical application for meditation in general. When we first start to practice mindfulness, it takes effort. We're starting to turn against the enormous tide of mindless ness. If we just go along with the usual stream of mindlessness, which most people unwittingly do, we don't feel its enormous pull. We're going with the flow. But the minute we sit down and begin to practice mindfulness meditation, the torrent of mindlessness is finally felt. We start to twitch and eventually go stir crazy as we wrestle with the force of a lifetime of distraction.
– Andrew Holecek 1
If we begin our practice with this in mind, it may actually be easier to begin, because you are able to acknowledge that most of the difficulty in meditation comes at the beginning.
Related:
References:
1: Andrew Holecek and Stephen LaBerge, Dream Yoga: Illuminating Your Life through Lucid Dreaming and the Tibetan Yogas of Sleep (Boulder, Colorado: Sounds True, 2016), 78-89.
No spam, no sharing to third party. Only you and me.
Member discussion