In this blog we look at several ways that you may be unknowingly diluting or diminishing the effectiveness of your mindfulness practice. This is certainly not limited to beginners, but these do tend to show up more in the early stages of our practice. It’s skillful to always consider yourself as a beginner because this can keep you open and teachable at every stage of your practice.
The mistakes I’ve identified are not as much a result of doing something wrong as it is a case of misunderstanding; typically it’s one of making unconscious assumptions about the nature of spiritual practice itself. Spiritual practice involves a very different set of premises than those we use in our everyday life. It’s easy to maintain these same assumptions when you engage your practice, and thus unknowingly limit the effectiveness of the practice.
#1 Misunderstanding the Intention of Spiritual Practice
Very often when I ask students about their practice they will respond by telling me about their daily sitting practice. Now, sitting is a very important element of your practice, but too often that’s as far as it goes. Yogis (students) will often seem pleased if they’ve been sitting often or apologetic if they’ve not been sitting regularly.
What’s revealed in this response is that they tend to see sitting as pretty much the entirety of their practice; not realizing that practice is about every aspect of your life--all day long, seven days a week. To attain deep states of awareness on your cushion and then live mindlessly the rest of your day is an incomplete practice. Any practice is better than none, but continuity of practice in everyday life is an extremely important aspect.
Although you may not experience the same precision and clarity that you have on the cushion, it’s still very important to be aware as continuously as possible throughout the day. This is particularly important in those life situations where you typically lapse into unconsciousness. A little bit of awareness can save a whole lot of suffering. Always remember that nothing is outside the realm of your practice.
#2 Chasing a Particular Experience.
To many people “meditation” means not thinking while sitting perfectly still and bathing in some blissful experience. To many people “meditation” is practiced in order to relax, to feel good, and to usually have a peaceful experience. Although this is not the specific intention of mindfulness practice, many yogi’s have this as a goal held in the back of their mind.
When I have a private session with a yogi at a retreat I will usually ask about their practice and how they would assess it. Typically, she will say “I had a good meditation this morning” or “this has been a good retreat so far.” When I inquire as to what she deems a “good or bad meditation” she will typically respond by telling me how it felt physically or emotionally. Generally, it boils down to: “good” means pleasant and “bad” means unpleasant. Or sometimes “good” means, “I have no thoughts,” while “bad” means, “I got lost” in my thinking. Even experienced yogis will find themselves chasing the pleasant feelings rather than simple being fully present to what is.
Our intention in mindfulness practice is to improve the quality of awareness irrespective of the specific content of awareness. A “good” meditation is when you are able to sustaining a clear and continuous awareness of each experience as it arises without grasping or resisting any particular experience. You can have a “good meditation” even though your experience is quite unpleasant. You can have a “bad meditation” even if it is blissful. Let any assessment rest on the quality of awareness, rather than the content.
In general, I believe it’s best to avoid assessing your practice at all, unless you are working with a teacher who may need that information to give you some guidance. Mindfulness practice consists of being fully present to each experience without wanting the experience to be anything other than what is.
In the next blog we will discuss three more mistakes common to beginners—beginners like you and me!