October 22, 2024 Meeting:

Listen to Ryan’s unmindful fishing trip followed by reading a quote from Bhante G (quote at the bottom of this page – sorry about the dog barking at the very end).

Listen to a guided meditation. There are some instructions for the first 3:28 and the actual guided meditation starts at 3:29. Note that the audio starts towards the end of me showing how I sit on a cushion on the floor.

You can’t develop mindfulness by force. Active teeth-gritting will-power won’t do you any good at all. As a matter of fact, it will hinder your progress. Mindfulness cannot be cultivated by struggle. It grows by realizing, by letting go, by just settling down in the moment and letting yourself get comfortable with whatever you are experiencing. This does not mean that mindfulness happens all by itself. Far from it. Energy is required. Effort is required. But this effort is different from force. Mindfulness is cultivated by gentle effort. You cultivate mindfulness by constantly reminding yourself in a gentle way to maintain your awareness of whatever is happening right now. Persistence and a light touch are the secrets. Mindfulness is cultivated by constantly pulling yourself back to a state of awareness, gently, gently, gently.

Bhante Gunaratana, Mindfulness in Plain English, pg 146