Day 1 - Video 4

Pointing your mind inward, and then letting it go

Watch the video and then answer the questions below it.

Was it easy or hard to sit there for 15 minutes without doing anything?

• Easy: Skip to next question

• Hard: Which statement is more accurate

  • It was hard because I was impatient or it was difficult to sit there for 15 minutes.  Good Answer.  You did it right: There was no goal for anything specific to happen.  It was uncomfortable, but you dealt with it

  • It was hard because I wasn’t feeling anything on my head.  It’s easy to forget that there was no goal of feeling anything.  You are just letting your dog off the leash.

  • It was hard because my mind was all over the place but not on my head.  It’s easy to forget that there was no goal of staying on your head.  You are just letting your dog off the leash.  Your mind was wandering.  That’s OK.  Over time you’ll likely learn to be more OK with that happening.

Except for the first five seconds and the moments you tapped the balloon into the circle, were you controlling what your mind did, or was it just doing what it was doing?

• • Doing what it was doing.  Great

  • I was controlling it

    • Were you trying to control it, or could you not help controlling it even though you weren’t trying to control it

      • Trying to control it.  You don’t need to try to control what happens except for those brief moments where you bring your attention back to your head.  It may not feel interesting or productive.  That doesn’t matter.  This meditation is not about what happens during your meditation; it’s about how you react to what’s happening.  The goal is to accept what is happening as best you can.

      • Not trying, but I was controlling it anyway.  No problem, if you couldn’t help it, it wasn’t intentional; you’re doing fine.

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