Slip Sliding

It's fascinating to observe the mind during meditation, especially if one takes time to settle into meditation over the course of a few consecutive half-hour sittings.

I assume an alert, dignified physical & mental posture, simply observing. "Be still, be quiet, and pay attention." http://www.johnlovas.com/2016/12/opening-up-to-life.html

Awareness of sequential, transient phenomena arising & passing away in the present moment: bodily sensations, mental phenomena, ambient noises, etc perfectly seamlessly, fade into stories & images of pleasant distractions, plans, anxieties, etc. It's incredibly easy to find oneself slip sliding away!

However, one can intentionally choose a very different trajectory in life, by gently, patiently, returning to stillness, silence, attending to the endless procession of transient, present-moment phenomena arising & rapidly passing away, one after another.

The result of this practice of methodically returning to directly experiencing what is here & now cannot adequately be expressed verbally, as hard as that may be to accept. Only by directly experiencing this unique cumulative transformative mind-body process for ourself can we gain some conceptual understanding, but much more importantly, we gradually see ourself & life itself with increasing clarity and an increasing sense of freedom and peace.