When we slow down and observe our mind, we find that our mind is always pulling us in different directions. Future, past, happy, sad. “I like this, I don’t like that.” It’s like a pendulum that’s always swinging back and forth.
The pendulum is always swinging, but there is a point that is not moving. There is a point that is always still.
If we find the center, the point of stillness, we can watch the movement and swinging without getting pulled by them.
How does the mind move? How does the mind swing?
How do we find our center, the not-moving point inside, so we can observe everything, all the mind movement, with equanimity?
We often say, “I need to still my mind.” But we don’t actually have to still our mind. There is already a point in our mind that is always still, like the center of a pendulum. We just have to find that point and keep returning there.
In mindfulness meditation, we practice nonjudgmental awareness. Why do we do that? Because nonjudgmental awareness IS that not-moving point.
When we completely let go of our thinking, judgment, fantasies, and return to the breath, in that moment we are practicing nonjudgmental awareness. In that moment, we have returned to the not-moving point in our mind. We have returned to our center.
Our practice is to continue to return to that point, from moment to moment to moment.
Mindfulness FAQ 