Four Applications Of Mindfulness Retreat 2013 with B. Alan Wallace (part 39)

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0:38 Let's begin as always by settling the body, speech and mind in the natural state and then continuing the practice and I would suggest with mindfulness of breathing with a strong emphasis on relaxation, really deeply letting go, unwinding both in the body and in the mind. So we'll do this for roughly the first half of the session and then I'll give further guidance for the latter half. Report an error in the passage at 0:38 Highlight the passage at 0:38

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12:42 Now let's shift to focusing the attention on the space of the mind and its contents. Report an error in the passage at 12:42 Highlight the passage at 12:42

12:52 First of all, focusing briefly on the thoughts, the images that appear objectively in the space of the mind, Report an error in the passage at 12:52 Highlight the passage at 12:52

13:15 deliberately generate a thought or an image, if this is helpful. And Report an error in the passage at 13:15 Highlight the passage at 13:15

13:38 now if we consider that the thoughts and images are like players who appear on a stage, coming and going, let's shift the focus of attention now from the foreground to the events arising in the space of the mind, from these events to the background, to the space of the mind itself, Report an error in the passage at 13:38 Highlight the passage at 13:38

14:01 Which is most evident between thoughts, during the intervals, between the appearance of distinct mental activities. Report an error in the passage at 14:01 Highlight the passage at 14:01

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14:45 Sustain the flow of cognizance, of knowing. In other words, this is not simply slipping into a state of being blank-minded, or having mere absence of thoughts, but rather attend closely to that space that manifests most distinctly during the intervals between thoughts, and see whether it is a mere nothing, whether it has no attributes at all, Report an error in the passage at 14:45 Highlight the passage at 14:45

15:09 or whether it is a something. Report an error in the passage at 15:09 Highlight the passage at 15:09

15:13 A mental vacuum, is it flat or is it three-dimensional? Report an error in the passage at 15:13 Highlight the passage at 15:13

15:30 Does it have a color or a sheer absence of color? Report an error in the passage at 15:30 Highlight the passage at 15:30

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16:11 The space of the mind, when you can't detect any thoughts or images, is it absolutely empty or is there any kind of background content? Is Report an error in the passage at 16:11 Highlight the passage at 16:11

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17:03 the space of the mind located someplace? Is it in front of you or above you or inside your body or outside the body? Does it have any location? Does Report an error in the passage at 17:03 Highlight the passage at 17:03

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18:02 it have a shape or size? Report an error in the passage at 18:02 Highlight the passage at 18:02

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18:59 And does the space of the mind have a center or a periphery? Report an error in the passage at 18:59 Highlight the passage at 18:59

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19:46 Observe both the space of the mind as well as all the events arising from it, such as discursive thoughts and images that emerge from that space are present in that space and eventually dissolve back into that space. Report an error in the passage at 19:46 Highlight the passage at 19:46

20:13 Observe the stillness of the space of the mind, Report an error in the passage at 20:13 Highlight the passage at 20:13

20:19 movements of the events occurring within that space. Distinguish between the stillness and the motion. Report an error in the passage at 20:19 Highlight the passage at 20:19