Sometimes I think of the mind as being like a cat. Just as a cat naturally likes to wander off, the mind also tends to drift. But just as a cat eventually comes back home, the mind also returns to a state of mindfulness.
In a few days, I’ll be starting an online meditation course that focuses on a practice called “Just Sitting.” This is a bit different from other meditation techniques, such as mindful breathing or practicing kindness and compassion. With Just Sitting, there’s no specific goal. We’re not even trying to be mindful on purpose.
This might make you think that this type of meditation is pointless. If you’ve meditated before, you know how much the mind wanders and how much effort it can take to bring your focus back, whether it’s to your breath or to a person you’re cultivating kindness for. You might wonder if not making an effort to be mindful means you’ll just sit there, distracted, and waste your time.
But that’s not the case at all! Like any form of meditation, there will be moments when your mind wanders while Just Sitting. However, the interesting part is that the mind always finds its way back.
You’ve probably noticed that even when your goal is to stay mindful of your breathing, your mind gets distracted without you choosing to let it wander. This unmindfulness just happens automatically. You don’t have to decide for it to occur.
Have you noticed that your mind also brings itself back to awareness? For every moment of distraction, there’s a moment of mindfulness. This happens naturally. Mindfulness comes back on its own. One moment you’re daydreaming, and the next you find yourself aware that the daydream has ended, and you return to your original focus. Your mind does this all by itself.
Often, when our mind returns to mindfulness, we feel frustrated because it wandered, or we feel like we need to refocus and try harder. But these reactions aren’t very helpful.
Imagine if your cat came home after being out and you yelled at it or tried to make it stay in one spot—it would probably run off again. But if you welcomed your cat warmly and gave it time to settle, it would find a place to sit and be peaceful. Similarly, if you welcome your mind back warmly when it finds its way home on its own, with no effort from you, you might find a sense of gratitude and happiness. Perhaps your mind, like the cat, would settle more quickly.
At first, we might see welcoming the mind home as something we do in meditation. But over time, we might realize that this warmth and appreciation also arise naturally. Just as our attention comes back on its own, so do warmth and appreciation to welcome it. We find that meditation isn’t as much about effort. It’s more like meditation is happening by itself. The mind comes home and is at peace.
Your desires to escape suffering are completely natural. That’s often what sets us on a spiritual path to begin with. We need to understand what within us causes suffering and what brings peace. This is a lifelong journey, but it starts with learning to sit with ourselves gently, kindly, and persistently.
All the best,
Bodhipaksa