Spiritual Practice #4: Being Synchronised

Synchronizing body and mind, or heart and mind, is an ancient Buddhist practice, and undoubtably practiced by many other spiritual traditions as well. It is simply about paying attention to what is happening now. As I am typing I am paying attetnion to typing, as I wash the dishes I am paying attention to washing the dishes. Or as I am experiencing fear, I am paying attetnion to the sensations, thoughts, memories and so on that accompany the fear. Or as I am experiencing Love, I am paying attetnion to the sensations, thoughts, memories that accompany the Love.

The common yogic practice of paying attention to the breath is also about synchronizing attention and experience. It brings one into the present moment where fear cannot enter. Fear or its derivaties, like worry or anxiety, depend on imagining the past or the future, either with regret or negative anticipation. Being present to sensation, whether it is to the breath or of pain or pleasure short circuits the mind’s story.

It is only in the present moment that awareness of your inate equanimity is possible.

So, take a moment and ...

• be aware to the sesnations of hearing
• be aware of the sensations of seeing
• be aware of the sensations of touch, such as pressure
• be aware of the sensations of touch such as temperature
• be aware of the sensations fo touch such as movement
• be aware of the senstations of the the breath
• be aware of the sensations of taste

Eventually we can pay attention to the experience of being aware; that’s when things really change!

Philip