the transition from skill development to transforming the way the mind works actually began in Stage Six with pacifying the mind. Continuously applying the skill of ignoring mental objects caused a shift in functioning of the mind-system that kept the problem from arising in the first place. The discriminating mind stopped projecting mental objects into consciousness as potential distractions. Metacognitive awareness and the acquired appearance of the meditation object are other examples of shifts in mental functioning that resulted from simply continuing to exercise certain skills.
