The Mind Illuminated: A Complete Meditation Guide Integrating Buddhist Wisdom and Brain Science for Greater Mindfulness

by Culadasa (John Yates)

The second part of cultivating introspective awareness involves checking in using introspective attention. Instead of waiting for introspective awareness to arise spontaneously, as you’ve done until now, you intentionally turn your attention inward to see what’s happening in the mind. Doing this check-in requires longer periods of stable attention. That’s why following and connecting are so important at this Stage. These techniques give you more stable attention, making it easier to momentarily shift attention and see what’s happening in the mind. Instead of waiting for introspective awareness to arise spontaneously, check in periodically using introspective attention. Yes, checking in disrupts your focus on the breath, but when you pause to reflect on everything happening in your mind, attention needs to shift. At this Stage, this is not only completely okay, it’s actually the key to cultivating introspective awareness. What you’re really doing is training and strengthening introspective awareness by using attention, making awareness of the mind’s activity a habit.