Mindfully funded by the European Union

Week 3

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This week you're going to learn about the way of tranquility, the "Focus on Rest" family (see rest, hear rest, feel rest, and all rest). 

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Focus on Rest

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Noticing restful states has three main benefits: 

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• ​It improves your mindful awareness

  • it increases your ability to be fulfilled independent of circumstances

  • it increases your equanimity

  • it enhances your clarity when “nothing much is happening”

  • it strengthens your concentration

• It gives you something fun to do anytime during the day

• It helps you to stay deep while you keep track during a soothing process. 

  

1. See Rest: You can do this technique with eyes opened (intentionally defocusing your gaze) but it’s better with your eyes closed. Focus on the darkness that you see and/or the absence of mental images. Use the label “See Rest” if you need to anchor yourself.

 

Use the track below as a chronometer (no guidance). 

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2. Hear Rest: Focus continuously on mental quiet and/or physical silence. If there are sounds in the environment, find one of the six directions (front, back, right, left, above, below) where silence is available. If distracted, use the label “Hear Rest”. 

 

Use the track below as a chronometer (no guidance). 

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3. Feel Rest: Focus on physical and/or emotional restful states in the body, using “Feel Rest” as label if required.

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4. All Rest: Let your attention broadly float between see rest, hear rest, and feel rest. If two or all three of these are active at the same moment, just choose one to note. Use the label “All Rest” if your mind wanders. 

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Homework

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The formal and informal practices for this week are described below:

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Formal practice in stillness: Focus on rest for at least 20 minutes per day. 

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Formal practice in motion: Do walking meditation while paying attention to feel rest. Find and notice rest in your body as you walk mindfully. If your mind wanders, gently return your attention to rest. Do this for at least 10 minutes per day.

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Informal practice: Do several restful micro-hits during the day. Close your eyes, relax your body, and notice as much rest as possible. Ideally, you may notice see rest (neither sights nor mental images), hear rest (neither noises nor mental talk) and feel rest (neither emotions nor physical tension).  

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If you want the Certificate of Completion, please complete this Practice Log and send it to us with the subject line "UM week 3".

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I hope you enjoyed this week's lesson. It's time now to start week 4. 

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