Mindfully funded by the European Union

Week 5

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Last week we learnt how to practice with active experiences that do not change abruptly (i.e., flow). This week we'll learn about experiences that vanish abruptly. 

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Focus on Gone

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It’s easier to be aware of the moment when a sensory event starts than to be aware of the moment when it vanishes. This asymmetry may create an unbalanced view of the nature of sensory experience.

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We can successfully address this concern with the “Gone” techniques (see gone, hear gone, feel gone, all gone, see hear feel). The basic instructions are:

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Whenever all or part of a sensory experience suddenly disappears note that (i.e., clearly acknowledge when you detect the transition point between all of it being present and at least some of it no longer being present).

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1. See Gone: Notice visual gone (e.g., a mental image disappears, a blink).

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2. Hear Gone: Notice auditory gone (e.g., the end of a thought, the end of a sound, the end of silence).

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3. Feel Gone: Notice physical gone (e.g., an emotion ends, the inbreath ends, outbreath ends). 

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4. All Gone: Let your attention broadly float between see gone, hear gone, and feel gone.

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5. See, Hear, Feel: Let your attention broadly float between inner, outer, active, or restful states. If the object is visual note “See”. If the object is auditory note “Hear”. If the Object is physical note “Feel”.  

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Homework

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Here is the homework for week 5. 

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Formal practice in stillness: Your main practice this week is see, hear, feel. Try it for at least 20 minutes per day during 4 days. The rest of the week you can either practice see, hear, feel or the other four options (see gone, hear gone, feel gone, all gone). 

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Formal practice in motion: Do walking meditation while paying attention to gone. Every time your foot stops making contact with the ground notice "gone". Do this for at least 10 minutes per day.

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Informal practice: Choose between several micro-hits and background practice.   

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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 5".

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This week is gone! Time to begin our new lesson in week 6.