Curiosity
It helps to do this work from an orientation of curiosity, to whatever extent is possible. The analogy I like to use most is ‘anthropology’. If you were a grad student doing your doctoral thesis on the workings of the mind of you, what could you notice that you haven’t noticed so far, about the patterns, habits, and movements of that mind? The anthropologist doesn’t evaluate or change; he/she just reports, so that we may get to know the subject better in its natural habitat.
If you have a tendency to want to fix or judge what you see, that’s okay – simply notice that too. If noticing the judging or fixing makes you feel, “D’oh!!” then just notice that as well.
See if you can come at the whole thing with a curious mind – the genuine desire to see what takes place in the layers of our mind, feelings and actions.
If you use this suggestion as a way to beat yourself up for being attached instead of curious – that is just something else to notice…
“What matters profoundly is that a human being discover directly, clearly, the enormous depth and weight of psychological conditioning that shapes and controls every move of the mind and body, keeping it divided and in conflict with itself, with other people, and with the natural environment…to discover this conditioning, to become aware of it from moment to moment – as it functions automatically, habitually, mechanically…”
Toni Packer
