Note: the last podcast episode said it was number 995. But it was actually 994. And this episode is actually 995. OK, back to your regularly scheduled whatever it was you were doing before I interrupted you.

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Mindfulness is the cognitive skill, usually developed through meditation, of sustaining metacognitive awareness towards the contents of one’s own mind in the present moment.

I recommend practicing mindfulness and self-awareness… less.

Because the information you see about mindfulness and self-awareness, all over the place these days, really focuses on that one word: self.

And from what I’ve been able to determine, through a variety of articles, they lead away from God. Here’s an example of what I mean taken from the ultimate internet authority, wikipedia:

~ The term mindfulness derives from the Pali word sati, a significant element of Buddhist traditions, and is based on Ānāpānasati, Chan, and Tibetan meditation techniques. Though definitions and techniques of mindfulness are wide-ranging, Buddhist traditions describe what constitutes mindfulness, such as how perceptions of the past, present and future arise and cease as momentary sense-impressions and mental phenomena. ~

So, what does all that mean?

Two words. Mumbo TRUTH. OK, I’ll add one more word, Dumbo.

If your “perceptions of the past, present and future arise and cease as momentary sense-impressions” (aka feelings), your life ain’t got no foundation. And if you put any kind of trust in mental phenomena, you’re just liable to be tossed “to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine.”

Of course, none of that means you can’t or shouldn’t meditate.

Because meditation, that doesn’t focus on self, can be a very powerful mental and emotional tool.

I recommend that your meditation (or mindfulness) should focus on things that are:

• true,
• noble,
• just,
• pure,
• lovely, and
• of good report

Of course, you already know that, if you’ve been connected with me for even a little while. So this information and recommendation is for the uninitiated, the newbies, and anyone willing to trust truth over feelings and phenomena.

It’s not a rule you have to follow,
Not a law you must obey.
But when you’re feeling lost and hollow,
Focused thoughts connect The Way.

This all has even more meaning for me now. Because part of my occupational and physical therapy, for better stroke recovery, includes exercising my brain. It sounds like it would be the easy part, but when parts of your brain are zapped due to a blood clot, you might be surprised how quickly the old think tank can run out of gas.

So, I’m gonna take my own advice right now and trust the Truth to help me.

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