day 4 of zen retreat - assignment

being mindful - mindfulness means being present with a clear mind and an open heart (revisiting and extending day 1 - mindfulness.

it means being present in the larger world, accessible and able to help others. the opposite would seem to be - being insulated in your own little universe. the term "soft full attention" is repeated, emphasizing the difference between attention and concentration - guess which one I'm good at and which one needs a lot of work.

the assignment: be mindful : pick a simple task and perform it with utmost attention and notice what it feels like. use thumb-to-finger to reset if you wander from attentiveness.

we'll see how today goes - both the meditation and the mindfulness exercise.

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