🔼: [[🧘 Mindfulness Meditation]], [[Process Work]], [[Open Awareness]] # 🧘 Vipassana (Insight) Mediation Vipassana is a [[🧘 Mindfulness Meditation]] practice more advanced than [[🧘 Samatha Meditation|🧘 Shamatha]] in that it is a [[💡 Focus & Concentration|Concentration]] practice with a much more dynamic [[💡 Meditation Anchor|meditation anchor]]: the whole of our in-the-moment experience. We simply remain open and notice with [[☀️ Equanimity]], without judging anything, [[💡 Blending|identifying with anything]], clinging, or pushing away, without thinking about, interpreting, or elaborating on any of it. Vipassana is often compared to watching clouds float across the sky, watching cars drive past on a road, or watching logs float down a river while we sit nearby. While [[🧘 Samatha Meditation]] requires us to focus and re-focus on a single point, Vipassana requires a bit of a softer, more flexible kind of [[💡 Focus & Concentration|Concentration]] as we are open to an entire field of experience rather than having a singular fixation. It's like the difference between the focus of a spotlight and the open inclusivity of candlelight. In Vipassana, we know we’re distracted when we find ourselves focused on any one facet of our experience at the exclusion of others. Moving from [[🧘 Samatha Meditation]] to Vipassana can be a bit tricky and we may find ourselves more easily distracted for a time. The key is noting the difference between being *distracted by* experiences and *including* more of it in our awareness. We can start with [[🧘 Samatha Meditation]], focusing on the [[🛠️ Lower Belly Center]] or another [[💡 Meditation Anchor|meditation anchor]], and as we focus there we may notice one of two things: 1. We are pulled away from our anchor by [[💡 Parts|Parts]], in which case we [[💡 Focus & Concentration#Addressing Parts During Concentration Practices|address those as they arise]]. 2. We become aware of sensory experiences (inner or outer sights, sounds, sensations, smells, tastes, thoughts) *without* being pulled away from our anchor. This is the beginning of Vipassana. We're able to be with [[💡 Parts|Parts]] and [[Process Work|Process]] from an [[🕯️ Unblending|unblended]] place. It can be fun to recognize that as we observe our thoughts we're listening to [[💡 Parts|Parts]] talk to each other and to us. That awareness alone can be life-changing with time. With practice we start to notice when we’re [[💡 Blending|blended]] with relative ease. Beginners often have a [[💡 Parts|Part]] who gets frustrated when they notice they’ve been lost in thought for large chunks of time, but that’s another opportunity to unblend — notice this frustrated [[💡 Parts|Part]] and [[🔑 All Parts are welcome exactly as they are|🔑 welcome them exactly as they are]]. Eventually we can practice with our eyes open to include even more of our experience in the practice. > [!NOTE] > Vipassana mirrors non-traditional [[⭐️ Parts Work]], what I call the "inclusive" approach. Rather than having a [[💡 Focal Part|Focal Part]] and asking other parts to give space so we can continue the conversation, continuously make space for and invite those parts into the conversation with the trust that every [[💡 Parts|Part]] that arises has a good reason, even a rightness to being here. In Vipassana, this is true for *all* internal experience, whether they're parts or not. ###### The Practice ![[Before trying mindfulness]] 1. Take a [[💡 Meditation Posture|Mediation Posture]]. 2. Begin with [[🧘 Samatha Meditation]] to resource concentration. 3. When we feel somewhat concentrated, we open our awareness to the flow of experience and allow everything to come and go without grasping onto anything or pushing anything away, without judgment, without elaboration or interpretation. We notice our natural breath and be mindful of each inhale and exhale. We notice our thoughts, feelings, and [[⭐️ Body|⭐️ Body]] sensations without reacting to or judging them. If we notice [[🛡️ Criticizing]], that’s okay. 4. When we realize we’ve been lost in thought or distracted, we just observe the thoughts without clinging to them or pushing them away. Thoughts will arise, and that's no problem. Kindly welcome them in, allowing them to freely come and go. 5. If we start to notice ourselves getting scrambled or emotionally [[💡 Overwhelm|overwhelmed]], we can move back to [[🧘 Samatha Meditation]] until we’re [[💡 Focus & Concentration|concentrated]] again. This is a form of [[🕯️ Pendulation]], and with practice we become better able to [[🦮 How to feel your feelings|🦮 metabolize emotions]] and be with whatever is arising in the present moment. 6. Finishing the practice with 5+ minutes of a [[🧘 Body Scan]] can help cultivate our [[Proprioception]]. > [!note] Alternatives > - [[🧘 See, Hear, Feel In]] > - [[🧘 See, Hear, Feel Flow]] > - [[🧘 Do Nothing]] [[Open Awareness]] Awake Awareness Shikanataza Silent Illumination Just Sitting Concentration without an object [[🧘 Yoga Nidra]] [[🧘 Sitting in the Middle of Everything]] [[🕯️ Being With|🕯️ Storm-Sitting]] [^1]: