Beyond mindfulness
Mindfulness can be the beginning of a far deeper, richer spiritual experience. By Jo De Rosa
Mindfulness is a great first step towards the ‘control ’of the mind, but is it the ultimate goal? Do we want to stop our journey with a mind ‘full ’ of the present moment, or are we willing to go beyond even this to experience enlightenment? As we learn to let go of thoughts and distractions, it is like focusing on clouds as they pass through the sky; and each sound that we hear, or repetition of breath, becomes our foundation. We ‘rest ’ upon what our senses are picking up, experiencing deeper and deeper peace and finding stability within our own minds.
As our practice develops from this balanced state, we begin to surrender to it even further. We realise that we are not the clouds that pass through the sky at all, we are in fact the sky itself. Our established mindfulness practice has led us to an openness which we could never have comprehended at the beginning of our journey.
Letting go of each sound, letting go of each breath; each one like a single wave in the ocean. With sustained practice and attention, we no longer label each wave as it crashes through our mind; we collapse the identification completely and become the ocean itself. Now the student rests as pure awareness itself - beyond mindfulness - in an expanded state of pure consciousness; suspended in the ocean of everything-ness.
At this point we are one. There is no separation. We see the wholeness of our experience and see how limited mindfulness can be. No longer do we need the constraint of this practice, as we soar to a new level of awareness, expansion and connection. Once touched, there is no going back; for you will never be satisfied with the dualism of subject/object again.
How far are you willing to go?
And are you ready to commit all in?
For that is what this will take; it is not for the faint hearted. Required is the desire to be free of obligation, responsibility, and the conditioning that has prevented us from knowing who we really are. There are many now walking this path: you are not alone if these words resonate, and I’d advise you to surround yourself with those that support your yearning for self-realisation and the expansiveness that is beyond anything that we’ve ever known before.
Jo De Rosa runs Inner Guidance Retreat Centre in Lavenham, Suffolk, an inspired and beautiful space which can be hired to hold your next retreat (innerguidance.co.uk)
Om Magazine
First published in November 2009, OM Yoga magazine has become the most popular yoga title in the UK. Available from all major supermarkets, independents and newsstands across the UK. Also available on all digital platforms.
