Compassionate Presence Mindful Community Weekly Topic

Dear friends on the Path,

There are many deterrents to maintaining your mindfulness. It is truly an ongoing battle. Fortunately, you have quite a few handy tools available to you to weaken those deterrents. One important tool is the Five Mindfulness Trainings. Such a compact, comprehensive, and available (see the attached 2 page version) tool, too. 

This week it is suggested that you look closely at the Trainings, the deterrents (The Five Hindrances) that obstruct concentration and prevent clear insight during meditation and daily life, and the suggested ways to counter those deterrents. See the Hindrances and ways to counter them below.

Always looking for new Mindfulness tools,

David

notice notes:

As always, our wish is for you to find a refuge where you may safely meditate on the teachings suggested above. Keep in mind you may share your thoughts, comments, questions, concerns, or suggestions regarding the benefits and difficulties of implementing those teachings into your daily lives by responding to this email, or texting/phoning (971) 218-6641. Your communications in response to the practice suggestions made above or your practice in general are very important. Since we aren't gathering together, your responses make meaningful dialog and real understanding of the teachings more attainable.

It is only with an open mind, an open heart, and expression of your thoughts and concerns that true happiness and harmony may be achieved and maintained in your life. Your continued curiosity about and enthusiasm for the Practice is of utmost importance.

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The Five Mindfulness Trainings

Reverence For Life

Aware of the suffering caused by the destruction of life, I am committed to cultivating the insight of interbeing and compassion and learning ways to protect the lives of people, animals, plants, and minerals. I am determined not to kill, not to let others kill, and not to support any act of killing in the world, in my thinking, or in my way of life. Seeing that harmful actions arise from anger, fear, greed, and intolerance, which in turn come from dualistic and discriminative thinking, I will cultivate openness, non-discrimination, and non-attachment to views in order to transform violence, fanaticism, and dogmatism in myself and in the world.

True Happiness

Aware of the suffering caused by exploitation, social injustice, stealing, and oppression, I am committed to practicing generosity in my thinking, speaking, and acting. I am determined not to steal and not to possess anything that should belong to others; and I will share my time, energy, and material resources with those who are in need. I will practice looking deeply to see that the happiness and suffering of others are not separate from my own happiness and suffering; that true happiness is not possible without understanding and compassion; and that running after wealth, fame, power and sensual pleasures can bring much suffering and despair. I am aware that happiness depends on my mental attitude and not on external conditions, and that I can live happily in the present moment simply by remembering that I already have more than enough conditions to be happy. I am committed to practicing Right Livelihood so that I can help reduce the suffering of living beings on Earth and stop contributing to climate change.

True Love

Aware of the suffering caused by sexual misconduct, I am committed to cultivating responsibility and learning ways to protect the safety and integrity of individuals, couples, families, and society. Knowing that sexual desire is not love, and that sexual activity motivated by craving always harms myself as well as others, I am determined not to engage in sexual relations without mutual consent, true love, and a deep, long-term commitment. I resolve to find spiritual support for the integrity of my relationship from family members, friends, and sangha with whom there is support and trust. I will do everything in my power to protect children from sexual abuse and to prevent couples and families from being broken by sexual misconduct. Seeing that body and mind are interrelated, I am committed to learn appropriate ways to take care of my sexual energy and to cultivate the four basic elements of true love – loving kindness, compassion, joy, and inclusiveness – for the greater happiness of myself and others. Recognizing the diversity of human experience, I am committed not to discriminate against any form of gender identity or sexual orientation. Practicing true love, we know that we will continue beautifully into the future.

Loving Speech and Deep Listening

Aware of the suffering caused by unmindful speech and the inability to listen to others, I am committed to cultivating loving speech and compassionate listening in order to relieve suffering and to promote reconciliation and peace in myself and among other people, ethnic and religious groups, and nations. Knowing that words can create happiness or suffering, I am committed to speaking truthfully using words that inspire confidence, joy, and hope. When anger is manifesting in me, I am determined not to speak. I will practice mindful breathing and walking in order to recognize and to look deeply into my anger. I know that the roots of anger can be found in my wrong perceptions and lack of understanding of the suffering in myself and in the other person. I will speak and listen in a way that can help myself and the other person to transform suffering and see the way out of difficult situations. I am determined not to spread news that I do not know to be certain and not to utter words that can cause division or discord. I will practice Right Diligence to nourish my capacity for understanding, love, joy, and inclusiveness, and gradually transform anger, violence, and fear that lie deep in my consciousness.

Nourishment and Healing

Aware of the suffering caused by unmindful consumption, I am committed to cultivating good health, both physical and mental, for myself, my family, and my society by practicing mindful eating, drinking, and consuming. I will practice looking deeply into how I consume the Four Kinds of Nutriments, namely edible foods, sense impressions, volition, and consciousness. I am determined not to gamble, or to use alcohol, drugs, or any other products which contain toxins, such as certain websites, electronic games, TV programs, films, magazines, books, and conversations. I will practice coming back to the present moment to be in touch with the refreshing, healing and nourishing elements in me and around me, not letting regrets and sorrow drag me back into the past nor letting anxieties, fear, or craving pull me out of the present moment. I am determined not to try to cover up loneliness, anxiety, or other suffering by losing myself in consumption. I will contemplate interbeing and consume in a way that preserves peace, joy, and well-being in my body and consciousness, and in the collective body and consciousness of my family, my society and the Earth.

The five hindrances are mental obstacles to meditation and clear thinking: 

sensual desire, ill will, sloth-torpor, restlessness-worry, and doubt. They are overcome by cultivating opposing mental states: one-pointedness (for desire), loving-kindness (for ill will), energy (for sloth), calm (for restlessness), and sustained investigation (for doubt). 

Here is a breakdown of the five hindrances and their specific antidotes:

• 1. Sensual Desire (Kāmacchanda): Craving pleasure through the senses.
  • Antidote: Meditate on the impermanence of beauty       or desire; practice mindfulness of the body; focus on the repulsiveness       of the object of desire.
• 2. Ill Will (Vyāpāda): Feelings      of anger, resentment, or aversion
  • Antidote: Cultivate metta (loving-kindness)       and compassion; focus on kindness to oneself and others.
• 3. Sloth and Torpor (Thīna-middha): Laziness, dullness, and lack of energy.
  • Antidote: Arouse energy through physical movement       (walking meditation), changing postures, or reflecting on       death/impermanence.
• 4. Restlessness and Worry      (Uddhacca-kukkucca): An      agitated mind and anxiety.
  • Antidote: Calm the mind through concentration;       focus on the breath; develop contentment and acceptance.
• 5. Doubt (Vicikicchā): Skepticism about the practice or one's      ability.
  • Antidote: Study the teachings (Dhamma); gain       direct experience through practice; seek guidance from a teacher. 

These hindrances are compared to, respectively: water mixed with dye, boiling water, water covered by weeds, agitated water, and muddy water.

Sharon Salzberg The Five Hindrances Overview

I wanted to talk about the five hindrances, because they’re such common experiences we all have while meditating, simply because they’re common experiences we all have while living, and just as meditation mirrors our actual lives, so too we find these same mental qualities coming up. 

These five states, which are desire or attachment, aversion, which is anger or fear, sleepiness, restlessness and doubt, come up so often. Their arising is not the problem. Our normal relationship to them is much more the problem, so that when we get overwhelmed by these states, when we get consumed by them or defined by them, that's where they become hindrances. 

I start very often, actually, by thinking of what I call these two visionary statements of the Buddha. The first was when he said that in your mind, in my mind, the mind is naturally radiant and pure. The mind is shining. It's because of visiting forces that we suffer. The Buddha’s first statement is meant to bring to our attention that these forces are just visiting is actually a revolutionary statement.

That's saying that this quality of greed or grasping, anger or fear, aren’t who we actually are. They arise out of conditions, they come and go, they're visiting, and so they're not inherent to our being.

They're adventurous.

I liked that example from the first time I heard it, because I could just imagine myself sitting happily at home, minding my own business and then hearing a knock at the door. I get up, go answer the door and there's greed or doubt or sleepiness, and I say welcome home, it's all yours. It's like I forget who actually lives there. Or we often have the opposite tendency of being so ashamed upset, freaked out that when we open the door and see one of these forces, we desperately try to close the door, pretend that the knock never came. We pretend we didn't hear it, only to find that very visitor coming in the window or coming down the chimney somehow making its appearance despite our efforts to stop the visitor from coming in. And so one of the great skills of meditation practice is to modify what do we do when we hear that knock and open the door and see one of those forces? Can we greet that force with understanding, with intelligence, remembering who actually lives here, remembering that this is just a visitor? Can we greet that force with wisdom, balance, mindfulness and compassion? Our work is to make it clear to the visitor that you are not inviting it into your house (consciousness) with the intent of having it live there. The other part of that statement, the mind is naturally radiant and pure. The mind is shining. It's because of visiting forces that we suffer. The other part of that statement, that's very important, has to do with the word “suffer”.

All right.

The Buddha, in effect, is not saying that our greed, fear, jealousy, sleepiness, and restlessness, all of those states, are bad or wrong or terrible or awful, or that they make us bad and wrong and terrible and awful people. He's saying that when we are experiencing them we suffer, and that's a completely different way of relating to these very difficult energies when they come. With that understanding we're not so tempted to condemn or berate ourselves. We're not so tempted to be angry at ourselves, but rather to deepen the force of compassion toward ourselves in that very state. So that's why our work, first and foremost, is about shifting the relationship to everything that arises, to greet these visitors, as well as all other visitors, with as much awareness and compassion as possible. So the first effort that we make, no matter what arises, including these five visitors, is to be mindful. What does that mean? It means to try to recognize what are experiences in the moment pretty quickly, rather than being cut-off detached in the negative sense of the word, distanced from our experience. We want to be in touch, we want to be aware, we want to know what we're feeling as it's beginning to arise, not 15 consequential actions later, not after we've gotten up from our sitting in disgust, not after we've gone to the computer and typed out the email and pressed send, but as the irritation as the annoyance, as the anger as an example begins to come. So my influence first of all means to be aware, to be in touch with what's arising in the moment. It also implies a certain balanced relationship to what's coming up. If we tend to be completely sucked into this, in fact temporary emotional state, only to be followed by a different emotional state. We're constantly uncentred. We're just overcome all of the time. We're overwhelmed by changing states and there's not enough space. There's not enough perspective to understand them more deeply. The other extreme reaction we tend to have is to do battle with these states, to hate them, to fear them, to be ashamed of them, to try to push them away, try to make them go away. And once again we don't have the right relationship. In order to understand more deeply, to have insight arise, mindfulness means having a more balanced relationship to what's coming up. That doesn't mean we're inert, we're passive, we don't care, we're complacent. It means that we're setting the stage for seeing much more deeply. What do we see? We see into each state much more crisply, and it's quite interesting. Look at how much loneliness there might be in that desire. Look at how much sadness there might be in that anger. Look at how much fear and recoiling there might be in that sleepiness. Look at that. We noticed these things because we're paying attention. The other kind of insight that develops is universal. We see into the heart of each of these states and we see, look at that. It's changing, it's temporary, it's moving, even if it's here over a long period of time. Whatever it is, within each bout of anger or desire or sleepiness or restlessness or doubt, there's movement, there's flow, there's coming and going, it's a compound and it's an alive system. So our entire determination about how to act because we understand the nature of change. So even using a very difficult, challenging, often painful state like one of these, we can develop a kind of universal understanding and wisdom. So it's not useless when these things come up. It's not a mistake, it's a terrible trial, it's challenging, but it's an incredible opportunity to relate differently, so we can use each and every one of these states as a basis for greater understanding. We also use these states as a basis for greater compassion.

Remember, we're seeing them as painful, as difficult.

Not as bad and wrong and terrible and evil, we're knowing their pain, and so we experience greater and greater compassion for ourselves, greater and greater compassion for others, because we understand that others too, when they are caught in these states, are caught by suffering. So this opens up our world of responsiveness and allows us many options for how to behave, how to react. And these two qualities, mindfulness and compassion, really form the basis for a very different way to live, and that's why using these experiences can be so powerful.

Remedies or Counterbalances for the Five Hindrances

The RAIN Formula: When a hindrance is present it helps to investigate it: 

R: Recognize it. 

A: Accept it. 

I: Investigate it, be curious. What is it like? 

• Physically (How does it feel in the body? Is it pleasant? Unpleasant? Does it change?) 

• Emotionally 

• Energetically (such as feelings of rushing, sinking or lifting) 

• Cognitively (What beliefs or stories do we tell ourselves?) 

• Motivationally (is there an urge to act or cling?) 

N: Non-identification. This is just a passing process that comes and goes, not who we are. 

It’s helpful to first explore the hindrance and investigate it. Often just recognizing a hindrance is enough for it to fall away. But at other times, it’s helpful to use “remedies” to counterbalance the hindrance. 

the FIVE HINDRANCES

DESIRE or GREED

Desire becomes a hindrance when we want something and grasp for it, cling to it. It could be either harmful to us or inappropriate or not useful at this time. Wanting to eat is a healthy desire, but not useful while meditating. Whereas a desire for a cigarette might be a desire for something harmful. 

No matter how weak or strong Desire is, mindful attention is always appropriate. You can work with it using the RAIN formula above (Recognize, Accept, Investigate, Non-identification). 

Remedies 

• If there is excessive preoccupation with lust, one can focus on the body’s non-attractive parts, such as urine, saliva, pus, feces, phlegm, sweat, body hair, teeth, bones, bone marrow, kidneys, heart, liver, spleen, intestines, undigested food, blood, fat…. 

• If desiring something that is harmful to us, we can focus on the consequences of getting what we want. Maybe you are craving potato chips and it gives you high blood pressure. Reflect on the possible effects of high blood pressure.

• If we desire something that might be appropriate, but we are clinging to that desire, we feel we just have to have it, we can focus on the impermanent nature of what we want. How long will the satisfaction last if the desire is fulfilled? This desire will fade. It may come back, but it’s not permanent. 

AVERSION and ILL-WILL

Aversion is wanting things to not be the way they are and pushing them away. Ill-will is an escalation of that into wishing harm to someone or something that is in the way of us getting what we want. It can range from a very subtle pushing something away to intense hatred and anger or ill-will. 

No matter how weak or strong an aversion is, mindful attention is always appropriate. You can work with it using the RAIN formula (Recognize, Accept, Investigate, Non-identification). 

With the less intense forms of aversion, just noticing them is often enough to dispel them. Sometimes aversion to something can be so deeply ingrained, it’s like the air that we breath; like a fish swimming in water doesn’t notice the water… Low self-esteem can be that way; a chronic voice that says “I shouldn’t be this way.” 

Remedies 

At times, applying a “remedy” or counterbalancing aversion might be useful: 

• Narrow your focus: increase your concentration, such as counting your breaths 

• Broaden your focus: listen to all sounds, or experience the body globally 

• Change your focus: Aversion is often due to “one-sided attention,” when the irritating, unpleasant or repulsive feature of something receives undue attention. If someone seems very annoying and we dislike them, we can pay attention to their positive qualities. (This applies to ourselves as well.) 

o In a difficult situation we could ask: “What might I learn from this situation?” 

• Lovingkindness: if you are being harsh with yourself or someone else, you can

  give wishes of goodwill to yourself. 

o If Anger is a significant issue in your life, the regular practice of Lovingkindness can be very helpful. 

• Pain: It’s helpful to notice the difference between the sensations of pain, and our aversion and emotional reaction to it. 

• Reflect on our own good deeds: reflect on things you have done that have helped yourself or others…. 

Fear is having aversion of something that hasn’t yet happened. (Something imagined, even if likely will still never be just like you imagined…) 

• being in the body is very important for working with fear 

• if you have the luxury of time for dealing with the fear, as you might during formal meditation, or on retreat, a great deal can be learned 

• Change your Focus: if fear is not manageable, sometimes it’s appropriate to counterbalance with a change in focus. 

o eg: Public Speaking – focus on what the audience needs to know instead of your desire for the talk to be successful 

o If you are hiking on a scary path, and you have no choice, narrow your focus to what’s right in front of you, not the drop 1,000 feet down. 

SLOTH & TORPOR

We want to develop a mind that is both Tranquil and Alert. Too much tranquility without alertness and we’re in dreamland. We sometimes call it “sinking mind”, it tends to be dreamy and pleasant. It’s relaxing, but it’s not conducive to awareness, to mindfulness. 

The first thing to do is to recognize it when it happens. Then to consciously intend to put a little more effort into staying mindful. How is the posture? The breathing? Sometimes it helps to start the sitting with a clear intention that we want to stay present with each breath. Pay particular attention to this balance in the coming week. 

• We want to develop a mind that is both Tranquil and Alert. Too much tranquility without alertness and we’re in dreamland. Too much alertness and no tranquility, and we can be tense or quickly either planning or worrying about the future, or regretting the past… 

• Learning to notice and understand both Sloth/Torpor & Restlessness and Anxiety are essential to developing a mind that is both Tranquil and Alert. 

• Sloth and torpor refers to heaviness of body and dullness of mind respectively. This includes drowsiness, sluggishness, low energy, sleepiness, lethargy. Nothing is clear. The mind feels heavy and dull or dreamy. 

• Sloth refers to the physical aspects: it feels difficult holding oneself up. 

• Torpor is more mental, it feels difficult to pay attention. 

• Sloth & Torpor can be both pleasant or unpleasant. When it’s pleasant (dreamy comfy…) it’s more seductive. 

o When it’s comfortable and pleasant…it’s sometimes called “sinking mind.” It can be a form of “procrastination” – we know we’re not being mindful, but it’s nice here…kind of like staying in bed in the morning and sleeping in…we can be mindful later… 

• It’s important to differentiate between sloth and torpor and the need for sleep! You can test this by using a favorite fantasy or memory, if the sleepiness goes away or weakens, it was sloth & torpor. 

• Sloth and torpor are habits of mind which inhibits the application of energy, of being engaged, of being involved. When sloth and torpor is really strong, we can sink into it and get lost in it. The mind can feel like mud, like glue. It’s very difficult to make effort, mental or physical. 

• Energy is often available but it’s hindered or kept back or not tapped into or utilized. For some people who feel “lazy” a lot, it’s a habitual way of using the mind. Sloth and torpor is usually preceded by a certain “pattern” of thoughts… 

Remedies 

• Lack of direction - In daily life as in meditation, a lack of direction causes a lack of energy: energy has to be directed. There needs to be a goal. Energy arises when one has a clear-cut direction. 

o Committing to a goal gives the mind direction, such as committing to being mindful for the next 10 breaths 

• Lack of stimulation – the mind likes to have something to do, when it doesn’t it’s in the habit of getting drowsy. 

o Broaden the focus: give the mind more to be mindful of. 

o Pay attention to details more closely 

• Remember the “urgency of change.” Change can only happen “Now”, right at this moment. 

• Notice RESISTANCE. Often we don’t want to pay attention, we don’t want to be here. 

o It can be resistance to unpleasant states 

o It can be a protective mechanism, of a deep memory or feeling. 

• Notice Complacency: Sloth and torpor can set in out of complacency. It’s nice here. Sometimes meditation is a challenge or a struggle. It’s quite pleasant now…even though I’m dreamy… It can lull you into not making any more effort. 

• Our thoughts can increase our energy or decrease it. Some thoughts can drain us, such as worrying, planning, regretting… 

o Thoughts of Discouragement/Failure. Focusing on failures or feared failures drains our energy. 

o Thinking “there’s 20 minutes left” can be discouraging. Being mindful for the next breath is bite size. 

• Sometimes there is the mistaken idea that a meditative state should be passive instead of receptive. 

o Being “relaxed” and calm is sometimes being overemphasized. Diligence, energy, ardency, vigorous active engagement are all necessary. 

“Calm is very important. Equanimity is very important. Tranquility is important… but not at the expense of being energized.” 

Gil Fronsdal 

Sometimes Sloth & Torpor is a reaction to the constant chronic habit of tension and anxiety or being chronically excited. With years of that kind of stress, when people finally just sit completely still they feel the exhaustion of this chronic tension. For some people sloth and torpor is a transition they have to go through, like coffee withdrawal… 

• Don’t overeat before meditation, it tends to make us tired and sleepy. 

REMEDIES: 

Physical Remedies: 

• Sit up straight. 

o This works during the day also—your posture will affect you! 

o If this is a recurring hindrance, sit without back support. 

• Take a few deep breaths (can count breaths). 

• Open your eyes. 

• Look at a LIGHT: the effect of light wakens the system, look at a light, a lightbulb, the moonlight… 

o OR imagine a white light in the forehead area. 

o In general, focusing on head increases energy, focusing on belly calms… 

• Pull earlobes, rub face. 

• Change posture – stand (standing meditation), brisk walk. 

• Go outside. • Wash face with cold water. 

• If you’re doing walking meditation, you can walk backwards. 

Mental Remedies: 

Energy is always available but you need to know how to turn on the switch. Setting a goal, a reasonable goal, is a wise and effective way to generate energy, as is deliberately developing interest in the task at hand. 

• Counting breaths: Just pay attention to 5 more breaths. (small goal) 

• A lack of direction causes a lack of energy, a goal can be helpful. Energy arises when one has a clearcut direction. The goal of being mindful can be brought to mind with “just this one breath, just this one step…” 

• Effort often begets effort. When we apply ourselves there might be resistance initially, but after a while after you keep making the effort and doing it, something happens and it begin to feel effortless. Like pedaling a bicycle hard, and then coasting. 

• When something is new it can be exciting. We often get a lot of energy when we meet someone new or go somewhere we haven’t been to before – novelty energizes us. But if we can look at our life, or our meditation, with a 'beginner's mind' we can see our ordinary lives newly each moment, we can see new angles and fresh possibilities which arouse energy. 

• We can develop delight in whatever we are doing by training our perception to see the beautiful and interesting in the ordinary, thereby generating interest 

• TO AROUSE ENERGY, DO MORE: 

o You can be more fully engaged with the breath by counting or making the counting more complex. 

o You can add touch points: during the space between the exhale and the inhale, you can notice your sit bones, or the palms of your hands… 

o You can increase the details and frequency of noting. 

• Contemplate on our desire for awakening, on something or someone who inspires us. 

o Remind yourself why you meditate, what are your highest goals? 

o For some, thinking about death can be helpful: life is uncertain, death is certain, right now is the best opportunity for meditation. This works if it arouses you, and doesn’t depress you, it’s not for everyone… 

o The Buddha also recommended to his monks to contemplate on 5 “threatening dangers”. The dangers of illness, age, lack of food, war, lack of support by good friends… That now is a good time to practice, our conditions for practice might not be available later 

• Keep coming back to a good posture 

• If this is a recurrent issue, doing things that inspire you before sitting is helpful, such as reading a passage from a book before sitting 

• if nothing works, take a nap, but don’t do it every time it arises, it creates a habit! Try to always investigate the sloth & torpor before napping – even if it’s for only one minute. 

RESTLESSNESS and ANXIETY or WORRY

Restlessness is a feeling of agitation or over-excitement, it agitates the mind, so it doesn’t have the time to see fully. Restlessness is unpleasant, so there is a tendency of the mind to push it away, to not want it there. The mind is restless, and restlessness is further enhanced by struggling against it. 

Worry is fear of what may happen in the future. Anxiety is a non-specific fear of what will happen in the future. 

Restlessness of the mind tends to show itself in restlessness in the body; in meditation, by wanting to shift positions, by tightness and tension. Restlessness can take different forms: worry, planning, physical restlessness, self-judgment, regret of the past, nervousness, remorse, anxiety. But what these different forms have in common is that we are either regretting or judging the past or worrying about the future. Peace and happiness can only occur in the present moment. 

We can get lost in regret of the past and self-judgment. Regretting the past comes from actions we’ve either committed or omitted and is a major source of restlessness in meditation and daily life. When we pay attention to how much of the disquiet of the mind comes as a result of past actions, the imperative to live a life of integrity becomes more and more compelling. 

Planning is useful at the right time, but it can easily become worry, when one becomes concerned if the plan will materialize. We often find ourselves planning and re-planning a coming event, a conversation, often in the same useless loop. 

Lack of exercise can cause a physical restlessness we often don’t recognize, especially among those of us who are mostly sedentary. If we pay attention to our bodies, we’ll get up and stretch or take a walk, if we don’t the body itself becomes restless. Too much coffee or other stimulants can also cause physical restlessness. For many of us, it’s probably not a good idea to sit and meditate after a couple of cups of coffee. 

Suppressed Emotions can also be a source of restlessness. When we don’t pay attention to our emotions when they arise, we tend to either act them out or suppress them. Suppressed emotions can often simmer underneath unnoticed, except for a pervasive feeling of restlessness. 

The mind likes stimulation, when stimulation is low, it can be experienced as slightly unpleasant. We tend to call that “boredom”. When we notice we are bored, it’s because we don’t like this state of low stimulation and want it to go away, so the mind becomes restless, increasing stimulation. 

Working with Restlessness 

The most direct way to work with restlessness or any of the hindrances is to be mindful of them, to transform them into the object of meditation. You can use the RAIN formula (see above): Recognize it, Accept it, Investigate it, Not identify with it. 

Restlessness can be unpleasant; try to stay with it and experience it without getting caught up in the content of its story, don’t push it away. Don’t resist it. Don’t be in a rush to get rid of it. 

Remedies: 

• Concentration: When restlessness seems too strong to simply observe, try counting your breaths, until the mind comes back to balance. Concentration cultivates calm and tranquility. 

• Metta or Lovingkindness Practice: A happy mind is not restless. Lovingkindness practice is often taught using 4 phrases we repeat silently . Common phrases are: “May I be happy. May I be peaceful. May I be well. May I be safe.” Focusing on lovingkindness towards oneself helps with restlessness in two ways: it’s a form of concentration practice, which calms the mind; and it also inclines the mind to kindness and acceptance. 

• Smiling: A practice sometimes used for the cultivation of happiness is smiling, it has a direct effect on calming the mind. 

• Broaden the Focus: One can shift the attention from using the breath as an anchor to Listening to sounds or a global sense of the body. By expanding the focus outward, the mind can feel less constricted. 

• Sitting still: just by sitting still and not moving, the mind itself begins to quiet. It’s like taking a glass of dirty water and shaking it. At first the water is murky, but after a while, the particles settle at the bottom. 

• Bargaining: When restlessness is overpowering, sometimes skillful “bargaining” can be useful. “I’ll just pay close attention to the next 5 breaths.” 

DOUBT

It is said that Doubt, as one of the hindrances, is the most dangerous of the hindrances, as it is the one that can cause a person to give up their practice. We can have doubt in our ability to practice or doubt of the practice or the teachings. It’s a state of indecision, of vacillation, that doesn’t allow us to fully apply ourselves, causes us to hold back, to get lost in discursive thinking. 

Doubt interrupts the gathering of data with premature questions; it interferes with the process of seeing. 

Doubt can question one's own ability "Can I do this?", or question the method "Is this the right way?” Even, “How am I doing?” Such questions are obstacles to meditation because they are asked at the wrong time and thus become an obstacle, obscuring one's clarity. 

Doubt is not productive or useful, it drains us or disconnects us. It keeps us unwilling to apply ourselves. 

“To have doubt about mindfulness, of the value and importance of just being mindful, borders on having doubt about the value of being present for life in general, because mindfulness and being present for life is the same thing.” ~ Gil Fronsdal 

Remedies 

No matter how weak or strong doubt is, mindful attention is always appropriate. You can work with it using the RAIN formula above (Recognize, Accept, Investigate, Non-identification). 

The most important thing about working with Doubt is to learn to recognize it when it arises, and to put it aside while we meditate. If Doubt is persistent, we can work with this hindrance by gathering clear instructions, talking with those we respect who practice and being willing to suspend our doubt until we have tested the practice and seen for ourselves. We can study more, understand what we're doing, maybe there’s a good reason why we have doubt, maybe we haven’t really understood the basic premise, the ideas, the teachings well enough to really want to apply oneself. 

Maybe we haven’t understood the instructions for practice well enough and so have reasons to have doubt. "How should I practice? What should I do? When should I do it?" So sometimes doubt is resolved by reflecting on what questions we have, and learning more or coming and talking to a teacher and exploring it with them. 

If one really understands the value of one moment of mindfulness perhaps one will not be plagued by Doubt.