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The Witness

It’s a common misunderstanding to believe that when practicing sitting meditation we are supposed to suppress our thoughts. Meditation is not about forcing ourselves not to think. On the contrary, if thoughts, emotions, memories or fantasies arise while we are sitting, and they inevitably will, we let them happen. We observe them like passing clouds against the clear sky. We watch them, recognize them for what they are, and only then we let go. That’s the practice of knowing the mind. It’s called mindfulness. But then the question is: who’s watching the mind? If I am not my thoughts, my emotions, the voice constantly talking in my head, who am I? In Sanskrit, that which is observing the frantic activity of the discursive mind is called “Sita” :the witness.

Chiesa Fabrizio