November 2022 | Mellow — Oceana Mariani

NOTE: This was originally published as part of my newsletter in November 2022. Subscribe to my newsletter to receive the next Om Letter direct to your inbox once a month.

This letter will reach you a little later than usual, but as I often do at this time of year, I am in the process of wrapping things up a little early in order to head home to island life for the holidays. For many of us, this is often a strange time of year. If (like me) you’ll be staying with family, it can feel like traveling back in time towards a former version of yourself - a mould that you’ve probably long outgrown.

Revisiting this previous life can give us a lot of perspective on past obstacles we’ve overcome to arrive at this new version of ourselves, but can equally highlight areas where there is room for continued growth. In particular I am thinking about the challenges of navigating our familial relationships, maintaining our boundaries as well as respecting the boundaries of the people around us and, ideally, staying mindful of our desire to react to other people’s actions.

It is quite possibly a perfect time to explore the fourth and final foundation of mindfulness within the Buddha’s essential lectures: mindfulness of obstacles or, Dhammasati in Pali. In Eastern philosophy obstacles are rarely viewed in a negative light, rather they are the doors we must dare to open and step through in order to gain deeper insight into ourselves.

There are five important tasks we perform as part of our mindfulness practice as we face up to these hindrances: we acknowledge when they are present, note when they are absent, observe how they arise, find what helps us to overcome them, and eventually prevent them from returning. Once we’ve overcome these hindrances, the mind finds the clarity and stillness it needs in order to see the true nature of everything.

Here I’ll elaborate on just five of the most universal obstacles we might encounter within our mindfulness practice, though I suspect this list could be extended endlessly:

**Desire.** Our mind is easily enticed by sensory delights - sights, sounds, smells, tastes and touches provide easy distractions while meditating. These distractions represent a desire for physical pleasure arising from the senses. Giving into these desires should be a choice which (for most of us) means the mind will need some level of training. Recognise when your mind has unwittingly become distracted, understand the source and let it subside.

Ill will. This includes everything from mild irritation to violent hatred and tends to arise when we wish to be physically separated from something that causes us discomfort or pain. As with most emotions, anger or irritation will fade given the time. With hindsight we can often find ourselves feeling embarrassed for having had such a big reaction to something so trivial. In these moments mindfulness teaches us to pause, practice patience and buy ourselves time. This in turn allows us to respond more appropriately and, ultimately gives us the power to overcome this obstacle.

**Laziness.** When we meditate, the breath, mind and body become so relaxed that it’s easy to slide into drowsiness, but this is not where we find those higher meditative states of being. To gain insight the mind has to be vigorous and sharp. Begin by recognising when you are under the influence of laziness and pay attention to it. Find ways of navigating around it - wash your face with cold water, practice a walking meditation, visualise a bright light or change the time of day during which you practice for instance.

**Restlessness.** Here, instead of shutting down, the mind becomes over-active. This is then often reflected in the physical body as it becomes unsettled and finds it impossible to sit still. In this state, nothing can be accomplished and sitting to meditate seems out of the question. The best remedy is of course to recognise what is happening and course-correct. Focusing on the breath, tends to encourage our breathing to slow down. Lengthening the breath in turn slows all other autonomic functions of the body (heart rate, blood pressure, digestion etc) and allows us to regain a state of calm.

Doubt. Knowing when to doubt ourselves is a helpful tool, but when the mind is entirely consumed by doubt it becomes a hindrance. For instance, we can sit to meditate and immediately start to wonder why we are doing this, whether it will work or if we’ve chosen the wrong method. Once that doubt gets going it keeps getting bigger and bigger. Once again, recognise the path your mind has taken you down. Sometimes it helps to talk to our doubts - be gentle, but firm. Say to yourself: “Life is short. I cannot allow this doubt to keep me from making progress towards my goals.” When the doubt subsides give yourself the recognition this accomplishment deserves. Note what helped you conquer this obstacle.

When we overcome hindrances, even momentarily, it’s as if we’ve cleared the ground. We can sow the seeds of other qualities we wish to cultivate within ourselves - focus, wisdom, compassion, mindfulness - and, like any gardener worth their salt would, we tend to these qualities and watch them bloom.

With love,

OM x

Monthly Mantra

“Observe. Accept. Release. Transform.”

Yung Pueblo

November 2022 | Mellow

Monthly Mantra

“Observe. Accept. Release. Transform.”

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