Quote Originally Posted by DerFürst View Post
The concept that meditation on awareness dissolves attributes that contribute to the sense of self (otherwise referred to as the ego) is something I have become aware of through experience. The person I've always wanted to be, funny enough, is only something I can be when the concepts of "I" and "becoming" are dropped.

Continuing to meditate will answer all these questions by dissolving their meaning anyway, but for the sake of the mind's pondering, let's suppose there's a problem needing to be solved. How does one going about living life refrain from being the person experiencing it? In the absence of "me," what's left behind treats people with far more compassion and love than the self-destructive striver and doer "me" ever does. There is an idea floating around my head that says "mindfulness is cultivated through mindfulness meditation, and so the sense of awareness will be more prevalent in all aspects of life as the practice unfolds."

The question here is how can I continue to stay mindful without the "I" in every day life? People, the thoughts they make, the technology they use, and many aspects of their society make this a difficult task, as it sucks the mind straight into its trap. What must happen before mindfulness can continue into the story of everyday life? Stuffing it into a separate portion called "meditation time" seems counter intuitive.

"I" will throw my 50 cents into this topic.

Firstly "being present", that is, present in this moment, not in conceptual thought really has nothing to do with "I" this or that.

You are either present in the moment, or denying the moment, resisting it etc.

So that is two different things.

As for "I", we are individuals who are part of a greater whole. As such we are here to experience life, no part of us is broken or wrong, or bad, unless you choose to believe that, and that is all that, a "belief".

If a belief is a "program" that runs in the software of your mind, that helps to filter your perception of the material reality (which is all just vibration / energy), then all you need do for any belief is ask yourself:
"How does this belief make me feel?"

Your feelings are a guidance system that never lie to you. If a belief makes you feel expanded and good and wonderful then great, why not use it, not matter what anyone else says.

If a belief makes you feel terrible and bad and broken or evil or limited or separate from "Life", then would you want to hold on to this belief and defend it?

If there is one fallacy perhaps I can suggest, it is that there is this Western understanding of Eastern mysticism that for some reason (I'm guessing it originated in the 60s cross-cultural pollination) in the West we call "Ego" or "I" = bad.

This to me is a misunderstanding. What you call Ego, or I, is the part of you that faces outward and deals with your every day physical reality.

If you "defeated" the ego or any such thing, if it "went away", your adult (not a baby) body would be like a vehicle with no driver that drifts aimlessly. When we dream/ sleep or meditate, we shift our conscious attention away from our outward facing local self, to our expanded larger self, or authentic self that exists outside of physical reality.

What we call "I", here and now, is only a small portion of who/what we are. It is the portion that is here to live and love and experience life, why would we want to call it a villain or bad is beyond me.

No part of any person is "false" or bad or evil. All parts are ESSENTIAL to the design of the living universe.

Now, here we live day to day, whether we are present in our actions or not, or lost in conceptual thought is another matter.

Personally I prefer to be present in my actions, especially with other people. Is this something you become? No, it is just a way of being, a choice in how you use your conscious attention.

It is only natural in a quiet environment, your mind naturally settle down. Thoughts die down, mind "movement" becomes mind "stillness" without any effort or meditation etc. Just sit at a park and watch some ducks and see how your body entrains with the environment.

Now, in a busy/noisy environment (which is un-natural for human beings, in our nature based cave man bodies) it is quite "natural" to be unbalanced, frustrated, annoyed, fearful, angry etc because our bodies were not made to handle such over-stimulation. In an over-stimulating / stressful environment (such as work) our bodies entrain with the dominant frequency of people in that environment. (Which is why I meditate for maybe 10 mins on breaks at work).

We can improve our mindfulness even in loud and stressful environments to a limited extent, but a better solution is be in a natural environment, as this is how our bodies were meant to function.

Mountain top sitting meditation gurus don't have to deal with business meetings, deadlines, annoying family members, constant noise, barking neighbours dogs that never get walked and so never bloody well stop barking etc.