One of the lessons of Mindfulness practice is a kind of letting go or surrender. As we relate to our body-mind experience there will initially be some effort to build concentration, attention, and equanimity. Once we are ‘over the hump’ so to speak we may find ourselves falling into experience. Becoming completely immersed in the flow of sensory experience, present and moving along with precise and powerful awareness. At these times it is important to let ourselves go, to allow ourselves to be present with the moment to moment changes in our experiences.
For some this may be terrifying, for others liberating. At a deep level, when we encounter and allow ourselves to enter a state of ‘being with’ our experience, rather than ‘doing to’ our experience. We have become aware of a great truth. Things are changing all the time. Our life and our experience of life is not as solid and substantial as we like to think.
Allowing ourselves to let to go into life, into our direct experience is an admonition of mortality. We can no longer live under the illusion that we will last forever, as we have seen and felt in our experience that everything changes, nothing is permanent. It follows that as living dynamic beings that we are also changing and will some day pass into non-existance, as do all phenomena in this world.
Learning to let go, to surrender to our experience of ourselves and life can be the ultimate lesson in living and dying. Every moment becomes precious as we realize that each is unique and will never arise in the same way once again. Our lives become more satisfying as our mindfulness grows stronger and we can encounter and immerse ourselves in each moment more deeply.
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