In meditation we practice to find the balance of both focused and open awareness. We place the mind on a concept, and linger there letting the meaning run through the heart. Mind finds it difficult, but body does it naturally. The body can teach us the right kind of attention that lifts the mind and makes it happy.

The contents of the mind become the preoccupation, but there’s another reference point – the framework. Mindfulness is this frame. Don’t go into the content. Bear with the turbulences of mind within the frame of sympathetic awareness and just know, this the heart affected by feeling.

Restlessness/preoccupation with things to do; mental proliferation/lost in mind; bad memories; ānāpānasati; 5 khandā

In meditation we repeatedly return to qualities that calm the citta. When we relate to phenomena in a reassuring, steadying way, citta experiences dispassion. There’s a progressive withdrawal from phenomena because citta begins to sense itself as stable, satisfying and valuable. It has no more purpose in going out. This is the maturation process.

The aggregates work together to create the phenomenological world. But citta isn’t affected by this world of sense data, it’s affected by kamma – various unresolved memories, feelings and conditioned phenomena. Tend to the point of saṇkhāra to replace reactive habits, soothing the heart and releasing the grip of kamma.

Guided meditations can help in terms of timing, to demonstrate just how slow a process meditation is. Generally, the object of meditation is simple, it’s the handling of it that’s the skill. Body sweeping develops receptivity of the body. One cultivates tonal qualities of receptivity and care.

We’re so conditioned to keep moving on to the next, the mind has already moved on before the foot has completed its step. Practice as if there’s no next. Tune into the fluid, easy movement of the whole body. Let the mind settle into samādhi.

The contents of body and mind can become the prominent features of our attention. The content forms the ocean we need to cross over. We want to cross the ocean, not build a house there, not become too fascinated by it. The Dhamma offers tools to help us steer and manage our boats so we can cross the ocean.

Citta is susceptible to uncontrollable emotional reactions. It gets thrown around by feeling. The fundamental principle is to be able to feel unpleasant feeling. The body provides support.

Citta is alternately translated as mind, heart and awareness. We use skillful means to apply these three aspects appropriately, for handling dukkha and understanding how it’s generated.