I sat down cross-legged, my back straight, and I closed my eyes. My mind was a confusion of images reflecting my activities, thoughts, and desires from the day. I did not try to make the images disappear (I know better by now); I simply continued to sit still, noticing whatever arose.
It wasn’t easy. I would notice the mind’s activity with detachment, and then (what seemed a moment later) I would notice that I had been thinking about the mind’s activity for the past minute or so. I would feel embarrassed for being so unstable in my mindfulness, but noticing the embarrassment would instantly restore that mindfulness I feared had been lost. My mind continued to chase its own tail this way for a while… Until my teacher entered the room.
