In this week's class on my online meditation course, we explored observation meditations. We explored how our perceptions, influenced by our cultural backgrounds and culture, add layers to our experiences, much like augmented reality. The class explained how we can be aware of our cultural filter while practicing meditation and experiencing mindfulness. Through examples like walking meditation and the metaphor of augmented reality, we learned to distinguish between observation of our reality and observation influenced by personal and cultural filters. This insightful session is part of my continuous effort to offer practical and imclusive and accessible practical guided meditation, helping you integrate mindfulness into everyday life.

My Online Meditation Course is here: The Meditation Course

• Introduction to Observation Meditations: Today, we'll focus on observation meditations. This means we'll pay attention to our current experience, whether that's the present moment or thoughts about the past.
• The Fundamental Act of Observation: Today, we're focusing on meditations that involve observing, especially our current experiences. Observation is key. For example, when counting breaths, we're both observing the breaths and we can also be aware that we're observing them.
• Seeing is Not Just Seeing: It's not just the observing that matters, but also being aware that you're observing. There's a difference between just observing and being aware that we're the observer.
• Walking Meditation and Mindfulness Practice: For example, during a walking meditation, which I shared on my social media yesterday, I will focus on my breathing while noticing other things around me and bring my focus back whenever my mind wanders.
• Training Witness Consciousness: Meditation is about training ourselves to realise when we are distracted. This awareness then enables us to choose to focus on the present or on something else which may be a higher priority.
• Witnessing Reality: When observing, such as observing our breath, we become a silent witness. Looking inwards to try to perceive this witness is part of the practice. This is the heart of self-enquiry.
• Augmented Reality as a Metaphor: Augmented reality, like seeing a digital dragon in a room through an app, can help explain how we add layers of perception to our experiences. The Dragon isn't real. Our culture has put it there. The value we see in things (such as brands) is no more real than the dragon but we can perceive it.
• Integrating Reality with Perception: By using augmented reality as an example, we can understand how our perception adds to what we see, like seeing a dragon in a room through a mobile.
• Cultural Filters in Perception: Our cultural background adds meaning to what we see, similar to how augmented reality adds digital images to our view.
• Mindfulness and Cultural Filters: Mindfulness involves being aware of our perception without the added layers of our cultural or personal biases but also allows us to see those biases.
• Sensitivity Through Observation: By observing our experience consciously (mindfulness), we become more sensitive to our emotional and mental responses to different situations. We aren't trying to find silver bullet solutions to these social distortions, but just noticing them happening. This is enough.
• Meditation and Cultural Perceptions: Meditation doesn't stop us from seeing things through our cultural lens, but it makes us more aware of our emotional responses to these perceptions.
• Mindfulness and Awareness: Mindfulness is about noticing our present experiences without judgment and understanding the difference between just observing and observing with our personal and cultural biases.