“Awareness of what’s being imprinted on my mindstream — at every moment.”

Just as my head hit the pillow last night, I remembered this flash from my evening practice. I knew I needed to write it down. (Since, in fact, I’d seen this particular flash before. And forgotten.) So I maneuvered my way from under a sleeping cat and dragged myself out of bed to scribble a note.

Today these were the first words that greeted me. While they may not be news to anyone who has heard the words Training The Mind, they have taken on a new level of meaning for me.

Thoughts, images, culture, perception, information, psychic impressions, everything. There’s an endless barrage and it makes a genuine and lasting imprint. Not only what comes in to my mind, but what I create from it. This is what paints my picture of reality. And when my consciousness moves on from this temporary guest house of this body, these imprints will continue.

Possibly through being a Shaman (or being a Buddhist in previous lives, or both and the way they intersect) I have a distinct awareness of other kinds of consciousness. I have moments of prescience. And there are times when I can clearly see the past lives of myself and others and how they are impacting a particular situation.

Through the vastness of my Teachers’ minds, and their generosity that they keep working with me (with everyone who continues to practice) I am seeing how truly important the clarity of my mindstream is.

If my aspirations are to move closer to their own attainment so that I can even begin to grasp what enlightenment is, or at least so something small but completely genuine can move through me… Every movement of the mind, every created imprint makes a huge difference.

I chose to chose the work of awareness. At every moment. Not with the panic of urgency. But with the certainty.