Getting ready for my Meditation Class in August, I listened to a Dharma talk by James Baraz. Baraz quoted one of his teachers who said:

Let go a little ? you’ll have a little freedom

Let go a lot ? you’ll have a lot of freedom

Let go completely ? you’ll have a complete freedom.

How do you let go completely? How do you let go a lot? For ordinary people like me, it takes a lot of practice to let go. It sounds simple, doesn’t require hard work but I wish somebody would find the perfect recipe for letting go?.

One step I am taking daily is meditating. Recently, my son introduced me to Mahasi Sayadaw and the mental noting meditation technique. To use this technique all you have to do is name your experience. Whatever is happening at that moment, you name it mentally: thinking, feeling, breathing, etc. I’ve started practicing in this way. It gives my mind something to do that is directly connected to my actual experience. What a powerful concept! When I am angry I note: ?angry.? When I judge someone I note: ?judging?. By naming the mind state, you recognize what is going on without identifying with it or being embedded in it.

Try it out and let me know how it goes, or share your favorite meditation techniques with me.