The practice of detachment from the fruits of actions is pretty important to the practice of meditation or mindfulness. If you go into the practice thinking I’m going to be walking on clouds or I’m going to learn to read minds, you will feel real disappointment when the hoped-for results do not materialize. However, mindfulness does make practitioners more aware of problems they didn’t know they had. It’s important to just be open to the experience, whatever that might be, without expecting some sort of cosmic reward. Move deeper into silence and wait there. You are completely safe and well — the insight only comes when you are prepared for it.

Try this meditation for one minute today, or longer if you wish:

BE OPEN to the idea that perhaps something else is waiting for you, something you might not have expected.

There are no lessons between teacher and student
in a market of bliss.
Since She owns the actors, the stage, and the play itself
who can grasp the truth of the drama?
A valiant devotee who knows the essence — he
enters that city.
—Ramprasad Sen, Indian poet

How did this meditation go for you? Share your experience with your fellow North Shore Bank employees at shorelines@northshorebank.com and you’ll be entered to win a copy of Mindfulness in Plain English, by Bhante Gunaratana.

If you’d like a daily email reminder to practice one minute of mindfulness, email us with the subject “Mindfulness reminder.”