Checking-In

Checking in is intentionally turning your attention inwards to see what’s happening in the mind. It is a short moment where you redirect the attention away from the meditation object to see how the mind is doing.

By systematically checking in with certain qualities of the mind, we tell our awareness, this is something you have to monitor. So that when this quality is out of balance, awareness can redirect attention, allowing you to rebalance it.

It is true that when you check in you temporarily disrupt your focus on the meditation object, but at this point this is completely okay. This is simply what you need to cultivate introspective awareness.

Instructions

Step 1: Turn your attention inwards to evaluate, very gently and briefly.

Every 5-6 breaths, we let go of the meditation object and turn our attention inwards. Now, this doesn't have to be exactly 5-6 breaths, sometimes it is longer, sometimes it is shorter, but it is an indicator of the regularity. Please don't start counting the breath, unless you do a different technique called counting.

When you turn your attention inwards, always do this with a question. This will help guide the checking in. Some questions might be:

• How is my attention? Where can help you checking in with you attention. Noticing if it is scattered, or stays very tightly with the breath.

• How is my awareness? Noticing if it is large or contracted.

• Am I being kind towards myself? Noticing how you are returning your attention backwards after you get distracted, or just the tone of the meditation in general.

Often we choose one of the questions to work on at the beginning of our meditation, when we are setting our intention.

Step 2: Re-balance the mind

After checking-in use the information to improve the quality of your meditation.

• If you notice attention jumping away from the nose. Try to engage the breath a little more. Maybe by using the technique of following the breath.

• If you notice you have lost awareness, open it up again, trying to get it a little more spacious.

• If you notice you are being unkind towards yourself, see if you can change the tone of voice. Working towards a gentler and more relaxed relationship with the meditation.

These three examples of re-balancing the mind, are just examples. Knowing what you need has a real art to it, which requires a lot of practice and experimentation.