Practising Choiceless awareness

While other meditations have a specific focus such as body, breath or listening, which
help us to refocus our attention each time we notice that it has wandered, the
Choiceless awareness meditation is different from other meditation in that it gives us
the opportunity to practise without having to rest our attention on anything in
particular.

We can attend to whatever arises, noticing sensations and experiences as they come
and as they go, moment by moment.

Like other meditation exercises in this course, there’s no need to to hold on to

any of these sensations or experiences, simply practise letting go.

As you practise this meditation exercise, you may notice that your mind wanders and
attaches to sensations and experiences. Whenever you notice this, gently unhook the
attention and return it to the audio guide, simply being aware of whatever arises
without choice or preference.

It might help to think of your attention like a light

A good analogy that Craig often uses is to think of our attention like light. When we
first start exploring mindfulness, we often practice focusing our attention by “shining
a light” on the body or breath like a torch, in a concentrated way. But with choiceless
or open awareness, it is like we are using light to illuminate the whole room, taking in
the bigger picture, rather than focusing on small details.

Through this practice we further develop an observational stance of our moment to

moment experience. This helps us to remain stable as thoughts and sensations come
and go, cultivating a sense of restful alertness, without reactivity.

And as always, there is no right or wrong with the practice. We encourage you to
explore it, experiment with it, and simply focus on the process rather than any desired
outcomes or goals.