Reading Highlight

When we meditate with one view and live from another, there is inevitably an inherent conflict between our spiritual and worldly strategies. There is no synthesis or integration possible because the two views are diametrically opposed. When we apply mindfulness using the dualistic way we relate to the world, it feels mechanical and artificial. Practice feels like something we are adding to the situation rather than something flowing naturally from the activity. Using mindfulness in this manner creates a sense of distance and forced effort away from the activity. This distant objectivity reinforces the very sense of separation that was the reason we applied mindfulness in the first place. Misunderstanding the problem, we work even harder to overcome it by applying more of the same, and the goal retreats yet again.