A common misunderstanding is that the meditative state of mind has to be captured and then nursed and cherished. That is definitely the wrong approach. If you try to domesticate your mind through meditation–try to possess it by holding on to the meditative state–the clear result will be regression on the path, with a loss of freshness and spontaneity. So the technique of mindfulness of life is based on touch and go. You focus your attention on the object of awareness, but then, in the same moment you disown that awareness and go on. What is needed here is some sense of confidence–confidence that you do not have to securely own your mind, but that you can tune into its process spontaneously.
From “The Four Foundations of Mindfulness in The Sanity We Are Born With: A Buddhist Approach to Psychology, page 28.
Quotes of the week will be on vacation next week. Look for the next Sunday quote on August 29th.