Four Applications of Mindfulness

To fundamentally heal stress and uproot afflictions of the mind, one needs insight into the nature of reality. In Sanskrit, this is called vipaśyanā. There are many forms of vipaśyanā or insight meditation. A classical one is the four foundations, or four applications of mindfulness (known as satipaṭṭhāna in the Pali language). It is to gradually become mindful of our body, our sensations, the workings of the mind, and phenomena at large.

We encourage you to familiarize yourself with each one of these themes. Imagine Clarity practices are crafted in such a way that you should repeat them multiple times over time. They help you to enter into the more subtle experiences and objects to saturate the mind. As we advance, our experience becomes more refined and gradually leads to deeper insights.

Mindfulness of the Body 1/4
As with other Imagine Clarity courses, this course on the establishment of mindfulness begins with the most accessible aspect of the practice, before progressing to subsequent aspects that build on this prerequisite.

Mindfulness of the body is the most fundamental and serves as an ideal starting point to anchor the practice of the establishment of mindfulness. By closely minding and exploring the body and breath, we relax and ground ourselves in physical presence. We observe the factors of emergence and dissolution of bodily experiences, rather than identifying with them.

Our recommendation is to integrate your practice of mindfulness of the body into your existing daily routine, or start afresh. These practices will serve as a preparation for our next theme: mindfulness of feelings.

With good wishes,

The Imagine Clarity Team

Photos: Alan Kozlowski /App Frames