In these times, it’s so hard to trust…even what we see and hear with our own eyes and ears (I mean, I like to think I’m pretty good at spotting AI but…). This means it’s even more important to listen to our inner voice, our intuition (often held in our bodies). AND this is hard to hear with all the static we have going on in our minds.
We owe it to ourselves to remember what we used to know so intuitively – what it feels like when something feels right, when something feels off, or wrong. Just the other day my daughter said, “Something feels off,” and we spent a good while processing how her body was feeling and what it might mean. I wish someone had taught ME this when I was younger!
So that’s why this week we’re exploring the part of the traditional teachings in the Off the Cushion Into the World Series that helps us create more spaciousness and less static in our minds. It helps us create a longer pause between an event and our response to it.
This practice is Meditation, or samādhi, and its related components of Wise Effort, Wise Mindfulness and Wise Concentration. Together these are the mental trainings – inward trainings – that help us create the pause that we need to actually DO the right thing. To show up in the world the way we want to – not in the way that’s just habits and old stories running the show.
In order to have the agency to make these choices, we need to be able to take the time to reflect on what’s right, what’s wise. We need to pause enough just to simply access our wise mind instead of falling into habit.
So let’s start with what helps us even try this: Wise Effort.
Most of us, especially those of us raised in modern industrialized society, have a complicated relationship with effort. Many of us, myself included, were trained to push and hustle. To prove our worth through doing. But this BS hustle culture has made overworking something like a badge of honor. Like it’s sexy to be busy. That busyness means we’re important.
But the Buddha’s teaching on effort is very different. Wise Effort isn’t about striving harder. It’s about how we apply our energy.
In the teachings there are 4 kinds of wise effort:
- To prevent unwholesome states from arising.
- To abandon unwholesome states that have arisen.
- To cultivate wholesome states that haven’t yet arisen.
- And to maintain wholesome states that already exist.
So Wise Effort is about noticing where our energy goes and asking, “Is this feeding suffering, or feeding freedom?”
Philip Moffit describes Wise Effort as “energy guided by wisdom.” He says: “Effort that’s driven by striving leads to exhaustion. Effort guided by wisdom leads to freedom.” I feel that! In other words, effort isn’t about forcing the mind, it’s about befriending it.
Now let’s talk about Wise Mindfulness. “Mindfulness” is a word that’s everywhere now, right? It’s in corporate wellness programs, even on stock trading apps. Most of us think It means to focus or be aware in some way. But in the Buddha’s teaching, mindfulness (sati) means “to remember.”
Remember what?
To remember the present moment, my friends! To remember what really matters. To remember to stay awake. To not check out!
And here’s the thing: mindfulness isn’t just about feeling calm. It’s about seeing clearly, seeing this as they are, without our old stories clouding the picture. Because when we see clearly, we have more choice, and access to more wisdom and compassion.
Without mindfulness, we usually just react – without even thinking! Or even if we happen to be thinking, we’re usually also being hijacked by our emotions or old beliefs.
With mindfulness, we can respond instead of react. That’s the difference between our default behaviors and true freedom.
Next there are the Four Foundations of Mindfulness that help us stay present and clear: Mindfulness of 1) the body, 2) feeling tone (pleasant, unpleasant, neutral), 3) mind (citta), and 4) mental objects. Each of these is like a door to awareness. Noticing things like the body tensing, feeling shitty, becoming frustrated in a tense conversation, old stories (“Why does this always happen to me?!”) – that’s all mindfulness.
And in being aware of these things in the moment, we create more space – and pause. And herein is the power of the pause. In it, we can take a breath and choose to respond differently.
This is true freedom.
This is why mindfulness is the fulcrum between wisdom and compassion, and ultimately, freedom. It allows us to meet the present moment as it is, without resisting it and without getting hooked by it.
Meditation also requires Wise Concentration. This is about stabilizing the mind so deeply that insight can arise. Sure, we can have insights through psychedelic experiences and wilderness fasts and other altered states – AND can have them in meditation!
If we can’t stabilize the mind, we can have a potent insight about to reveal itself to us, and then have it be lost when old patterns return.
You know how our attention feels most days, right? Fragmented, jumpy – like my brain has 37 tabs open and a few moments of buffering, just like my computer;) Wise Concentration is like learning how to close the damn tabs.
So this isn’t about force or control. It’s about cultivating a mind that knows how to rest deeply, naturally. Like mud settling after being stirred up in a pond.
Even in simple, everyday ways, concentration gives us refuge. It gives our heart and mind a home.
Think about when you’re painting, surfing, skiing, writing, playing music, cooking, knitting, dancing – those moments where everything else quiets down, and you’re just in it? That’s concentration. A kind of flow state.
It’s not going to be easy right away. We develop concentration through steady practice, and we practice by choosing an anchor like the breath, a sound, our body, and gently returning to it over and over.
In our world, this kind of steady presence is more and more rare. We live in an attention economy where billions of dollars are spent trying to fracture our focus.
So when we sit down, even for five minutes, and train our mind to stay and not chase every impulse ( to scratch, to get up and leave, to say something…) we are reclaiming our freedom.
That is a radical act.
The Pali word samādhi literally means “to bring together,” to unify the mind.
Wise Effort, Wise Mindfulness, and Wise Concentration are often described as three separate trainings, but they’re actually one unified movement:
Effort is the energy that gets us to the cushion.
Mindfulness is the awareness that keeps us there.
Concentration is the stillness that allows insight to arise and deepens what we see.
Together, they all create the conditions for insight; that moment when we realize we don’t have to believe every thought, react to every emotion, or chase every craving.
Remember, rebels: Freedom is found in awareness and alignment.
That’s it.
Every part of the path we’ve been exploring – wisdom, ethics, meditation – is about seeing clearly, acting with integrity, and staying awake in each moment.
So today, I want to invite you to align your life with what’s true, because the path isn’t something we just believe in – it’s something we live.
And when you forget – as we all do – pause and ask yourself:
“Am I seeing clearly right now?” and “Am I acting in alignment with what really matters?”
These two questions can bring us back to presence, to integrity, to freedom – our true home – again and again.
Remember, this isn’t about escaping life. It’s about being awake to it.
The last thing the world needs right now is more people who can meditate for hours but avoid hard truths. It needs people who can be present, grounded, and kind, even when things are messy.
This is the power of samādhi, and of the Eightfold Path as a whole – not just calmness, but unshakeable clarity and courage. Ziji.
You will learn:
// The real reason we meditate (it’s not what you think!)
// The 3 parts of samādhi: Wise Effort, Wise Mindfulness, and Wise Concentration
// Why modern industrialized society has given many of us a complicated relationship with “effort”
// How meditation (samādhi) trains the mind to pause between impulse and action – not to escape life, but to meet it fully.
// Why ethical living quiets inner conflict and creates the ground for real peace and a solid meditation practice.
// How to recognize when effort becomes striving
// What mindfulness truly means: remembering what matters and staying awake to what’s real, even when it’s uncomfortable.
// How concentration offers refuge in an age of distraction
// Why the Eightfold Path isn’t about checking out, but learning to see clearly and act with integrity in a world that needs awake hearts.
Resources:
// Episode 44: The Power of the Pause
// Episode 208: The Sit Spot Practice – When It’s Hard to Meditate
// Episode 209: Ripening and the Inevitability of Our Awakening
// Listen to Ana talk with Brooke Castillo on The Life Coach School Podcast about how Buddhism was using thoughtwork thousands of years ago
// Episode 278: Off the Cushion and Into the World – Part 1 Intro and the Three Jewels
// Episode 279: Reality Check – Off the Cushion + Into the World Part 2
// Episode 281: Wisdom In Action – Off the Cushion Part 3
// Episode 282: Remembering Our Humanity – A Lesson of the Ages
// If you’re new to the squad, grab the Rebel Buddhist Toolkit I created at RebelBuddhist.com. It has all you need to start creating a life of more freedom, adventure, and purpose. You’ll also get access to the Rebel Buddhist private group, and tune in every Wednesday as I go live with new inspiration and topics.
// Want something more self-paced with access to weekly group support and getting coached by yours truly? Check out Freedom School – the community for ALL things related to freedom, inside and out. We dive into taking wisdom and applying it to our daily lives, with different topics every month. Learn more at JoinFreedomSchool.com. I can’t wait to see you there!
// Have you benefited from even one episode of the Rebel Buddhist Podcast? I’d love it if you could leave a 5-star review on iTunes by clicking here or on Spotify by clicking here.