How easy is it for a mechanic to fix a car without popping the hood? Virtually impossible. You can’t expect to change something you have no awareness of whatsoever. Most people have no awareness of their own inner, subjective experience, so they correspondingly can’t figure out how to make the changes they want to their thoughts and emotions (which then influence their behaviors). This is why the foundation of all inner change is mindfulness, also called paying attention.

Many times we are trying to fix our lives without popping the hood. Talking about why something might be going wrong and the guessing at solutions is purely hypothetical until we take a look inside. The first step is to simply become aware of what’s actually happening. The good news is that this isn’t really very hard, although it can take some courage and a willingness to learn. (more…)