Open Awareness
A meditation style of non-focused attention, allowing whatever arises to come and go freely.
Also known as: Choiceless awareness, Open monitoring, Shikantaza
Category: Techniques
Tags: mindfulness, meditation, awareness, concentration, zen
Explanation
Open awareness (also called choiceless awareness, open monitoring, or shikantaza in Zen) is a meditation approach where you maintain broad, receptive attention without focusing on any particular object. Unlike focused attention meditation (concentrating on breath), open awareness involves sitting with awareness itself, noticing whatever appears - thoughts, sounds, sensations, emotions - without selecting, rejecting, or following. The practice cultivates equanimity and insight into the nature of experience. It's often considered more advanced because it requires the concentration developed through focused practice to avoid simply daydreaming. The stance is one of passive alertness: awake but not grasping. For knowledge workers, open awareness develops the capacity to hold multiple threads lightly, notice patterns across domains, and maintain calm alertness amid complexity.
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