Equanimity

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Term Equanimity
Definitions One of the three core attention skills, the ability to allow sensory experience to come and go without push and pull.

Can be developed through a range of methods, such as noticing when it happens spontaneously, dropping judgments, intentionally relaxing, non-interference, anchoring attention away, noticing disappearances, creating or collapsing distance between yourself and a focus object (through zooming, being the witness, etc.), or accessing a positive emotional state, such as gratitude, compassion, etc.

Foreground/Background: You may be focusing directly on a sensory experience or you may be allowing a sensory experience to come and go freely in the background.

  • Background: Equanimity applied to any and all sensory experience outside of the focus range (in distraction space). Practiced by allowing experience to come and go freely in the background of attention.
  • Foreground: Applying Equanimity directly to a sensory experience. May be induced with physical relaxation, a matter-of-fact tone in labels, any welcoming or accepting attitude, zooming, or designer options. Pairs with Background Equanimity.

Deep Equanimity: A way to talk about transcendence. There is so little friction in the sensory system that sensory experience of form is completely effortless, spontaneous, and non-separate, and sensory awareness of no form is so complete, there is not even light.

Synonyms Coolness, Non-resistance, Non-interference, Equanimous (adjective), Equanimize (verb), Love
Antonyms Resistance, Self-interference, Sticky, Fixated, Coagulated, Congealed, Solidified
Related Compassion, Attitude, Foreground/Background Equanimity, Rest, Flow, deep Equanimity