In order to get to know oneself better on the path of mindfulness it is helpful to look at what you will need along the way. To get familiar with mindfulness and the genuine nature of mind actually takes a lot of determination and perseverance. Ironically, one should not be too forceful or use too much effort. We need to be patient with ourselves and realize we need not ever give up. Even when we get results that we want and feel happy about results, there is no need to give up mindfulness. When we get results we don't like then again, there is no need to give up our attentiveness. We can rely on it all the time.
In terms of searching within one's daily life and within one's experience for the genuine nature of mind, there are a few helpful mental attitudes you want to take along with you for the journey. Please remember this is the journey to where you already are and to who you already are. That is the paradoxical part of the path of mindfulness and meditation. We are taking a journey and we need provisions, yet its important to remember that the co-ordinates for what we are looking for are here and now.
There are three things I can think of that are essential to bring along.
1. Truth: a genuine interest in knowing the truth.
2. Cause and effect: a willingness to acknowledge cause and effect.
3. Mind: certainty in the benefits of working with mind.
Truth
It is important to open up to the idea that we would like to know the truth. We usually cannot start out knowing the truth because we are in need of a path to that. If we already knew the truth then we would not need a path. One of the problems is that on some level we have given up the desire to actually know what is true. We either don't believe it is possible or have given up such interest in truth in favor of a series of comfortable or entertaining lies. The comfort that comes from not knowing the truth is not really that comfortable, however, because ignoring our basic state is what causes all of the inevitable suffering that inspires us to look for a solution. So it's important to want to know what is true and what is real. Even it it means abandoning some erroneous belief, pattern or idea that we have held dear to us for so long.
Cause and Effect
It is quite possible to get some nice "spiritual" experiences while meditating or shutting ourselves off from our day to day hassles and struggles. The only problem is that if we are not joining the meditation practice with action, then we are just getting attached to meditation experiences which may distract us from paying attention to the normal daily life experiences which need to be viewed equally as "spiritual". By paying attention to the cause and effect patterns and needs of daily life we make sure we are not getting into an escapist approach to meditation.
Confidence in Mind
To take up the practice of meditation and mindfulness it will save a lot of time, indecisiveness and hesitation, if we can be certain of one thing: mind determines our experience. Mind is what produces happiness, mind is what produces suffering. If we are certain of that then we can have confidence in the practices of training and taming the mind. Otherwise, it may not be possible to maintain the practice over time because of a lack of confidence in power of the mind. Furthermore, we also may have to test a hypothesis. The masters of the past have said that the true nature of mind is naturally peaceful, intelligent, industrious and kind, something beyond what we can normally grasp. If do not have a direct experience of that, then it is important to really inquire from one's own side and experience to see if that is true or not. If it is true, then the path becomes about getting more and more familiar with this genuine nature we have uncovered.
So with these three provisions one is then ready to begin, to begin to take a closer look.
