Hope. Wishful thinking about something we desire for the future. When the mind leans forward, hoping for an imagined future, it is contracted and bound to what it wants. Therefore, it is not free to be in balance with what is real in the here and now. Hope is often exalted as a positive force, but this may come from confusing it with faith, which is a power of mind that is trusting and present with what is.
Identify (with). To sense an object, whether physical or mental, as part of oneself. Identification is the same as mental attachment, when the mind forms a sticky, clinging relationship with the object, whether by holding on to it or resisting against it. When we are not mindful, we tend to identify with pretty much everything we experience and do. We assemble and maintain a changing self-image from all that we identify with and believe we are.
Ignorance. The factor of mind responsible for deluded thinking, misunderstanding who we really are. Ignorance supports the sense of separate self that is necessary for greedy self-interest as well as all forms of fear, aversion, and apathy. Our conviction that the relative world, which is inherently ephemeral and illusory, is real and lasting stems from our ignorance (not knowing) of nondual, absolute reality. As a mental conditioning, ignorance can be like mud on the windowpane of our minds. Even though the mud obscures everything we see, we can blindly believe it’s beautiful and in this way, ignorance becomes self-perpetuating.
Illusion. The apparent substantiality and continuity of ourselves and our sense worlds. The illusion of the relative world stems from delusions about the absolute. Our minds receive and process sense impressions that arise and pass at the speed of light, and our brains reduce this information into practical mental formations (imagination) that may or may not be in agreement with others. We would not be able to cope with the constantly changing world if we weren’t able to form our own personal views of it and project our images of past and future. But once we identify ourselves as existing continuously this way—as substantial beings in time and space— this illusion becomes the basis for all unsatisfactoriness and suffering.
Imagination. The forming of images, a primary function of the evolutionary brain. Imagination is the process whereby we create a viable mental picture from all that we sense, physically and mentally, including ourselves. Our imagination is responsible for creating the illusion of permanence and our concepts about it. Spiritual awakening includes seeing imagination for what it is and understanding that the projected images are independent from the clear screen of consciousness upon which they appear.
Imperience. Our intuitive “experience” of consciousness. Imperience differs from experience in that there is no subject or object. It does not happen at a sense door; it happens in consciousness itself. Imperience is fundamental to the ability to know our experiences in the way that light from a projector allows us to see what is on the movie film. Imperience is another way to speak of conscious awareness, which is an aspect of mind that is distinct from the mental process of the brain. Imperience is sensed in our blood and being and is the basis for feeling love, compassion, spiritual joy, conscience and all matters of the heart of consciousness.
Inquiry. A receptive attitude of mind that is willing to open to deeper understanding rather than holding fixed views and opinions. Investigative interest is a primary factor in inquiry—and so are concentration and mindfulness. Even though words and thoughts may be involved, the purpose of inquiry is more about seeing what is true before thoughts and concepts arise to describe it. Besides inviting interest in what we are telling ourselves, spiritual inquiry includes deep reflection about where the incessant stream of our thoughts originate and emerge.
Insight. Intuitive wisdom regarding the nature of who we are and the world we inhabit. Insights are clear understandings about life that can arise from meditation and inquiry—or as spontaneous intuitive revelations. A pool of intuitive wisdom is always available to us in the here and now, but it is not necessarily known to us because of our veils of ignorance and obsessive self- interests. Insights can awaken naturally when our minds are receptive to deeper understanding.
Intuition. A deep sense of knowing that is not necessarily evident in our ordinary sense fields. Intuition is a type of insight we access from the pool of intuitive wisdom. Intuition can be sensed in feeling as well as thought, but we need to be clear about its source in consciousness. Feeling is generally conditioned by what we believe to be true, and we are extremely adept at coloring intuition with preconceived notions. Mindfulness helps us discern whether a thought or feeling is intuitive insight or ordinary imagination.
Karma. A Sanskrit word representing the natural law of mental conditioning and the way relative reality unfolds. In a personal sense, karma describes how the mind/body complex functions from moment to moment, as well as from lifetime to lifetime. In the largest perspective of the relative world, karma describes how all things arise and pass interdependently within the absolute. Karma describes a natural law that is as fundamentally profound and important for understanding the mental world as the law of gravity is for understanding the material world.
Love. A quality of consciousness that is unconditionally open, spacious, and receptive. Since love is based in heart and imperienced in consciousness, we sense it in our blood and being throughout our bodies. Unconditional love has no particular object or conditions. What we experience as sentimental love is more an extension of liking, which is based in attraction and attachment, and is therefore conditioned by our feelings. In spiritual terms, love is our heart connection with divine consciousness, and it implies the most sublime state of being that humans can imperience, along with compassion, equanimity, and empathetic joy.
Meditation. A way of training the mind to observe itself more clearly and wisely, strengthening concentration, mindfulness, and other wholesome mental factors. Meditation often uses sense objects for concentration, including mantra, visualization, and bodily sensations. Two primary modalities of meditation practice are those for stabilizing and focusing our attention, and those for awakening intuitive insight into the realities of life. Wise meditation can have many beneficial effects, including purification of the mind by uprooting unwholesome mental habits, and physical/emotional healing by virtue of our willingness to attend compassionately to areas in pain and distress.
Mental Factor. A component of the mental life. Mental factors are the primary constituents of our moment-to-moment mental experiences. They combine in ways similar to how a variety of flavors blend to create a single taste. Some—like mindfulness, faith, and generosity—are conducive to wholesome states of being, while others—like delusion, aversion, and greed— support unwholesomeness. When we express these factors in thoughts, speech, and actions, they become primary conditioners of our future experiences as well.
Mind. The combined functioning of consciousness, mental life, and the feeling component of perception as registered in sensations. Mind serves as the software that forms and enlivens the body (our hardware), perceives the sense worlds, motivates intention, assembles personality, empowers self-awareness, and runs everything we do in the relative world. Mind includes personal consciousness—the aspect of our being that unites us with divine consciousness.
Mindfulness. The mental factor we use to know our sensory experiences and observe what we feel, think, and do. Because mindfulness allows us to be present in our own experiences, strengthening it is a primary focus of mental training. It can be sensed as an inner witness or observer to our activities. Mindfulness is a factor in our mental lives, but it is not the same as awareness, which is a function of consciousness. We can be consciously aware of being mindful, which is like observing the observer. But we cannot be mindful of awareness since awareness is neither an object nor an activity. Mindfulness does, however, strengthen the mind’s ability to drop into conscious awareness, or imperience.
