Meditation · Compassion
Equanimity Practice
The steady-ground quality — care deeply without being tossed
The fourth Brahmavihara. The steady-ground quality that lets you care deeply without being tossed around. Practiced with the phrases: "May I meet things as they are. May I care and let go."
Practice
- Bring to mind a difficult situation you can't control
- Notice the pull to fix, rescue, or force
- Offer the phrases: 'I care about this. And I cannot control it. May I have the strength to be with things as they are.'
- Feel the ground come back underneath
The situation I brought
What equanimity is NOT (indifference, giving up, not caring)
The near enemy of equanimity is indifference
Equanimity is caring plus ground. Indifference is not caring. Watch for the drift — especially when caring hurts.