Mindfulness Meditation (For Everyday Life)

To me, sitting this way embodies receptivity, an
openness to what is above, to the energy of the
heavens (the Chinese say: "As above, so below").
Sometimes I feel a strong impulse to open to energy
from above. It can be quite helpful at times, especially
in periods of turmoil or confusion, to emphasize
receptivity in your sitting practice. This can be done
simply by opening your palms to the heavens. It's not
that you are actively looking for something to
magically help you. Rather, you are making yourself
available to higher insights, priming a willingness in
yourself to resonate with energies we usually think of
as elevated, divine, celestial, cosmic, universal, of a
higher order and wisdom.
All our hand postures are mudras in that they are
associated with subtle or not-so-subtle energies.
Take the energy of the fist, for instance. When we get
angry, our hands tend to close into fists. Some
people unknowingly practice this mudra a lot in their
lives. It waters the seeds of anger and violence within
you every time you do it, and they respond by
sprouting and growing stronger.
The next time you find yourself making fists out of
anger, try to bring mindfulness to the inner attitude
embodied in a fist. Feel the tension, the hatred, the
anger, the aggression, and the fear which it contains.