Yin and yang

Locations (yin) and pathways (yang) contemplation

When using the wheel in your mindfulness practice, you can choose:

• Location contemplation — maintain your attention on a particular theme (location) or combination of themes (relationships between locations)

• Pathway contemplation — allow your attention to progress between themes by following certain pathways from a starting point to a finishing point

Receptive (yin) and active (yang) mindfulness

As well as the incorporation into the mindfulness wheel, it can be helpful (initially at least) to think about two different ways that you can approach mindfulness, associated with different purposes and intentions.

One way of characterising these approaches is receptive or active.  This is somewhat similar to the difference between śamatha and vipassanā meditation, except the purpose of receptive mindfulness is not always to produce stillness and the purpose of active mindfulness is not always to transform perceptions.

Neither is right or wrong. Neither is better or worse. Each approach meets different needs.

Calming (yin) and energising (yang) mindfulness

Mindfulness is often portrayed as a way of generating stillness and peace, of quieting body, thoughts and emotions. But it can also be used to generate physical, emotional and mental energy. It may even do both at the same time. Some forms of physical meditative practice (e.g. tai chi or yoga) can have a calming effect on the mind and an energising effect on the body simultaneously.

Calming does not equate to receptive and energising does not equate to active. It is possible for receptive mindfulness to be energising (if greater attention leads to amplification of the experience of a particular state). Active mindfulness can be calming (if concentration on a particular state reduces peripheral distractions and distresses).

Embracing duality and contradiction

And, yes, in case you didn't notice it, there is an apparent contradiction between location contemplation being yin even though it may involve an active (yang) approach to mindfulness. Similarly, pathways contemplation (yang) is presented as using a receptive (yin) approach.

One important lesson of contemplating yin and yang is that what appears to be a contradiction is often a sign of a deeper truth. At a fundamental level, they are not really different but interacting and mutually generating aspects of the same whole.