12 ATTACHMENTS PRACTICE
The Pilgrimage of Non-Attachment
There is a quiet, yet persistent rumour within the soul that we are far deeper than the roles we play and the thoughts we think. For years, we build a scaffold of identity—a magnificent, yet temporary structure made of story, emotion, and muscle—and we mistake the house for the eternal ground it rests upon. The psychological burden of this attachment is the constant need to defend the scaffold from the inevitable winds of change, leading to exhaustion, anxiety, and a fundamental sense of being lost.
But the true Self, the Witness, remains untouched, a silent, unwavering light behind the turbulent screen of experience. This 12 ATTACHMENTS PRACTICE is not about rejection; it is an act of deep, devotional recognition. It is the loving, necessary pilgrimage of removing the veils, one by one—Neti, Neti—until only the "I Am" remains. When we realize we are not the contents of the wave (body, thought, feeling), we finally surrender to the vast, imperturbable nature of the ocean itself.
This "No body, no mind" practice is called Mushin in Japanese. This is where psychological freedom meets spiritual truth: the moment you stop defining yourself by what you are losing is the moment you discover what you can never lose.
The 12 attachments the contemplative practice Mark designed guides you through letting go of are:
1. I am not this (witness awareness) 2. I Am Not This Body 3. I Am Not These Sensations 4. I Am Not These Emotions 5. I Am Not These Thoughts 6. I Am Not This Mind (The collection of thoughts, memories, beliefs, and patterns) 7. I Am Not This Personality (Traits, preferences, habits, characteristics) 8. I Am Not My Roles (Parent, partner, professional, etc.) 9. I Am Not My Story (Personal history, memories, biography) 10. The Great Inquiry: Who Am I? (This is the turning point, moving from negation to inquiry) 11. I Am—The Self Reveals Itself (Realizing you are pure awareness/consciousness) 12. Returning with Recognition (Integrating the recognition of the eternal Self)
Read more : https://markllockwood.com/2025/12/06/the-12-attachments-practice
