"open Awareness" Versus "do Nothing" Meditation

[Kloof]

Are Open Awareness Meditation and Do Nothing Meditation the same thing, or different? I've been reading up on some of the different types of meditation, and the way Open Awareness is described sounds a lot like the Do Nothing technique.

If they are different, could someone explain to me in what ways?

I found this defintion of Open Awareness on healdove.com:
 

Quote

 

Open-awareness is our wide angle, panoramic lens of consciousness.

This type of meditation can also be called "open monitoring" or "non-directive" meditation. Here, the practitioner is encouraged to observe and be present. It is a resting in awareness itself without boundary or guidance.

Open-awareness meditation is often associated with the idea of the mind being an open sky. The practitioner is to observe the clouds (thoughts) that pass along their field of awareness. Another popular exercise is that of observing a flowing river and noticing what drifts past, carried by the currents of awareness.

Examples of formal types of open-awareness meditation are the Zen zazen and shikantaza meditations, as well as the Buddhist vipassana meditations.

 

 

[AlwaysBeNice]

The same thing. You cannot undo awareness, but you can do nothing else and just be aware.

 

[Kloof]

@John Flores Ooooh, that's a good way to explain it! Thank you, I think I get it. I'll give it a shot tonight. I think I've been doing something closer to "open-awareness" the past couple weeks. If you don't mind me asking... The book I'm reading suggests practicing focused attention meditation before moving on to open awareness meditation. Do you think that's necessary? Do you think it's okay to practice "do nothing" meditation before I get good at the other two?

[Kloof]

@John Flores  Oh, interesting~ I may have also bought into the notion that working hard = stress. I suppose that's not a very helpful belief, is it... Thank you! That's definitely something to think about.