Yesterday, as I was meditating (read: trying to meditate), I spotted a very bad little habit that I've come into. So subtle it is, that I do not even know how long I've practiced it. I think it may be causing a great deal of unhappiness, and I am eager to rid myself of it. This discovery took place as I was trying to rid my thoughts of the heat of the room. I was sitting on the floor with a little desk fan at my back. In order to cool off, I tried to imagine that I was sitting atop a mountain in China, a gentle breeze at my back. I pictured myself sitting there, only the top of the hill peeking over the clouds, and me in my meditative position on top of the hill. I imagined that the billowy clouds were moving gently, rapidly, all around. And then I thought, Why is it that whenever I try to imagine myself in a situation, I experience the imagination as though outside myself? I thought some more. Every thought of potential future situations follow this pattern. I view t...