If you're not into mindfulness meditation, the title of this blog post may seem like nonsense to you. But like I wrote last year, "Mindfulness has become my meditation."
A frequently-heard saying in the guided meditations I listen to via iPhone apps is Breathing in, know that you are breathing in. In other words, bring mind and body into a state of harmonious relatedness.
Of course, you don't have to always be aware of your breathing. But if your goal in a particular meditation session is to be aware of your breathing, then obviously you need to know that you are breathing to bring about that awareness.
It's entirely possible, very common, in fact, to be doing something physically without being aware of what you're doing. I can read several paragraphs of a book before I suddenly realize, I have no idea what I just read. My eyes were scanning the words, while my mind was thinking about something else.
So I try to get into the habit of saying to myself, "While doing ____, know that I'm doing ____."
Not continuously, of course. That would distract from my awareness of what I'm doing, since if I kept repeating that phrase, I'd be aware of repeating that phrase, not what I was physically doing.
For example, at the beginning of the three Tai Chi classes I attend each week I typically say to myself, "While doing Tai Chi, know that I am doing Tai Chi." Maybe that seems obvious. It isn't, though. After 15 years of learning Tai Chi, I know most of the forms so well I can do them while my mind is elsewhere.
Like, thinking about what I'm going to have for dinner. Thus my body can be practicing Tai Chi, while my mind is visualizing what's going to be taken out of the refrigerator when I get home.
There's nothing wrong with doing that.
It just means that I'm not fully into the present moment, since my body is in one place while my mind is in another place. That's often fine. How would we be able to envision the future if our minds were locked into only being cognizant of what's happening right now?
Ditto for remembering the past.
I'm simply saying that by and large, I've found that life is more pleasant, and seems to flow more smoothly, when my mind is as much in sync with my physical actions as possible. Sure, sometimes we need to be almost totally immersed in thoughts or feelings that take us away from what our body is doing.
Even then, though, we should be aware of our inner contemplation while we're engaged in that inner contemplation. Most of us have had the unsettling experience of talking to somebody, then having them say, "Oh, sorry. Could you repeat that? My mind was somewhere else."
Typically we aren't as unsettled when we aren't aware of what our own mind has been saying inside our head, because this happens so frequently, it is second nature (or even first nature) to us.
Meaning, if our inner voice were to be broadcast to the world at large via a psychological loudspeaker, other people would look upon us as if we were crazy -- much as mentally ill homeless people are viewed when they stand on a street corner and blurt out whatever pops into their head.
A main difference between them and us is that we're able to keep our bizarre non-sensical stream-of-consciousness thoughts to ourselves while we walk down a sidewalk. Which shouldn't fill us with pride in our sanity. We're just better at keeping our craziness inside our head.
Mindfulness practice hasn't made me into a Buddha, for sure.
I still get anxious, sad, upset, angry, worried, fearful, and such just about as much as before. However, I'm working on simply experiencing those feelings as they arise, rather than, say, getting anxious about my anxiety, or sad about my sadness.
Being more mindful of how I'm feeling seems to help me avoid becoming overwhelmed by an emotion, where I make myself feel worse by over-reacting to a feeling I'm experiencing. Feeling worried, I know that I'm feeling worried -- that sort of thing.
It's been a while since I've locked my car, then walked back to my car to see if I've locked it. Like I said back in February, this is a positive sign of my (mini) enlightenment.
Any resemblance between me and this image that I shared in that post is purely coincidental. I do, though, live near a lake that has water lilies, so there's that.
Brian, you always were the rational one. 😉
Dying to know what the title of your new book will be...
Posted by: Sonya | May 27, 2019 at 12:15 AM
Very nice!!
I find this a very good way..
It helped me out of most problems.
Vipassana or Mindfullness is precious.
Love it!
Posted by: s* | May 27, 2019 at 04:11 AM
To find your own source of strength, Brian Ji, and to share that, is a wonderful thing.
Posted by: Spence Tepper | May 27, 2019 at 09:04 AM
Venerable Brian
Yep this mindfulness stuff is pretty cool. I’ve often wondered why it’s called mindfulness as the term could imply a mind ‘full of stuff’, when it’s more about being aware of this stuff, getting less caught up in it, and as you say not giving thought more charge by emotionalising it (unnecessarily). The real juice lies in becoming aware of who the so-called thinker is and making sense (if you can:-)) of that imo.
Simple but not easy. The mind likes to think, react, and generally fuck things up for ‘us’ quite often. I was also wondering the other day about how many folk who meditate, do personal growth stuff, seem calm and quite together are also on various types of medication e.g. anti-depressants, anti-anxiety. Quite a lot in my view. Anxiety in many forms seems quite pervasive.
Like the picture. All these illustrations of holy people have the halo - something similar must have happened to all of them - what is it? Some LED has gone on or off and they now sit serenely (I used to be able to do the full lotus) with their bunny friends. What’s with the ear lobes? I reckon ‘getting it together’ involves ELET - Ear Lobe Extension Therapy. I looked at your photo posted 24.5 but couldn’t tell if you had undergone the same treatment.
Posted by: Tim Rimmer | May 27, 2019 at 01:38 PM
Some time ago my son popped in to visit me and gave me a sticker with a Buddha quote which I have stuck on my fridge. It says:
"We are what we think, all that we are arises with our thoughts, with our thoughts we make the world".
How often do I notice it ... hmmm. Probably even if I stuck lots of reminders about mindfulness on the walls I still would not notice them that often... such is the mind. But it is a practice and a good one so thanks for the mindfulness reminder.
Posted by: Jen | May 27, 2019 at 03:24 PM
From the Official RSSB website today:
Quote of the Day
"Whenever you do a thing, act as if all the world were watching."
— Thomas Jefferson —
Very much goes to the mindfulness mentioned here. Kind of funny really. Personal responsibility, taking ownership, ethical (morally or otherwise), but not putting it into practice by the RSSB higher ups and the Boss. If we're trying to be mindful, then we know what we're doing and understand the consequences of our actions.
I guess it applies to everyone else, but not me (read GSD). Just don't get caught.
Strange turn of events. Charan SIngh worked so hard to keep RSSB on the straight and narrow, out of the public eye, away from scandals. Ironically, his own close relatives have undone what he worked so hard for 40 years.
Posted by: Amar | May 28, 2019 at 08:11 AM