Learning Mindfulness

Photo from papertissue

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How many of you have tried to meditate before? Maybe you sat in yogi position, with your thumb and first finger pinched together into a circle like Rafiki in The Lion King. Maybe you lit a candle. Maybe you failed miserably at it, like I did. I've tried, time and again, to make a ritual out of meditation and then never, ever stuck with it.

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I've realized since that prayer actually works better for me than Buddhist meditation practices, but I think this is because I've just had more practice at it. Of course there are religous reasons for prayer, as in, you know, verbally communicating with God and sustaining your relationship with Him (and/or Her, as you will). But there are practical evidences that prayer is really good for people in a more physical sense. It manages stress levels and creates a sense of well-being in a person in much the same way that Buddhist meditation has been shown to do (I won't reference specific findings here, but there is on-going neuroscientific experimentation, much supported by the Dalai Lama by the way, that demonstrates the positive effects of Buddhist meditation).

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I know I could work really hard at it and master the damn thing, but I'm too lazy. So imagine my delight when I discovered the lazy person's meditation technique.

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It's called Mindfulness. Mindfulness has been called "one of the simplest meditation techniques and potentially the most revealing as it involves letting go of any desire to control your thoughts. Instead, you observe them with detachment as they arise. . ." (Roland 38). Essentially the idea is that we give our thoughts the significance they do, or more often don't, deserve. The idea is that you don't have to control your thoughts, you just have to stop letting them control you. Imagine that the mind is a barking dog. Instead of trying to quiet it, you get on with whatever you need to do and just let the dog bark because that is just what dogs do. Our minds are constantly bringing thoughts to the surface of our individual consciousness. That's just what minds do. It's our choice whether to pay credence to the thoughts and react accordingly.

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One of my favorite things about mindfulness is that it isn't something you "set aside time" to do. You can do it all the time. One mindfulness exercise is that of eating. Instead of hurrying and preparing meals as quickly as possible and chomping them down, one can focus on the task at hand, in this example, eating an apple. You feel the texture of the apples you're slicing. Notice the color and the smell. Maybe you even pay attention to the sound of your knife slicing into the whiteness of the apple's flesh. Instead of swallowing the slices whole, as I'm (almost) wont to do, you chew slowly, focusing on the taste and texture of the apple slice. Feeding your body can be a meditative practice. I can only imagine the health implications.

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The idea is that you can practice mindfulness periodically throughout the day until it becomes second nature. If I were to slow down I would realize that the majority of the time I am tense and anxious, ready to spring to the next task to be done. Of course tasks need to be done, but do they need to be done by an automaton? Do I really have anything to gain by doing tasks anxiously and absentmindedly?

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I know this post is already text heavy, but I came across these helpful mindfulness questions today in a book called The Mindful Brain by Dan Siegel. The idea is that you answer with the traditional "almost never" to "almost always" range:

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• I perceive my feelings and emotions without having to react to them.
• I watch my feelings without getting lost in them.
• In difficult situations I can pause without immediately reacting.
• When I have distressing thoughts or images I just notice them and let them go.
• When I'm walking, I deliberately notice the sensations of my body moving.
• When I take a shower or a bath, I stay alert to the sensations of water on my body.
• I notice how foods and drinks affect my thoughts, bodily sensations, and emotions.
• I pay attention to sensations, such as the wind in my hair or sun on my face.
• I pay attention to sounds, like ticking clocks, birds chirping, or cars passing.
• I notice the smells and aromas of things.
• I intentionaly stay aware of my feelings.
• I notice visual elements in art or nature, such as colors, shapes, textures, or patterns of light and shadow.
• I pay attention to how my emotions affect my thoughts and behavior (or vice versa).
• I find it difficult to stay focused on what's happening in the present.
• It seems I am 'running on automatic' without much awareness of what I'm doing (93-94).

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And there are more, but this is probably enough for now. I know mindfulness didn't make it onto my New Year's Resolution list, but it very well could have. Because I'm realizing that mindfulness is a big part of celebrating (the very prominent resolution of this, my year of 2012). Who wants to go to the trouble of cooking a nice meal if you're not even going to take time to be "in the moment" of eating it? Swallowing it whole? Being done in 5-10 minutes? Where's the fun in that? How else do you think it could play into celebrating? What ways do you think you'd like to practice mindfulness?

Sources:

Roland, Paul. How to Meditate. Ulysses Press, Berkeley 2000.

Siegel, Daniel J. The Mindful Brain. W.W. Norton and Co. NY, 2007.