Lucid Awareness

You can practice being present awake and lucid at any moment. For this, our senses are our friends. There is no need to withdraw from the sensory world. Certainly, if you are surrounded by chaos and turmoil, you need to remove yourself from such an environment so that you can practice awareness with some stability. Once you are familiar with practice then it is quite possible to practice amidst chaos. To give yourself some familiarity with mindfulness and awareness you can notice what is happening now.

Right now, you could be aware of your body position, feel the contact of your body with the support of the earth below you, feel your breath and heartbeat. You can relax, breathe naturally and take in the environment. What do you see, in front of you and around you? What do you hear? What sounds are coming from nearby and from further away? What sounds and sights can you find that were escaping your awareness? Right now I am just noticing a new Ford Mustang driving by this Halifax North End Starbucks. There is a Nirvana song playing in the background. I like the baseline, now that I can hear it. Take a breath. Notice what is around you without adding extra thoughts and labels. Notice the lucidity of the very awareness that takes in all of these aspects of your vivid world.

Then, you can just go back to what you were doing, yet maybe with a little more ease, and a little more wakefulness. That's what I'm practicing right now.


For more on meditation with the sense gates see this previous post:

http://amindfulnessblog.blogspot.com/2010/12/peanut-butter-rainbow-wine-triangle.html