Mindfulness for Goofballs Most Popular Post 2010-11

Hi,

I am re-posting this article as it was the most viewed post over the past year.
Interested that Mindfulness for Goofballs was #1. There must be a lot
of goofballs interested in meditation out there!


http://amindfulnessblog.blogspot.com/2011/01/mindfulness-for-goofballs.html

Cheers,

Mike Munro

Shopping in Yoga Class ~ Before Zen I think about food, After Zen I think about Food.

Before I started meditation practice I would think about all sorts of things I had to do. My mind would wander about what to do next, what groceries to get, who to see, what party to go to etc.

Then I was introduced to meditation and yoga. I was given a practice for letting go of thoughts and focusing my mind on the present. When sitting in meditation or doing a yoga pose one brings one's attention to the present. It is quite a blissful experience to fully arrive in the present you know. I often tell yoga students to leave their shopping lists at the door in their coat pockets. The "to do" lists and expectations can be put on hold until after practice. This is generally a good practice for any contemplative art. There is however, a serious potential pitfall. 

The pitfall has to do with perfectionism and taking sides against thoughts. While we direct our attention to the present, it does not have to mean that suddenly we are against thoughts. The grocery list may still come up in your mind while practicing. A mistake people make is to then judge themselves as "bad meditators" or "bad yogis" just because they shopping list arises in their minds. The practice is not to shut off and shut down the mind. The practice is to allow the space for the thought to arise, to see it and also let it go. If that is allowed to happen then there is no judgment necessary. It takes relaxation.

I know this because I have been through it myself. When I started meditation I thought about groceries. Then I tried to suppress the thoughts of groceries in search of a better experience. There had to be some better experience more spiritual than thinking about groceries right? That became stressful. So now I let the thought come up, and let it go. It's not about not having the thought, but letting it arise and letting it go. It seems that it can be included.

So what has changed since I started this practice 20 years ago? I still think about what I have to do, what to get at the store. Maybe its just that I am content either way. I found myself thinking about what groceries to get at the store yesterday in class and giggled. With relaxation comes a sense of humor. If you are trying to make it "perfect" chances are you will find yourself way too upset about something that is just an ordinary thing.

Diary of a Dietitian: Practice Mindful Eating ~ Guest Blog

~ By Jennifer Brenton

Date posted: March 14, 2011

---

One of the tools I use to learn about my clients eating habits is the “24 hour recall”. I simply ask people what they ate yesterday.  I am always shocked to see how many people “forget”.  Think about it – what did you eat yesterday?  Try to write down every single thing.   It is harder than it sounds!

After some research into “mindful eating” I was not surprised to learn that over 77% of us eat while distracted (in fact I would have thought this number would be higher).  Atlantic Canadians are most likely to eat while distracted compared to our fellow Canadians in Montreal who have the most “mindful” eating habits. I believe strongly that we eat with our “minds” instead of “our stomachs”.  It is no wonder we are always hungry – our minds are not paying attention to the food we eat – so therefore we look for more food.

I am an incredibly fast eater.  I am always the first to finish a meal then I endure the awkward moment when people say – “there is more there if you want seconds”.  They must think I am starving!  I am also a very “busy” person.  I thought “multitasking” was strength!

Since my Yoga Teacher Training began – I started to focus more on the present moment.  This is a very powerful experience.  I have taken my Yoga off my mat and to the dinner table.  I have begun to notice my food more.  Tastes, textures – likes and dislikes.  I have even taken “mindful” eating into my Dietetic Practice. I have had so much success with my clients!  I have found that we eat less when we pay attention – because the “mind” becomes “full”!

I dare you to try it.  EAT without distractions this week.  Pay attention.  Be prepared – it can be a challenge – similar to the ability to calm our thoughts on the yoga mat – “mindful eating” takes practice.  Do not get discouraged if you can’t do it at first.  Enjoy the act of eating!

From: http://www.optimyz.com/blogs/837

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

Meditating During A Freakout!

Have you ever had a freakout? Have you ever been on the recieving end of someone elses freakout? A common example is "road rage" which anyone stuck in traffic for a long time can probably palpate. Sometimes it is someone close to us who triggers our freakout or freaks out on us. I don't think I need to define freakout. Unless you come from another planet, you probably know what I'm talking about.

The question for meditators is... what use is sitting meditation and mindfulness in those situations? Does sitting and following your breath have an value in those moments? Well the answer seems to be that it can, yet that is up to us. For example, when you are in a driving freakout, or working with someone in a difficult situation of any kind, there is a tendency to enter a state of high anxiety with lots of mental activity and thoughts. Sometimes the thoughts become overwhelming and we may think "terrible" things. Meditation comes into play on a couple of levels.


Body

Connecting with body: it is possible to notice the state of your body in the middle of a freakout. You can notice the tension in your shoulders and face, the restriction in breathing, you can notice the environment. It is quite possible. Once you notice your state of physical tension, it is also possible to relax. You just have to take a breath and do it. Let the physical tension soften. There still may be a situation, yet our position in it has suddenly shifted by choosing to relax tension. This doesn't mean you stop relating to it, you may still be acting in response to a situation. The difference will be that rather than "re-acting", you can be "responding".

Mind

One thing about a freakout that is helpful, is that thoughts can get really LOUD. Sometimes we have to sit to see our thougths because they are kind of subtle. In sitting we can see them and relax, let go and observe the breath. It often takes sitting to develop clear seeing and relaxation with one's mindstream. Luckily, during a freakout the thoughts are SO LOUD that you don't need to sit to see them. Yet we can apply the recogition of the nature of thoughts in that moment. It is something we train in during sitting, which you can apply in the middle of the choas. So when the thougths get loud you can see then and say "A HA,  that's a thought". There is a gap suddenly between you and your thought, you can see it and see what it is. Then we don't have to act on the impulsive thoughts that tend to come up during a freakout which would be harmful. So, in a way, a freakout creates the intesity of mind that might allow you to recognize the nature of mind. You have to choose to practice with it.

So in short ... during a freak out

• notice your body tension
• breathe
• relax the physical tension 
•  look at your mind 

As to what effect this has during a freakout, there is only one way to find out.


Resource:
Link for instructions on sitting meditation:
http://nalandabodhi.org/courses/path-of-meditation/how-to-meditate

When Desire Was Pure ~ A Poem

by Michael Munro on Monday, September 5, 2011 at 10:03am

 

Do You Remember?
Do you remember
when desire was pure
before the double take
the awkward gesture
that moments hesitation?
I think you were surfing
or riding your bike
or kissing an elephant
or eating an edible flower
or playing in the sky
imagining yourself
to be a dragonfly
or chasing butterflies
with a plastic-handled net
or riding a skate board
desire was not "desire"
movement was movement
time was a meadow
the ground was the ground
sky was sky
clouds were clouds
sunlight was sunlight
and that was what it was like,
when desire was pure.
Do you remember?
Are you still here?
How did we forget?
Heaven and earth
wait patiently
for you and me
and everyone
to forget
forget the fascination
forget the contraction
let the fascination die
let the contraction open up
let the water flow
let duality just be
the mirage that it is
the dignified fabrication
is free in itself.

Looking at Mind

In order to get to know oneself better on the path of mindfulness it is helpful to look at what you will need along the way. To get familiar with mindfulness and the genuine nature of mind actually takes a lot of determination and perseverance. Ironically, one should not be too forceful or use too much effort. We need to be patient with ourselves and realize we need not ever give up. Even when we get results that we want and feel happy about results, there is no need to give up mindfulness. When we get results we don't like then again, there is no need to give up our attentiveness. We can rely on it all the time.

In terms of searching within one's daily life and within one's experience for the genuine nature of mind, there are a few helpful mental attitudes you want to take along with you for the journey. Please remember this is the journey to where you already are and to who you already are. That is the paradoxical part of the path of mindfulness and meditation. We are taking a journey and we need provisions, yet its important to remember that the co-ordinates for what we are looking for are here and now.

There are three things I can think of that are essential to bring along.
1. Truth: a genuine interest in knowing the truth.
2. Cause and effect: a willingness to acknowledge cause and effect.
3. Mind: certainty in the benefits of working with mind.

Truth

It is important to open up to the idea that we would like to know the truth. We usually cannot start out knowing the truth because we are in need of a path to that. If we already knew the truth then we would not need a path. One of the problems is that on some level we have given up the desire to actually know what is true. We either don't believe it is possible or have given up such interest in truth in favor of a series of comfortable or entertaining lies. The comfort that comes from not knowing the truth is not really that comfortable, however, because ignoring our basic state is what causes all of the inevitable suffering that inspires us to look for a solution. So it's important to want to know what is true and what is real. Even it it means abandoning some erroneous belief, pattern or idea that we have held dear to us for so long.

Cause and Effect

It is quite possible to get some nice "spiritual" experiences while meditating or shutting ourselves off from our day to day hassles and struggles. The only problem is that if we are not joining the meditation practice with action, then we are just getting attached to meditation experiences which may distract us from paying attention to the normal daily life experiences which need to be viewed equally as "spiritual". By paying attention to the cause and effect patterns and needs of daily life we make sure we are not getting into an escapist approach to meditation.

Confidence in Mind

To take up the practice of meditation and mindfulness it will save a lot of time, indecisiveness and hesitation, if we can be certain of one thing: mind determines our experience. Mind is what produces happiness, mind is what produces suffering. If we are certain of that then we can have confidence in the practices of training and taming the mind. Otherwise, it may not be possible to maintain the practice over time because of a lack of confidence in power of the mind. Furthermore, we also may have to test a hypothesis. The masters of the past have said that the true nature of mind is naturally peaceful, intelligent, industrious and kind, something beyond what we can normally grasp. If do not have a direct experience of that, then it is important to really inquire from one's own side and experience to see if that is true or not. If it is true, then the path becomes about getting more and more familiar with this genuine nature we have uncovered.

So with these three provisions one is then ready to begin, to begin to take a closer look.