fookisan
Guest
On Mindfulness........On page 108 of "50 Ways to Simplify Your Life" the author talks about living mindfully saying , "Mindfulness is a great simplifying tool, because it is an antidote to doing too much." The book also gives the following example from the "The Miracle of Mindfulness." "If while washing dishes we think only of the tea that awaits us...then we are not 'washing the dishes.' If we can't wash the dishes, chances are we won't be able to drink our tea either." How many times have we read a page and not know what we have just read. Forget where we are driving to and have to retrace our route. Find ourselves confused talking to someone on the phone after we realize we have no idea whose number we have just dialed.
How can we start to be mindful instead of mindless? Awareness of our thoughts is the first step, taking action to live mindfully is the second step. We also need to stop putting ourselves on auto pilot. Mindfulness will come easier with daily practice. A good way to practice mindfulness is to concentrate on your breathing and to pay attentions to distracting thoughts as they fall away and disappear.
In the old classic "Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance author Robert Pirsig discusses this when he compares an ego based (mindless) climber to a selfless climber that is not driven by pride and ego.
"To the untrained eye ego-climbing and selfless climbing may appear identical. Both kinds of climbers place one front in front of the other both breathe in and out at the same rate. Both stop when they need a rest. Both go forward when rested. But what a difference! The ego-climber is like an instrument that's out of adjustment. He puts his foot down an instant too soon or too late. He's likely to miss a beautiful passage of sunlight through the trees. He goes on when the sloppiness of his step shows he's tired. He rests at odd times. He looks up the trail trying to see what's ahead even when he knows what's ahead because
he just looked a second before. He goes too fast or too slow for the conditions and when he talks his talk is forever about somewhere else, something else. He's here but he's not here. He rejects the here, is unhappy with it, wants to be farther up the trail but when he gets there will be just as unhappy because then it will be "here." What he's looking for, what he wants, is all around him, but he doesn't want that because it is all around him. Every step's an effort, both physically and spiritually, because he imagines his goal to be external and distant."
With being an ADD and an addict, it is a a constant battle for me to be mindful. I have to make a conscious effort to be mindful of the bite of food I am eating as my normal way is to put in a second bite before I've finished the first - sensation addiction. I used my addictions as distraction from living life and dealing with problems and as artificial ways to relieve pain. I've abused these pain relievers so that now they are pain generators in my life. Isn't it much easier to fantasize about something else than stay in the hear and now? I try and catch myself when I practice this escapism and work to bring my thoughts back to the present. Whenever the fantasy starts I check to see what I am escaping from? Why do I fixate on something else instead of where I'm at? Practicing mindfulness of the present moment as part of a Buddhist practice has helped and working 12 step programs to repair the damage and balance my life has also helped. It is important to distinguish being mindful vs being concentrated as we can be concentrated on one aspect and blind to the big picture.
Going back to my breath helps me return to the present and realize that peace is all around me for the taking as Thich Nhat Hanh said:
"There is no way to peace, peace is the way. This means that we can realize peace right here in the present moment with our look, our smile, our words and our actions. Peace work in not a means, each step we take should be peace. Every step we take should be joy. Every step we take should be happiness. Are you massaging Mother Earth every time your foot touches her? Are you planting seeds of joy and peace? Enlightenment, peace and joy will not be granted by someone else. The well is within us and if we dig deeply in the present moment the water will spring forth. If we are determined, we can do it. We don't need the future. We can smile, breath fully and relax Everything we want is here in the present moment. Peace is every step. Shall we continue our journey?"
fookisan
How can we start to be mindful instead of mindless? Awareness of our thoughts is the first step, taking action to live mindfully is the second step. We also need to stop putting ourselves on auto pilot. Mindfulness will come easier with daily practice. A good way to practice mindfulness is to concentrate on your breathing and to pay attentions to distracting thoughts as they fall away and disappear.
In the old classic "Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance author Robert Pirsig discusses this when he compares an ego based (mindless) climber to a selfless climber that is not driven by pride and ego.
"To the untrained eye ego-climbing and selfless climbing may appear identical. Both kinds of climbers place one front in front of the other both breathe in and out at the same rate. Both stop when they need a rest. Both go forward when rested. But what a difference! The ego-climber is like an instrument that's out of adjustment. He puts his foot down an instant too soon or too late. He's likely to miss a beautiful passage of sunlight through the trees. He goes on when the sloppiness of his step shows he's tired. He rests at odd times. He looks up the trail trying to see what's ahead even when he knows what's ahead because
he just looked a second before. He goes too fast or too slow for the conditions and when he talks his talk is forever about somewhere else, something else. He's here but he's not here. He rejects the here, is unhappy with it, wants to be farther up the trail but when he gets there will be just as unhappy because then it will be "here." What he's looking for, what he wants, is all around him, but he doesn't want that because it is all around him. Every step's an effort, both physically and spiritually, because he imagines his goal to be external and distant."
With being an ADD and an addict, it is a a constant battle for me to be mindful. I have to make a conscious effort to be mindful of the bite of food I am eating as my normal way is to put in a second bite before I've finished the first - sensation addiction. I used my addictions as distraction from living life and dealing with problems and as artificial ways to relieve pain. I've abused these pain relievers so that now they are pain generators in my life. Isn't it much easier to fantasize about something else than stay in the hear and now? I try and catch myself when I practice this escapism and work to bring my thoughts back to the present. Whenever the fantasy starts I check to see what I am escaping from? Why do I fixate on something else instead of where I'm at? Practicing mindfulness of the present moment as part of a Buddhist practice has helped and working 12 step programs to repair the damage and balance my life has also helped. It is important to distinguish being mindful vs being concentrated as we can be concentrated on one aspect and blind to the big picture.
Going back to my breath helps me return to the present and realize that peace is all around me for the taking as Thich Nhat Hanh said:
"There is no way to peace, peace is the way. This means that we can realize peace right here in the present moment with our look, our smile, our words and our actions. Peace work in not a means, each step we take should be peace. Every step we take should be joy. Every step we take should be happiness. Are you massaging Mother Earth every time your foot touches her? Are you planting seeds of joy and peace? Enlightenment, peace and joy will not be granted by someone else. The well is within us and if we dig deeply in the present moment the water will spring forth. If we are determined, we can do it. We don't need the future. We can smile, breath fully and relax Everything we want is here in the present moment. Peace is every step. Shall we continue our journey?"
fookisan