Professional Documents
Culture Documents
The Little Book of Mindfulness 1
The Little Book of Mindfulness 1
of Mindfulness
By Matt Valentine
Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION
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14
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MINDFUL SITTING
MINDFUL WALKING
MINDFUL BREATHING
MINDFUL LIVING
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59
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105
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THANK YOU
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ERROR! BOOKMARK
Introduction
Its difficult to fully capture the essence of mindfulness in
words. On one end, you could describe it as a specific type of
paying attention to the present moment. Sounds simple enough,
but that definition doesnt describe the whole of what mindfulness
is. On the other end, you could say mindfulness is like having an
aura of light which emanates from you. A light which peels back
the layers of your perception and allows you to experience reality
in its true form, filled with absolute peace, joy, and true freedom.
That one does a good job of describing the purpose of mindfulness,
but even it doesnt fully capture the essence mindfulness
completely. And if that second one sounded a bit deep, thats
because it was. Mindfulness, along with its partner concentration,
is the very act of looking and living deeply. Mindfulness is itself
the very energy of life itself.
To be mindful is in fact to be truly alive. By truly alive, I mean
a state in which youre completely and absolutely awake to this
very moment of your life. Without mindfulness, we float through
life only half awake, not fully aware of whats happening around
or inside of us. This starves us of much of the joy in life. But I dont
just mean that if youre walking down the street you wont notice
the flowers in someones garden as you pass by. I mean that even
if you see a flower you wont really be able to see the true flower.
The true flower is itself a flower. You can see, smell, and touch it.
You know its there and you know its a flower. But at the same
time the true flower isnt a flower at all. To see the true flower
means to see that the flower is made up of all non-flower elements.
The sun, the rain, the soil, the various elements in the soil, and the
gardener who watered the flower. If you were to return even one
of these elements to their source the flower would cease to exist.
And the same can be said of you.
To see the true flower, and to know that youre intrinsically
connected to it and everything else around you, is to experience a
deep sense of peace and joy. This is what it means to live deeply
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already yours. Youve had it all your life and you just didnt know
it. Realize the incredible gift that this moment is.
3. Take action
If you want to really take everything you can from reading
The Little Book of Mindfulness, you cant just read the book.
Reading the book itself in mindfulness is a great start, but you also
need to put whats talked about throughout the book into practice
in your daily life. You need to take action.
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Part 1: What is
Mindfulness?
~~~
The Buddha, also sometimes referred to as Shakyamuni or
Guatama Buddha, was born Siddhrtha Gautama. Siddhrtha was
born and lived some 2,400-2,600 years ago, likely between 500
and 400 BCE, in either what is now modern day India or Nepal.
At the age of 29, Siddhrtha set out on a spiritual journey. He
wanted to find a way to alleviate his suffering as well as the
suffering of others. And ultimately, to find the true path to peace
and happiness. Six years later, at the age of 35, Siddhrtha is said
to have sat at the foot of the now famous Bodhi tree and achieved
complete awakening (or enlightenment, in many English
translations). For forty five years after his great awakening,
Siddhrtha Gautama, now the Buddha, travelled around ancient
India and Nepal spreading his teachings. And among those
teachings was mindfulness.
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When the Buddha was asked, "Sir, what do you and your
monks practice?" he responded with, "We sit, we walk, and we
eat." The man then asked, "But sir, everyone sits, walks, and eats."
The Buddha replied, "When we sit, we know we are sitting. When
we walk, we know we are walking. When we eat, we know we are
eating." This was the Buddha's practice. But what exactly did he
mean? The Buddha was referring to living fully in the present
moment with mindfulness. Living in a way that were fully awake
to the present moment. To the Buddha, mindfulness was a matter
of life or death. But not life or death in a literal sense. Rather, to
do something in mindfulness is to become truly alive in that
moment. The Buddha didnt discover mindfulness, he simply
showed us how to use it to its full potential. Like a great lighthouse
which illuminates the dark ocean, the Buddha showed us how to
shine mindfulness like a light on ourselves and the world around
us in order to unveil and break down the many roadblocks
between us and true peace and happiness.
Mindfulness is often described in the West as, having
origins in ancient meditative practices or something to that
degree, and that a non-secular version of mindfulness has been
adapted for professional use. Theres nothing necessarily wrong
with saying the origins of mindfulness are in ancient meditative or
spiritual practices. This is a true statement. But by not fully
recognizing or understanding where mindfulness came from it
will be very difficult, if not impossible, to realize its full potential.
Also, mindfulness is often misunderstood by some in the
West as having an updated or modernized version of itself. But
nothing, nor anyone, has ever changed what mindfulness is or how
it functions. This misunderstanding likely stems from the Wests
general misunderstanding of the dharmic traditions as a whole. By
dharmic I mean all those spiritual traditions which arose in and
around ancient India- Buddhism, Hinduism, Yoga, and the lesser
known Jainism. Mindfulness isnt inherently eastern, western,
Buddhist, religious, or anything else. Mindfulness has no labels.
Even mindfulness is just the word we use to describe it, it isnt
mindfulness at all. Mindfulness is beyond language. Its a
powerful and unchanging ability which we all possess the
potential to express. Understanding this is important. But its
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Mindfulness is
What exactly is mindfulness? In a nutshell, mindfulness can
be defined as the complete and nonjudgmental awareness
of the present moment. Its also been defined as the moment
to moment awareness of present events. In fact, its been defined
dozens, if not hundreds, of times and most of those definitions
suffice. Theres no one agreed upon way of defining mindfulness.
This is because mindfulness is a state of being beyond words or
concepts. One must practice mindfulness in order to truly
understand what mindfulness is. As I mentioned in the last
chapter, the origin of the word mindfulness is in the Pali word
sati, and its Sanskrit counterpart smrti, which both literally
mean memory. But perhaps more precisely they represent
presence of mind or attentiveness to the present. This is what
the Buddha was referring to when he said, "When we sit, we know
we are sitting. When we walk, we know we are walking. When we
eat, we know we are eating." He meant that when he and his
disciples sat, walked, or ate they were fully present for the act of
sitting, walking, or eating.
Even when becoming lost in thought, while practicing
mindfulness the practitioner is fully aware that they just became
lost in a particular thought and are mindful of the thought itself.
This is because mindfulness isnt just mindfulness of an object in
the present moment such as ones breath, steps, or food. Its also
mindfulness of anything which might arise in the present moment
while concentrating on an object. In a way, mindfulness is the
observer of change. While concentrating on the object of
meditation, such as ones breath or steps, we become distracted by
thoughts, feelings, and other sensations. These are changes in
the field of mindfulness, the area which mindfulness observes. In
this way think of mindfulness as a motion detector. If nothing
moves, if nothing changes, then nothing is detected. Mindfulness
is still there observing, just as the motion detector which detects
no motion is still there observing its area of detection, but until a
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your mindfulness will improve. And with it, the quality of your
mindfulness practice will improve as well.
Mindfulness has a number of different qualities. If you
break mindfulness down based on these qualities it becomes much
easier to understand it as a whole. Weve covered the basic
workings of mindfulness so far, but in order to gain a deeper
understanding of mindfulness lets break it down and look at each
quality individually. Theres 6 key aspects of mindfulness which
Ill cover below.
Mindfulness is
1. Mindfulness of something
Mindfulness is always mindfulness of something. Its not
just a conscious directing of your awareness to the present
moment, its a conscious directing of your awareness to something
which is occurring or existing in the present moment. Common
centers of focus are your breath, steps, or some other area or areas
of the body. Concentration, or samadhi in Sanskrit, is a force
which works in tandem with mindfulness. Concentration is
single-pointedness of mind and its just that- the act of focusing
on a single point.
While practicing mindfulness you will be developing your
power of concentration as well as your mindfulness. There is no
separating mindfulness and concentration. Theyre partners on
the path to attaining a tranquil and clear mind. Think of
concentration as the hard force and mindfulness as the soft.
Concentration is exactly what it sounds like, its the forceful act of
focusing on a single point. Imagine your field of mindfulness
enveloping everything within your perception in a soft glow. Next,
imagine a thin line piercing out from your mindfulness directly to
an object. This is your concentration. Mindfulness, on the other
hand, is a sort of soft awareness. Remember the dream catcher?
Mindfulness is the field of awareness which then sees everything
that arises while concentrating on an object. Mindfulness is what
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3. A conscious decision
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4. Nonjudgmental awareness
All spiritual practice in an overall sense is about finding true
peace and happiness through accomplishing total liberation (or
freedom) from the various factors that hold us back. And so we
become liberated by discovering the truth. That is, by uncovering
all those things which cloud our vision. This is the ultimate
purpose of mindfulness. Its this nonjudgmental awareness that
makes mindfulness so important in finding true peace and
happiness.
Mindfulness accepts everything as it is. As I mentioned
earlier it makes no distinctions, holds no bias, and is completely
separated from all mental filters which distort your perception of
reality. Mindfulness allows you to experience true reality. This is
liberation. And as I also mentioned earlier, if youre not sure how
to do this at first then dont worry. Mindfulness is itself
nonjudgmental. Its helpful to keep this point in mind at times, but
youll find this will happen somewhat naturally. If you sense bias
or get the feeling that youre somehow coloring your perception of
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Mindfulness isnt
We live in an age where communication is instantaneous,
whether across the globe or right next door, and just about anyone
with an internet connection can access a limitless amount of
information on any subject thats ever existed. Its a beautiful and
interesting time to be alive. We have the ability to do so many
positive things with this new connected world. But its also
because of this, combined with mindfulness quick adoption in the
West, that quite a few misconceptions about what mindfulness is
have cropped up. People have begun jumping on mindfulness like
a bandwagon, using it as a tool for nothing more than increased
productivity and a little stress reduction. This is greatly limiting
its full capability. On top of this, or perhaps because of this, many
incorrect or dubious explanations of how to practice mindfulness
have cropped up as well.
But theres more to it than just that. Mindfulness itself can
be confusing if not explained clearly and thoroughly (and
ultimately, experienced personally). To the beginner it can sound
like a simple paying attention to something in the present
moment. And that is, in large part, what mindfulness is. But
theres more to it. And if what it is and how to practice it isnt
clearly explained then you can end up wasting an inordinate
amount of time in the beginning. Visual examples, like the ship,
the ships captain and the anchor example in the previous chapter,
can really help one get a basic understanding. But actual practice
also needs to be stressed. Mindfulness isnt a blog post, its an
activity.
In this chapter, I hope to clear up a few important
misconceptions about mindfulness as a whole in order to save you
time and improve the quality of your mindfulness practice right
from the get-go. Here Ill be covering more than just things that
have to do with exact functions of mindfulness, as opposed to the
last chapter, Ill also be covering common misconceptions about
mindfulness as I mentioned above.
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Mindfulness isnt
1. A tool for productivity
This is a major mistake of the Wests adoption of
mindfulness. There isnt anything necessarily wrong with using
mindfulness in order to be more effective or productive. But the
purpose of the Wests mass adoption of mindfulness has been
almost exclusively as a tool for increased productivity and
effectiveness. This isnt good. Its being used towards our
obsession over productivity, which itself is misguided. Sure, if
everyone starts becoming mindful all day long in order to be more
productive its not the worst thing in the world. But adopting
mindfulness to serve our obsession with productivity would be a
grave misuse of this powerful tool which can completely change
ones life. Mindfulness is to be used to improve your well-being,
not feed your ego. It can calm and quiet the restless mind, help
one obtain complete rest, uncover deep-seated negative emotions
and limiting beliefs and help heal them, erase wrong perceptions
in order to bring a greater sense of peace and happiness to
ourselves and those around us, and ultimately, to take us beyond
all perception to experience our true nature. In the West we need
to discover the practice of right mindfulness. If we can do this,
we can make great use of the growing exposure of this amazing
spiritual tool.
technique which can and should be used throughout the day. You
should strive to live each waking moment in mindfulness.
As I spoke about earlier, mindfulness is like life in HD. You
know that feeling when you look at a standard definition television
and then immediately look over at a high definition one?
Mindfulness is like that. You see a whole slew of things throughout
your day that you never noticed before. I dont necessarily mean
you notice beautiful scenery more often though, although this
does happen, I mean that when you turn your mindfulness
switch on you immediately feel different. You feel
completely.alive. Theres really no other way to describe it. Dont
starve your spiritual or personal practice by simply using
mindfulness as a form of sitting meditation. Discover the true
power and beauty of mindfulness by using it during your everyday
life.
4. Difficult
By this I mean two things: mindfulness isnt difficult to learn
and mindfulness isnt difficult to practice. First, the act of being
mindful shouldnt feel like youre straining your eyeballs. You
shouldnt feel like youre going to give yourself a headache. The
soft focus example doesnt just serve to explain the function of
mindfulness, it also explains the feeling of being mindful.
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5. Religious
Ive seen a lot of particularly academic sources explaining
mindfulness in a way that it was once a technique attached to a
religion or a system of philosophy (Buddhism), but that scientists
have now adapted a non-secular version of it. Dont let this
confuse you. Mindfulness is mindfulness. No one can make it
religious or non-religious or anything else. And anyone who
describes mindfulness in this way has a very limited
understanding of its purpose as well as its origin.
Buddhism in and of itself is about discovering the truth of
this world, including yourself, through your own direct
experience. The Buddha taught his disciples not to follow his
teachings on blind faith. He insisted they closely examine and
scrutinize everything, even his own teachings, in order to discover
their validity. And with it, the truth. And to that end mindfulness
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I bring this up because Ive seen this reason used many times
as an excuse for not pushing through the initial difficulty of
learning to do something, including mindfulness. We often give
up too soon after trying something new and convince ourselves
either that were just not good at it or that it isnt for us. You
wouldnt say that sleeping isnt for you, right? Think of
mindfulness and meditation in the same way. Think of it as a
necessary component for nourishing the mind and body thats
available to everyone.
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Stopping
Obtaining a tranquil mind, the practice of samatha, is
ultimately about stopping. We need to learn how to stop. At first
this might seem silly, Im sitting while Im reading this book. Im
stopping! But its not so simple. By stopping I mean we need to
stop both body and mind. A mind at rest is a peaceful mind. So we
need to learn how to fully stop and let our minds calm. By doing
so we bring us back to ourselves. This is called the practice of
going home, and its the practice of going home to ourselves by
reuniting mind and body. The practice of mindful breathing does
just that- it allows us to reunite mind and body as theyre truly
meant to be. This is important because the way we typically live
our lives, both mind and body are almost always separated.
Mindfulness is in opposition to the way we usually live our
lives. That is, halfway in our heads, bouncing around in an endless
stream of thoughts, and halfway in the present moment, only
partially awake to what were doing. This state of semiconsciousness, or mind dispersion, is a state where were unable
to attain complete rest and our minds are perpetually clouded.
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Calming
By living in the present moment with mindfulness were able
to bring our mind into a state of deep calm. A natural byproduct
of learning how to stop the mind and body and simply be fully
present, such as for the act of following ones breath, is a calm
mind. Indeed, the opposite of our monkey mind is a calm mind.
Calming the mind is a process though. It doesnt happen all
at once. We build up a lot of stress and tension in our everyday
lives and it takes some time to fully calm the mind, especially
assuming your current life doesnt just stop when you begin
practicing mindfulness (which it doesnt!). Youll still have the
same headaches and stressors as before and so youll need to calm
the mind despite these things constantly getting in the way. Of
course, this is a two sided problem. You might need to reevaluate
why you do certain things which are causing you stress. But your
focus should always be on your practice of mindfulness. By
making the act of stopping a priority and seeking to live your life
fully in the present moment, cherishing every moment of life,
youll naturally begin to calm the mind.
Resting
Nowadays, were so productivity focused we even map out
our vacations. A checklist for a vacation? Yeah, weve lost our way.
We live off checklists and to-do lists at work and at home. We
think the more things we check off our list the better well feel. We
dont even notice it but what were chasing is peace. Were hoping
for just a little slice of it here and there, even if its temporary. But
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Healing
This last section is about learning how to utilize the bodys
natural healing ability. In order to attain a tranquil mind, its not
enough to stop, calm, and completely rest the body. These are key
aspects of achieving a tranquil mind. But if we dont know how to
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heal our mind and body then well have no chance of attaining a
calm mind.
Our mind and body comes equipped with a natural healing
ability. Weve all but forgotten about it, living in an age of
advanced medicine, thousands of both over-the-counter and
subscription medicines, and a whole roster of mental and physical
professionals all ready to help us heal our mental and physical
wounds. Its because of this that we now grossly underestimate
our own ability to heal.
Weve forgotten that the only thing necessary in order to heal
is to be with that which needs to be healed. My favorite example
of this is from Zen master Thich Nhat Hanh. He often speaks of
how, when injured, an animals natural instinct is to find
somewhere safe and quiet to lie and rest. This is what it means to
be with an illness, whether mental or physical. By stopping all
activity the animal conserves every ounce of energy. This puts all
of their being into the process of healing. You can do this yourself
to heal both mental and physical illness.
What is a mental illness? In the case of the mind, this could
be a deep-seated negative emotion or limiting belief. Maybe you
hold a deep sense of resentment, and maybe even anger, towards
your spouse. Years ago, when you first started dating, things were
great. You were both young and you had the entire world at your
fingertips. You had fun and generally lived life with wild abandon.
But years later you become married, have children, and gain
multiple responsibilities. Now you feel as if the entire world has
closed in around you. You feel like all the opportunity and
possibilities that were once at your fingertips are all but gone,
never to return. Because of this, you now resent your spouse. You
see them as the very source of your suffering. They didnt
necessarily do anything wrong, but you created these mental
formations of resentment and anger and labelled them the cause.
This is an example of a very deep-seated emotion which needs to
be overcome in order to achieve tranquility.
In order to heal this and any other form of deep-seated
emotion you need to sit in meditation and simply be with the
emotion. When mindful, you awaken and see through all illusions.
Your limiting beliefs rise to the surface. This allows your body and
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brain, and you exist in a very real way separate from those around
you. But at the same time youre not a separate self, disconnected
from everything and everyone around you. Youre limitless. Youre
in the trees, the flowers, and the clouds. And these things are in
you. To confine ourselves to a limited identity such as I am this
old, this nationality, this sex, good at this, bad at this, I work here,
and Ive accomplished this. is to confine ourselves inside of a
small box. Our true nature is boundless. Were intrinsically
connected to all living and nonliving things. We and everything
around us is impermanent, and yet, we exist beyond life and death
itself in an endless continuation of energy. Our true existence is
within the very ground of being, the plane of existence beyond
words in which all things exist as one.
The essence of discovering our true nature is to come in
contact with the ultimate. What is that? It goes by many namesthe ultimate reality, the ultimate dimension, the ground of being,
Buddha mind, nirvana, and even God. The ground of being is the
ultimate level of reality. It cant be completely described in words
because its beyond the concept of language. It can only be
experienced. It exists in some form in just about every religion and
spiritual tradition on Earth. I dont want to speak too much about
it, but know that the ultimate purpose of all spiritual practice is to
touch the ground of being. By living deeply in this world, the
historical reality, we can touch the ground of being or ultimate
reality. To touch the historical reality deeply is a very meaningful
and fulfilling practice. You dont need anything else. In that
moment, everything is perfect. And you realize what true
happiness is. To discover our true nature is in fact to discover our
true selves and our true potential.
form, free from our wrong views. And the act of obtaining this
great mental clarity is traditionally called awakening (or
enlightenment in many English translations of ancient Buddhist
text). Why is all this important? Because its through this process
of awakening that we discover our true nature and experience the
ground of being. And its only until we learn to touch the ground
of being that we discover the ultimate level of inner peace.
Imagine an orange. Your whole life youve seen this orange
and you think the way that you see it is the way that it is. But, as
we spoke about earlier, our wrong views color the lens (our
perception) with which we perceive reality through. This wrong
view of reality, which can be caused by a combination of mental
formations such as fear, anger, and ignorance among many other
things, is the ultimate source of all our suffering. By suffering Im
referring to a sort of mental ill-being. Think of it as the opposite of
inner peace. With mindfulness the true nature of the orange will
gradually reveal itself. Youll see the orange peel back its skin and
reveal something completely different from what you had
perceived before. This is the process of awakening to the true
nature of things.
Just as with calming the mind, gaining clarity of mind is a
process. Dont expect some sudden enlightenment to happen one
day while practicing mindfulness. Moments of clarity can happen.
These are moments of insight. But awakening is the slow process
of peeling yourself and everything else in the world back one piece
at a time to unveil the truth. Youve lived your whole life
collecting these false views (remember the internal check
point?).
Imagine if you could wear ten pairs of sunglasses at once.
Ten lenses, one in front of the other, in a row. Each of these lenses
is a different color- green, pink, red, black- and each represents a
wrong perception or mental formation which blocks you from
experiencing reality in its true state. Your job is to remove each
lens, one by one, until all ten pairs of sunglasses are gone. Each
lens is blocking you from experiencing the full magnificence of the
light. But with each pair of glasses you remove the more clearly
you can see the light. It will take time to free yourself from all the
things coloring your perception. But this is the ultimate liberation.
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Part 2:
Practicing
Mindfulness
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Mindful Sitting
In Zen, the practice of sitting meditation is called zazen,
which literally means sitting or seated meditation in Japanese.
Zen monks practice zazen for long hours each day, even
occasionally having meditation marathons where practitioners
meditate for two-thirds to half of an entire day for multiple days
straight. Why do Zen Buddhists put so much of their focus on
sitting meditation? Because sitting meditation is the very
foundation of meditative practice.
Think of a professional athlete. Despite being the best in the
world at what they do, nearly every single day they practice the
most fundamental aspects of their practice. Not only that, they do
it for long hours. A professional and even championship winning
NBA basketball player will continue to practice lay ups, jump
shots, running up and down the court, passing the ball, running
basic plays, as well as free throws constantly. This is the very
essence of someone who has committed themselves to being the
best at what they do, the essence of the greatest performers in the
world in all callings. Its the very drilling of these fundamental
principles that is what makes them so great.
To lose sight of the core or fundamental practices which
constitute your endeavor is to lose sight of your practice. Likewise,
by practicing mindful sitting every day you make it easier to call
upon your mindfulness during the rest of your day. If youd like to
establish a solid foundation in your mindfulness practice then
setting up a daily practice of sitting meditation, either in the
morning, night, or both, is very important. Mindful sitting is the
foundation of the rest of your mindfulness practice. You dont
have to meditate for long hours though. You can start off by
meditating for as little as 5 minutes a day and work your way up.
Zazen, or sitting meditation, is where I first started my own
mindfulness practice. At first, without anyone there to coach or
teach me, I thought the amount of activity in my head while
meditating was abnormal. I was surprised with how chaotic my
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mind was and couldnt believe that I had been living like that,
without ever giving my mind a rest. Little did I know at the time
that what was going on in my head was perfectly normal. I was
merely experiencing the typical monkey mind, which everyone
experiences. But it didnt take long to get my mind to a relatively
calm state. And as this happened, something began to develop
inside of me. Id feel it strongest during and right after my
meditation session, but it started extending throughout the rest of
my day gradually. Its one of the greatest feelings Ive ever
experienced in my life, but its hard to explain. Simply peaceful
is probably the best word to use. You need nothing during those
moments of meditation. Everything is perfectly peaceful and you
feel as if you could sit forever.
Not every meditation session will be like this. Even after
working to calm the mind for some time youll occasionally
experience a tough day or a tough week and struggle during
meditation. If this happens you just need to stick with it. Turn up
the volume on your practice even, meditate for longer or do an
extra session on that day or during that tough week in order to
handle the pressure. If you persist, youll overcome it and arrive at
a point where you can keep your mind in a calm state even despite
tough times. Establish a strong foundation of mindful sitting in
your mindfulness practice and youll be rewarded with a stability
that nothing can shake. Like a tree that stands tall in a strong
wind, nothing will be able to knock you down.
Sit
1. Find a quiet place: First, find a quiet place where you
wont be interrupted.
2. Find the optimal sitting position: Find the sitting
position thats most comfortable for you. Here are the most
common:
2a. Full lotus: If possible, sit on the floor in the full or
half lotus position. The full lotus position makes your body into a
tripod, making it by far the most stable or sitting positions. To sit
in the full lotus position, sit down in a typical cross-legged
position. Now, take your left leg and place it on top of your right
thigh (closer to your waist than your knee). Next, take your right
leg and place it on top of you left thigh. This second leg will be
much more difficult than the first. While moving the left leg make
sure that the right leg does not slip from its position. While
keeping your body in place, slide your bottom back a little to
straighten your back.
2b. Half-lotus: The full lotus can be a difficult
position to sit in, especially at first. In that case, you might feel
more comfortable starting with the half lotus. In order to sit in the
half lotus position, just place your left leg over your right thigh (or
right leg over your left thigh). You should alternate regularly with
the right leg on the left thigh as well. Eventually, with practice, it
will become comfortable.
2c. Sit in a chair: If neither of these is possible you
can also sit in a chair. Make sure to plant your feet on the ground
and sit with your back straight. You can place a pillow or a zafu
between your lower back and and the back of the chair to keep
your back straight.
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Breathe
7. Be mindful of your in breath and out breath: Close
your mouth and breathe in and out through your nose. If a cold or
some other condition makes this uncomfortable then its OK to
breathe through your mouth, although deeper and more effortless
breathing can be done through the nostrils. Breathe in, breathe
out. Put complete focus on your breath. Your breath is your
singular focus during this meditation. Dont attempt to control
your breath, simply observe it silently. Your silent observation will
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Be Mindful
9. Gently acknowledge any thoughts and
feelings: Thoughts will come, dont push them away. Noticing
this is a good thing, it means your mindfulness is developing.
Remember that these thoughts, feelings, and sensations are
natural. Meditation is acceptance, not avoidance. You want those
things to rise to the surface during meditation because that is
when the real healing will begin. Fear, anger, stress, and so many
other things can and will rise to the surface so that you can let
them run their course and dissipate. Each one of these afflictions
you heal will bring you greater peace and happiness.
10. Immediately recapture focus on your breath: Let
go of the thought and return to your breath. This will be difficult
at first, youll lose focus constantly. Dont become frustrated when
your mind drifts, know that its a normal part of the process. Stay
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focused, after a while your mind will begin to grow quieter and
youll start gaining better control over your mind. This may take a
few weeks or even months.
Once youre done meditating, dont rush off. Sit for another
few seconds or so and slowly release your legs so that they can
stretch if you were sitting in one of the lotus positions. At first the
full lotus might make one of your legs fall asleep. Youll just have
to get used to this sitting position. The nice thing is, you wont feel
it until you undo your legs at the end of your session. But its a
wonderful feeling (joke)! And lastly, take a few seconds to relish
this moment of peace and feel the difference in your mind and
body before getting up and continuing on with your day.
In the b eginning, youll want to meditate for 5-10 minutes at
a time once or twice a day. Increase your sessions by about 5
minutes at a time whenever you feel comfortable. You should feel
gradually able to sit down for longer and longer periods. Work
your way up to whatever timetable is best for you, but if youd like
a recommendation Id say somewhere around two 30-45 minute
sessions per day. Remember though, that its up to you. Meditate
for however long you want, just remember that the longer you
meditate the more beneficial it will be.
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Mindful Walking
We walk to our cars, to work, to home, stores, and sometimes
just for fun. Wherever you are and whenever you walk you almost
always have the opportunity to make it a mindful walk. Theres so
many great opportunities to practice mindful walking in the
average persons day that it can be adopted by anyone with little
effort and create a major impact on ones sense of inner peace.
Mindful walking is generally considered one of the core
meditative practices. But traditionally, mindful walking is called
walking meditation. Dont get confused though, when I say
walking meditation Im simply talking about mindful walking.
Walking meditation has been practiced by people of various
spiritual traditions for possibly as long as sitting meditation. This
is probably because of how natural, simple, and nourishing the
practice of walking meditation is. While practicing walking
meditation your object of concentration is your steps. First,
concentrate on the foot rising and being placed down onto the
ground. Once the foot has been placed down you shift your
concentration to the second foot doing the same motion. At first,
youll have to practice walking meditation very slowly to get the
hang of it. But after a while, as with anything else in mindfulness,
youll be able to walk mindfully at a normal speed while staying
mindful. The act of placing your foot down on the ground can be
done in a very deep way. By acknowledging the earths presence
below your foot each time you place your foot down you can
experience a deep sense of peace and joy in the simple act of
walking.
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Walk
2. Match your steps with your breath: Breathe
naturally, see how many slow steps you take for each natural
inhale and exhale. This step can be difficult at first because youll
want to control your breathing or your steps. Dont attempt to
control either. Resist trying to control both your breathing and
your steps and let them flow naturally.
3. Be mindful of your steps: As I mentioned earlier, the
object of your concentration in this meditation will be your steps.
Put 100% of your concentration into your steps. Youll want to put
great care into each step you take, so walk slowly. Feel one foot
rise and then come down. As soon as that foot is placed down be
mindful of your other foot rising up and then coming down as well.
Then back to the first foot, and the next, and the next. Move slowly
and shift your concentration back and forth from one foot to the
other. In order to keep your concentration on your steps youll
need to follow each complete step from start to finish. This will
also make it easier to notice when youve lost your concentration
and give you a clear path to regain it.
4. Count each step: Just as you count your breaths in
sitting meditation, you can say in for each step on inhale and
out for each step on exhale. So in, in, in on each inhale if you
take 3 steps and out, out, out on each exhale for 3 more in order
to improve your ability to notice when you lose your
concentration. You can also say a phrase that calms you if you
prefer. In that case, just match the number of steps youre taking
with syllables. So 3 steps per inhale/exhale could be be-at-peace.
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Be Mindful
5. Gently acknowledge any thoughts and
feelings: Thoughts will come, dont push them away. Noticing
this is a good thing, it means your mindfulness is developing.
Remember that these thoughts, feelings, and sensations are
natural. Meditation is acceptance, not avoidance. You want those
things to rise to the surface during meditation because that is
when the real healing will begin. Fear, anger, stress, and so many
other things can and will rise to the surface so that you can let
them run their course and dissipate. Each one of these afflictions
you heal will bring you greater peace and happiness.
6. Immediately recapture focus on your breath: Let
go of the thought and return to your breath. This will be difficult
at first, youll lose focus constantly. Dont become frustrated when
your mind drifts, know that its a normal part of the process. Stay
focused, after a while your mind will begin to grow quieter and
youll start gaining better control over your mind. This may take a
few weeks or even months.
Take this moment in for everything that it is. There is no past
and no future. Know that peace exists in this moment as you walk
across the earth in mindfulness. Feel the earth beneath your feet.
Whether youre walking on grass, sand, pavement, or dirt, know
that youre touching mother earth deeply with each step. The same
mother earth that every one of your ancestors walked on before
you. Walking meditation is a special practice which should be
treated with great care. As little as 15 minutes of mindful walking
can completely transform the stress of your day into pure peace.
Walk mindfully everywhere you go. Anytime you can, take a
second to walk in mindfulness. Take a second to look around and
appreciate your surroundings. Take a mindful breath of fresh air.
Then go back to your steps. In this moment, youre truly awake
and touching the depths of your being.
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Mindful Breathing
Mindful sitting is essentially mindful breathing, but theres
a distinct difference between sitting in a quiet room and pooling
all of your concentration towards meditation vs. stopping at
various points in your busy day to come back to yourself through
mindful breathing. Both are mindful breathing, but this chapter
will show you how to explore the latter. Mindful breathing is the
practice of going home. By going home I mean coming back to
yourself and uniting body and mind. This is a very important
practice.
Many people today are rushing around so much that they
dont stop all day to rest until its time for bed. I know the feeling.
You want to be as productive as possible, and you convince
yourself that youll be fine no matter how hard you push yourself.
But you arent, and you wont be. Youre making yourself stressed,
anxious, unhappy, easy to anger, easy to distract, less effective,
less productive, and muffling your creativity by pushing yourself
so hard. And it will only get worse. You need to learn the art of
stopping and breathing. This is the practice of mindful breathing.
Mindful breathing can be a very nourishing practice if you work
on developing it. It can work like an anchor in your life, keeping
you grounded no matter what is going on around you. It can also
work as an emergency button of sorts for when you encounter
high stress situations.
Daily Breathing
The first way mindful breathing can be useful is as a constant
companion during your daily life. Were often moving so quickly
that we stop noticing whats going on around and inside of us. In
a way, were muffling our entire lives. This is dangerous, because
something can be happening right under our noses and wed never
notice it. For instance, we could be developing a deep anger
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Stop
1. Stop: Stop everything. If youre at work you might prefer
to find a more private place. In my experience though if you just
stop and breathe where youre at it will just look like youre
standing or sitting in your normal way. No one will notice. You can
stare at your computer screen or desk if youre sitting for instance.
Youll typically only stop to breathe for a minute or so anyway so
it will be pretty quick.
Breathe
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Be Mindful
4. Gently acknowledge any thoughts and
feelings: Thoughts will come, dont push them away. Noticing
this is a good thing, it means your mindfulness is developing.
Remember that these thoughts, feelings, and sensations are
natural. Meditation is acceptance, not avoidance. You want those
things to rise to the surface during meditation because that is
when the real healing will begin. Fear, anger, stress, and so many
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other things can and will rise to the surface so that you can let
them run their course and dissipate. Each one of these afflictions
you heal will bring you greater peace and happiness.
5. Immediately recapture focus on your breath: Let
go of the thought and return to your breath. This will be difficult
at first, youll lose focus constantly. Dont become frustrated when
your mind drifts, know that its a normal part of the process. Stay
focused, after a while your mind will begin to grow quieter and
youll start gaining better control over your mind. This may take a
few weeks or even months.
Emergency Button
Another way to use mindful breathing is as a sort of emergency
button. What I mean by that is if you encounter a high stress
situation, such as when receiving some bad news, you can use
mindful breathing to stop and calm your mind in order to take hold
of yourself during this difficult situation. Our breath is a powerful
force. It can be used to control our very emotions. When youre
feeling an intense anxiety, fear, anger, or sadness you can use
mindful breathing to calm the feeling and literally take back control
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Mindful Living
Mindful sitting, mindful walking, and mindful breathing are
the most basic meditative practices. Going back to the example of
the professional athlete, these are your fundamentals. But in order
to develop a healthy practice which leads to true peace and
happiness one should strive to live each waking moment in
mindfulness. This will be difficult, but no matter what stage youre
at the more you work at it the more rewarding your practice will
be.
So, where do you start? Youve got your regular morning
and/or evening practice of mindful sitting, you practice your
breathing every hour and you use it when youre faced with any
difficult situation, and you practice mindful walking whenever
possible. But when you work, sit down to eat, go out to have fun
with friends or family, clean the house, or do anything else you can
and should also be mindful. Every moment of every day is an
opportunity to shine the healing light of mindfulness as well as to
feel the peace and joy of living fully in the present moment.
Mindful eating
With multiple opportunities to practice mindful eating each
day, learning to eat with mindfulness can become a very
nourishing practice. Eating is already typically enjoyable, but
eating with mindfulness can turn breakfast, lunch, or dinner into
a deeply spiritual and joy filled experience. And anything which is
naturally enjoyable can easily be done with mindfulness. This is
because joy and excitement naturally pull our attention to the
thing were enjoying or are excited about and away from any
potential distractions.
To practice mindful eating you simply need to direct your
mindfulness to the act of chewing your food. The anchor point of
mindfulness (what your concentration latches onto) is always an
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Mindful working
Many people around the world spend a third or more of their
lives at work. This is an enormous amount of time. By practicing
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mindfulness at work you can find a lot joy in what you do, even in
the simplest of tasks.
To practice mindful working you simply need to be fully
present for the work at hand. Whether youre walking from one
location to another, eating lunch, typing an email on your
computer, or having a conversation with someone, do so with
mindfulness. The next time you step into the office, dont worry
about actually being mindful, simply take the day to notice
opportunities to practice mindfulness. Remember every moment
is an opportunity to practice mindfulness, but what youre doing
here is looking for clear and easy opportunities to practice. You
might work at an office, on a construction site, in a factory, or at
home taking care of your children. Youll need to examine your
own days to find the best times to begin introducing the practice
of mindfulness into your work day and the rest of your daily life.
Most workplaces have a tendency to be busy and filled with
constant distractions. So to practice mindfulness at work can also
mean you need to be mindful of any unexpected occurrences that
arise. Surprises are commonplace in many workplaces, so you
need to know how to respond to these surprises with mindfulness.
Imagine these surprises as thoughts arising while sitting in
meditation. You dont push these thoughts away, you acknowledge
them with your mindfulness just as you acknowledge your breath.
Take care of the interruption, but always bring your focus back to
the main task at hand just as when bringing your focus back to
your breath. Dont let yourself be led away by distractions. This
can help make you more productive as well as lend to your
mindfulness practice.
Mindful experiencing
The very essence of mindfulness is to fully experience whats
occurring in the present moment. When you go out with friends
or spend a day with family you can practice mindful experiencing
and not only continue your mindfulness practice but really take
the most from the experience. Mindful experiencing is really just
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Mindful cleaning
One of the beautiful things about mindfulness is that it can
take typically boring and mundane activities and make them
meaningful and deeply enjoyable. This is probably best
exemplified with cleaning in mindfulness. Cleaning with
mindfulness can be a very deep practice. Indeed, practices which
you wouldnt typically consider deep or meaningful at all can be
some of the deepest and most meaningful because of their simple
nature.
What does mindful cleaning look like? It could be sweeping
in mindfulness. Focusing on your body creating each stroke of the
brooms brush, handling the broom and the task of sweeping with
great care and reverence as if sweeping this floor was the most
important thing in the universe. It could be washing dishes in
mindfulness. Take the time to wash each dish with all of your
being, concentrating on the act of washing the dish with your
hands. If could also be mindfulness of watering the garden,
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Mindful living
In this chapter weve looked at mindful eating, mindful
working, mindful experiencing, and mindful cleaning. Combined
with mindful sitting, mindful walking, and mindful breathing
weve covered huge ground. But it doesnt stop there. As I
mentioned before, you can practice mindfulness of anything and
everything. You should strive to be mindful 24/7. All day, every
day.
The instructions we covered throughout this section can be
applied towards anything. Pick your object of mindfulness,
preferably some part of you in action because to concentrate on
something stationary is much more difficult than something
which is constantly changing or moving in some fashion (think
in/out breath, steps, sensations, chewing and tasting, sweeping,
etc.), and then simply be mindful. It might take a while to bring
mindfulness into your entire life, but if you practice the
fundamentals daily, keep learning, and let the light of mindfulness
spread into the other areas of your life then youll develop a
practice which nurtures a deep sense of peace and happiness
within you.
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Part 3:
Developing
Mindfulness
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be mindful while going about your everyday life. After all, what
good is anything which isnt actually useful to you in your everyday
life?
One of the great things about mindfulness is that it's
available to you in every moment. You can practice mindfulness
right now this very second and touch seeds of peace and joy within
yourself. You can directly and immediately create a positive effect
in your daily life and in a number of ways. This has to be taken
advantage of in order to gain the full benefit from practicing
mindfulness. Sitting meditation is powerful, and in fact its the
cornerstone of meditative practice of any kind. But in order to
both calm the mind and see with clarity, the two major goals of all
meditation and spiritual practice, you need to also seek to be
mindful during your daily routine. Not just in the morning or at
night when you sit down to meditate. If you miss this you could
end up with a rather unsuccessful practice and wonder what
youre doing wrong.
And still others explain mindfulness in confusing jargon that
only certain spiritual or religious groups can understand. Using
these words can be OK. But if the author doesnt explain the
meaning of the words and the purpose of mentioning them then it
wont help you as the reader to understand mindfulness. It will
only hurt you and turn you off to the subject. They might mean
well, and the information might truly be life-changing, but if the
language isnt simple and straightforward then youre just not
going to bother.
But worst of all, with mindfulness rise in popularity in the
West its easy to stumble across an incorrect explanation of how
to practice mindfulness and just end up confused and
unmotivated. This is the result of the age of the internet. It doesnt
take an expert (whatever that is) to talk about mindfulness. But
one thing is for certain- you shouldnt listen to anyone talk about
mindfulness who hasnt made the practice of mindfulness a way
of life for themselves. Unfortunately, there are a lot of people out
there who seek to comment on mindfulness and profit from it due
to its rise in popularity. So as you move forward be careful, and
whenever possible use this book, when deciding who to listen to
for advice on improving your mindfulness practice.
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In order to start you off on the right foot Ive organized a list
of my best tips and tricks for beginning with mindfulness. These
are all the things that I myself have found to be important, or made
the mistake of not doing (or both), at the beginning of my own
practice. Some of these have to do with adopting a particular
mindset, some have to do with the way you actually practice
mindfulness, and some have to do with various techniques in
themselves. Following even one of these points can greatly
improve your practice if youre just starting out. Id suggest
following each point closely.
3. Sit often
Sitting meditation really is the cornerstone of all meditative
practice. It was my first experience with mindfulness and Id
suggest it be your first experience with meditation of any kind.
Adopting a daily practice of sitting meditation is very important.
If you try to start practicing mindfulness without making sitting
meditation a part of your daily practice then it will be much more
difficult to get to a point where your mind becomes quiet. And
later, sitting meditation will aid in your efforts to obtain a clear
mind. No matter how far a Zen monk goes in their practice, they
always sit and often two to three times a day. Remember to think
of sitting meditation as your practice time to keep you sharp.
Every great athlete practices the fundamentals of their craft on a
daily basis. No matter how good they become, they practice the
fundamentals. For spiritual practice, one of these fundamentals is
sitting meditation.
4. Schedule mindfulness
As Ill talk about in the next chapter, part of why its difficult
to establish mindfulness as a daily practice is that its something
you do throughout your day as opposed to something you usually
plan for or schedule. This is great for obvious reasons, but it also
means that in the beginning of your practice you can go entire days
and just altogether forget to be mindful of anything. Because of
this fact its important to actually schedule part of your practice,
at least at first. This will help you develop your mindfulness,
increase the chance of you remembering to be mindful during the
rest of your day, and give you a clear marker as to how well youre
sticking to your practice. If you missed your sitting meditation
session, you know you missed. This will help quite a bit at first,
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trust me. And its not a bad idea to continue to schedule mindful
time, even if its just your time for sitting meditation.
5. Go easy on yourself
Earlier I talked about the nonjudgmental aspect of
mindfulness. Mindfulness is an open acceptance of everything, so
those thoughts, feelings, and sensations that keep popping into
your mind shouldnt be labelled a bad thing. In fact, they arent a
good thing or a bad thing. Remember, mindfulness is just an
observer. You shouldnt be passing judgment, good or bad, on
anything including disruptions to your concentration. These
distractions are normal. Theyll subside for the most part
naturally, your mind will quiet over time, and it will bring you a
great sense of peace. So dont worry about that. Youll know your
practice is really successful not when these distractions subside
but when you start becoming mindful of these distractions. No
matter how many of them you have. Dont get frustrated if at first
you cant hold your concentration for more than a few seconds.
This is perfectly normal. If you get frustrated just acknowledge the
frustration with mindfulness and let it go. Know that these
distractions will subside with practice and that your goal is
primarily to develop your mindfulness. When you develop the
ability to shine the light of mindfulness on these distractions is
when the real healing can begin. These disruptions are the things
distorting your perception and keeping you from reality as it is,
filled with peace, joy, and freedom. No matter what, just keep
practicing. With time youll see the fruits of your labor.
6. Prioritize mindfulness
You wont get far in your practice of mindfulness if you dont
prioritize it. This goes for anything in life. This is because right
from the beginning youll be clashing with old habits. Remember
last chapter when we talked about our habit energy? Keep in mind
that our actions contain a certain amount of energy. That is, that
the more often we do something the more energy or pull it has.
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This is our habit energy. We all have this habit energy. What
differs from one person to another is where we place this energy.
When you begin practicing mindfulness youll naturally be
pulled in other directions constantly. This is your old habit
energy attempting to pull you back to your old ways. You can use
the other tips and tricks in this chapter, such as making sure to
enjoy the process and to pick simple objects of mindfulness, but
youll still need to prioritize your practice. This means, as with
establishing any other new habit, youll have to fight with your old
and likely less productive or positive ways. But remember how
energy works, the more time and effort you place into something
the more pull it will have. Stick with it and gradually it will become
easier until the point in which it will take almost no effort at all.
And the great thing about mindfulness is that you can do it while
doing just about anything. So its not so much choosing
mindfulness over other things, its more of remembering to be
mindful. At first though remember to keep it simple and choose
easy objects of mindfulness.
7. Slow it down
Were taught to move quickly, multitask, and ultimately be
as productive as possible. This mentality is ingrained in us. It
probably started during the industrial revolution, where we as a
species became obsessed with speed and productivity. It was all
about who could grow the fastest and claim the most land. It was
inevitable based on our development as a species, but this mindset
has stayed with us to the present day and its completely against
our true nature. Were so used to rushing around all day that a lot
of times we never even realize theres another way to live. We think
that its just how life is. But its not. And of course, part of the
point of mindfulness and meditation is to calm the mind. But this
job can and should be handled on both sides.
While developing your practice of mindfulness you should
also work to become aware of when youre rushing around and
when youre not. And aside from helping to calm your mind, if you
actively work on slowing down youll also find more opportunities
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8. Be patient
Mindfulness takes time and patience to develop. At first, it
will be subtle. Unicorns wont start flying through the air and
celebration banners wont drop from the sky. Youll just feel.a
little more alive. A little more present. Thats the best way I can
describe it. But with practice youll notice your ability improve.
Youll feel more present, more alive, and better able to notice
things with your mindfulness. Of course, youll need to have some
indicator that youre practicing correctly. I covered a few great tips
so far, but another good one would be to simply practice mindful
breathing and sitting meditation often. These are the easiest ways
to practice mindfulness and the method of counting your breath,
which youll do during both of those exercises, is the easiest way
to tell when you lose your mindfulness and a great way to tell if
youre practicing correctly. Remember, mindfulness works like a
muscle. The more you work it out, the stronger it gets. Work
patiently towards making mindfulness a way of life and youll
develop it into a powerful force for peace and happiness in your
life.
9. Let go
When you begin practicing mindfulness youll probably find
it extraordinarily difficult not to become distracted. We covered
this earlier, so it shouldnt be of any surprise. But something else
will likely happen. Youll have a hard time convincing yourself to
let go of these distractions. Why is that? Well, we tend to blow
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youll find thoughts like I wonder how much longer I have to go?
popping up regularly. But even so, youll find yourself feeling great
after finishing a session, even if it was just a few minutes long.
During this time you really just have to push through the
difficulty. But I dont mean literally push or be forceful. Just be
mindful of whatever it is youre being mindful of, in the beginning
this will be mostly your breath, and as thoughts arise gently
acknowledge them and bring your concentration back to your
breath. This tough period wont last long at all and during it youll
still get a lot of joy from practicing. Really take time to notice how
mindfulness is improving your mood and behavior. If you take
time to do this youll deepen your appreciation of your practice
further and find even more drive to continue practicing.
But the real joy is in once your mind has begun to settle and
you can just sit. When you can sit, stop, or walk and be mindful
without feeling like you want to get up or like you have something
you need to get to, youll know youve reached a real milestone. I
cant describe this feeling to you. You just have to feel it for
yourself. Its one of the most beautiful and peaceful feelings youll
ever feel in your life. In those moments everything is perfect just
as it is and you feel like you could sit forever.
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Tools of Mindfulness
Shortly after beginning my own mindfulness practice
something became glaringly obvious to me: its really easy to
forget to be mindful. And I dont mean for a few minutes, I mean
for entire days. Especially if you have a typically busy schedule.
This is because one of our most common habit energies is the very
semi-conscious state I described earlier in the book. Were so
conditioned to live in this semi-conscious state that in the
beginning we need to remind ourselves to be mindful constantly
in order to establish it as a daily practice. Sure, mindfulness is
awesome because you can do it while doing anything else you
typically do in your daily life. But thats part of the very reason why
you need tools to help you establish mindfulness as a daily
practice. While you might strive to be mindful whenever walking,
without things supporting your practice youll more than likely
just forget and walk wherever you go like you always do. That is,
semi-conscious, with a mind dispersed between many thoughts
and sensations.
In the last chapter, under item number four titled Schedule
mindfulness, I mentioned how scheduling a specific time frame
to be mindful, whether you practice mindful sitting, walking, or
something else, helps support and establish your practice. But this
only aids in the process. It will still be easy to forget to practice
while going about your day. Towards that end, tangible tools like
symbols and reminders are something Ive made great use of in
establishing my own mindfulness practice. Tools of mindfulness
are tools which interact with one of the six sense organs: touch,
taste, sight, smell, sound, and mind. In Buddhism, mind is
considered a sense organ. I think it helps personal and spiritual
development greatly to interpret mind as an organ which receives
sensations much the same way as our other traditional sense
organs do. Here, Im talking particularly about either a sound to
remind you, a sight to instill feelings in you, an idea to conjure a
state of mind in you, or a combination.
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Symbols of Mindfulness
Symbols can be powerful forms of reinforcement and
support. A necklace, a ring, a bracelet, something you keep in your
pocket like a rock, or anything else you might think of. Its about
creating your own symbol for mindfulness and awakening which
you carry on you at all times. It reminds you to be mindful, and it
also acts as a sort of refuge. When you touch your symbol of
mindfulness, you can enter a state of mindfulness. No matter
where you are, no matter what youre doing, your symbol of
mindfulness is a great way to bring yourself back to reality and
calm your mind and body.
A while back I purchased a small gold lotus pendant, which
I still wear to this day. I thought it might be helpful in reminding
me to be mindful and of the importance of my spiritual practice as
a whole. I decided on the lotus flower because it symbolizes
awakening, so it reminds me of my practice and the overall
purpose. A symbol which you keep on you throughout your day
really is a great way to remind yourself to be mindful. This one
thing helped my practice greatly. I personally wasnt used to
wearing jewelry of any kind, so if youre like me youll have to try
different things out to see what you prefer. You can also carry
something like a small and smooth flat rock. It will fit in your
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feel refreshed and ready to tackle anything. And not only that. By
doing this one practice youll be reminded to be mindful
throughout the rest of your day.
This one practice was a huge help in developing my daily
practice. Not only are you reminding yourself to practice mindful
breathing every hour, but because youre practicing mindfulness
every hour of every day (I typically have them set to start going off
around 8AM since my kids are awake by then, wouldnt want to
wake them early) you gradually begin to remember to practice
mindfulness while doing other things throughout your day so it
supports the development of your entire practice. But as with all
of the tools discussed in this chapter, you need to take it seriously.
You might find yourself, for a time, disregarding this alarm. If you
find yourself doing this you need to remind yourself why your
practice is important, dust yourself off, and just get back on the
wagon. Its natural to run into some bumps along the way. So
remember, go easy on yourself and just keep chugging along.
Towards that same end you can also post physical signs that
you type or handwrite and place them on the wall of rooms you
walk into every day such as your restroom, kitchen, office, and
even your car. You can write or draw whatever you want on it as
long as it reminds you to be mindful during your daily life. For
instance, you could have a poster or sign that symbolizes walking
meditation in your bedroom that sits on the back of your bedroom
door. This way, each time you walk out of your bedroom in the
morning youre reminded to walk mindfully. If you tend to rush
around at the office and build up most of your stress and anxiety
there you can place one on the back of your office door or laminate
and place a small one on the surface of your desk. Signs work
great. The only thing about them is that if you dont take them
seriously from the start it becomes easy to ignore or simply pass
over them. Whichever one of these tools you use, you must take
them and your overall practice seriously. As I mentioned in the
last paragraph, if this is a problem then remind yourself why your
practice is important and get back on track. In this case you could
always add these reasons to the very sign that reminds you to be
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Home
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Present moment
and out for the first line and in and out again for the second line.
After reading the line below you can continue to breathe mindfully
until the emotion calms.
Although right now I am angry at _______,
Deep down I know I am capable of being at peace.
Driving meditation
As I place my hands on this wheel I enter a state of
mindfulness.
I know I am sitting here, driving this car.
I vow to treat other drivers with patience and
compassion.
And I will renew my sense of inner peace with each turn
of the wheel.
Internet meditation
As I place my hands on this device I enter a state of
mindfulness.
My breath is my companion to the connected world.
I know where I am, what Im doing and why Im doing it.
And I vow to consume only those things which nurture
my mind.
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Working meditation
As I enter this building I also enter a state of
mindfulness.
I will treat all tasks with the same level of importance I
place on taking care of my boys. (You can fill in the blank
here, this is my own)
My breath will guide all important decisions.
I vow to treat others with compassion and will use deep
listening when speaking with teammates.
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your day. Sit and eat in mindfulness while being fully present for
each bite. Be completely present when spending time with family
and friends, appreciating their presence and feeling their love.
Learn to live deeply and treat every typically mundane activity
with reverence and complete attention so as to train yourself to
find peace and happiness in the simplest of things by touching the
very ground of your being. And open yourself up to the light of
mindfulness. Let all of your insecurities, deep-seated emotions,
and conditions rise to the surface so that you can allow the mind
and bodys natural healing process to take place.
Mindfulness is meant to be lived, not studied. Its about
living deeply and seeing into the true nature of yourself and the
world around you. So get out there, start really living, and never
look back. Shine the light of mindfulness on your entire life.
Wherever you go, be there. Whatever you do, do it with you entire
being. Transform your life one moment at a time. This is your life
and its now or never. Let mindfulness guide you to a happier,
more peaceful, and more harmonious existence. Your adventure
starts today.
Peace,
Matt
P.S. Developing mindfulness as a way of life isnt easy, but
its infinitely rewarding. If you need help along t he way Id be more
than willing in any way that I can. My home online is my blog
Buddhaimonia (buddhaimonia.com). I write new articles weekly
and would love to see you stop by sometime. Continued reading
and teaching is healthy for any self-development practice and I
aim to provide the best content possible towards that purpose.
Feel free to leave a comment on an article, message me on Twitter
or Google+, or send me an email and Ill do everything I can to
help.
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will help you realize that all that rushing around never made you
more productive. And now you have a better way.
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Thank You
The truth is, we may or may not ever meet one another. We
may never speak. The world is a big place and I wont ever know
and definitely wont ever be able to meet everyone who reads my
work. So its because of this that I wanted to take a second to say
thank you. A big thank you. Even if we never meet again I wanted
to let you know how much I appreciate you taking the time to read
The Little Book of Mindfulness. It means so much to me that you
took the time to sit down and read my work. From the bottom of
my heart, thank you.
I worked harder than I ever have in my life to write The Little
Book of Mindfulness. Despite being in the middle of moving my
family to a new home, raising my two wild boys (who, at the time
of writing this, are 9 months and 3 years old), working 40 hours a
week, growing and maintaining my blog, and a whole list of other
responsibilities, I finished the book and made it out in one piece.
But it took a lot from more than just me. I also wanted to thank
my wife Edith. Shes been the best mommy to our two little dudes
and been nothing but supportive of my work from day one. She,
before anyone else, told me I should write. I also wanted to thank
my mom for always being there. Shes been nothing but supportive
from day one as well. She and my wife were my first two readers
on Buddhaimonia, before anyone else even knew it existed.
Thank you!
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Matt Valentine
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