One of the first instructions in a mindfulness exercise is often, "bring your attention to the present moment." It is also one of the goals of being mindful during daily life. It is easier to say than it is to do sometimes.
A lot of mental activity competes with the present. We get caught up in emotional reactions to what has happened in our past (both recent and more distant), or what we fear might happen in the future. We are working on trying to solve problems. We are involved in being distracted by any number of things. So the present moment unfolds without our awareness. The other dimensions of my mental activity seem so much more compelling than what is happening right now.
So how do I break through?
One way is to start with directing your attention to some basic sensory experience. What are you seeing right in this moment? (As I typed this, I suddenly noticed that my computer screen is dirty! I was looking right past that in trying to compose this message.) What do you hear right now? The sensory experience happens in the moment and it draws us out of the "busy" mind that catches our attention so much of the waking day. Try it the next time you want to be in the moment. John Weaver, Psy.D.
Paying attention on purpose seems like a simple thing to do and it sounds like a very good idea. In reality, it is often something that individuals struggle with as they begin to learn the practice of mindfulness. We learn to avoid those things in our life that are painful and uncomfortable when we are young, and we often hear people in our adult lives, even professionals, advise us to distract ourselves to cope with distress. In a society that offers us a constant stream of distractions including TV, radio, phones, and the internet, it gets harder and harder to pay attention to the present moment. This is not a new problem, though. The 16th century poet, William Blake wrote, "All of man's problems can be traced to his inability to sit alone in a room, by himself." John Weaver, Psy.D.
I find it interesting that when I do regular mindfulness exercises, it is called a practice. For me, that is actually an appropriate term, because I am "practicing" a skill that I will use throughout my day. The purpose of the mindfulness practice is to make the skill of being mindful available to me during my interactions at a meeting or as I am encountering a difficult problem, when I am relating to the people in my life who are closest to me, or even when i am making a choice about what to buy. When I am able to pay attention to what is happening in my life, right in the present moment, I am able to make decisions that are better. Living like this is clearly a better choice, but it is difficult to do. My mindfulness practice is a time when I build the skills necessary to do it better. I learn to notice the patterns of thought that I get caught in that lead me to choices that are not healthy for me, and I learn how to break that cycle and let go of bad habits so that I can choose better. The practice is meaningless if it does not translate into the way I conduct myself throughout the day. But it is very important when I use it to get better and better at the skills of healthy thinking. We get better at what we practice. John Weaver, Psy.D.
One of the difficulties that I often hear about being more mindful is that the practice of meditation is time consuming. I agree. I have a busy life and it is difficult to add more into the time that I have, without making some decisions about how I choose to live my life. But that is one of the ways of being mindful. It is easy to get so caught up in my life that I just react to the circumstances without making a decision about how I spend my time.
When I am attempting to live more mindfully, I am challenged to make choices about how I spend my time and whether I really want to give my time to this activity or that activity. I sometimes "waste" time on things that I do not consider to be important or helpful, so mindfulness reminds me to try to pay closer attention to it.
I try to get some mindfulness practice in during the early morning hours, before my day starts. it is still quieter in my home and I got into the habit of getting up a little earlier so that I can begin my day with some practice of being mindful, which supports my awareness during the day as well. I confess I am not always perfect in this practice, but it is the most practical way I have found to develop a regular mindfulness practice.
John Weaver, Psy.D.
Hi Everyone,
Welcome to the Mindfulness Blog. This blog is available for those who are participating in, or have completed a mindfulness group with me. I will share some comments about mindfulness, talk about resources that can help you deepen your practice, and provide a forum for you to discuss your insights.
Please feel free to add your comments to the blog at any time, and check back frequently to see what others are posting.
I will be monitoring the blog, and I will remove any entries that are offensive or inappropriate to the content and purpose of this endeavor, namely to further and deepen our understanding of mindfulness.
John Weaver, Psy.D.
