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The challenge of boredom

Everyone who attempts to establish a mindfulness practice will have to face the challenge of boredom. Taking the time to sit in a quiet place and focus on the breath results in a greater awareness of all aspects of experience. And boredom is an aspect of experience. In our current society, is seems as though there are a lot of products that are aimed at alleviating this "problem." We have hundreds of channels on television, we have radios/CD players in our vehicles. We have portable MP3 players, some that allow connection to the web so we can view email or stock quotes at any time. With all of this, human still become bored. It can be quite helpful to become mindful of the boredom in your life and of the ways you react to it. It can be quiet helpful to become more tolerant boredom so that you will have the ability to let go of the reactive rush to fill the space with something else and to see the small and subtle things in your life that you may have otherwise overlooked. The next time you face boredom in your mindfulness practice, treat it as you would any other experience and see what you can learn from it. John Weaver, Psy.D.

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Comments

Yes, boredom was my excuse to not practice meditation for a long time. Then I decided to give it a try - just for one minute, then just for two minutes, etc. Now I wonder why everyone doesn't know this secret to happiness. Thanks for your blog. It's wonderful!

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