By staying with a mindful awareness when the situation appears to be uninteresting, there is an opportunity to learn something. That is because the "staying with" the mindful awareness is a chance to go deeper into understanding the subtleties of the experience. A simple breath is actually a rich experience of complex physical processes that can be observed. A pause in a busy day - or at the beginning of a day - is a chance to learn what is going on in the emotions and in the mind. This is information that can be useful to have during encounters in the day to day demands of modern life. There are many dimensions of experience that will only be noticed if we pause long enough to give our full attention. It can be tempting to try to fill the moments of boredom with new and exciting experience. But it may be more fruitful to stay with the moment a little longer.... John Weaver, Psy.D.
The problem of boredom is one that confronts everyone who attempts to live a more mindful life. It occurs during the formal practice of a meditation, but also shows up in daily activities. The experience of boredom can result in a "dulling" of awareness or a sense of disconnection from the present moment. When this happens during the formal mindfulness practice, you may find yourself becoming sleepy during the meditation. Often it is part of the resistance to continuing the practice. It seems as though the mindfulness practice is so familiar and so routine that it is difficult to muster any enthusiasm for it. This is a part of the normal rhythm of paying attention to life as it unfolds. The belief that some aspect of your life is dull and routine can be seen only as a belief. It is not a fact. Many of the greatest insights of the great minds have arisen from looking again at something that we all thought was ordinary, and finding something new and exciting. Some questions for discussion: What is your first sign that you are becoming bored? What helps you to move through your resistance and look again at an ordinary part of your meditation or daily life? What are the circumstances that make it difficult for you to escape from being bored? John Weaver, Psy.D.
