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k. Mindfulness Meditation Many of us spend a good part of our life, thinking about one thing while doing something else. We often think about what we are going to do or say next, or we think about doing something we would prefer to be doing. This is a major cause of accidents and sometimes strife. Think about the potentially negative outcomes of a surgeon thinking about golfing, tennis, or a family problem, while performing surgery, or a pilot thinking about what s/he is going to do tomorrow while the plane is taking off or landing; and what about the driver who arrives at his or her destination, not sure of how they got there. We often do things by rote, or think about something other than what we are currently involved with. This is not always a bad thing (thinking about an enjoyable activity while the dentist is drilling can have a lot of benefits), except when you need to be extra careful and safe, or present (attentive) for a person. In additional to safety and relationship reasons, we often need to focus on what we are doing for better effectiveness and outcomes and from time to time for relaxation.It would be beneficial if each of us could be involved at least once a day in a very particular type of meditation called mindfulness. Some people are actually able to spend much of their life in this state; but, it is rare and my suggestion for you is to involve yourself in it at least once a day.Mindfulness Meditation requires three things.Enjoy the activity, like it was new.Focus completely on the activity.Loose track of time.(Watching TV does not count, you must be an active participant) The activity can be almost anything as long as it fits the criteria. For some it may be reading a good book, where you may have to set an alarm if you have to be somewhere or have something else to do. It can be gardening, or dirt biking, playing a video game, taking a hot bath, or even doing the dishes. It is absolutely individualized and can be extremely relaxing. Children are naturals at this, as long as we encourage it and give them the opportunity. It is usually done through play and/or discovery. Often it requires a partner, who is physically, emotionally and mindfully present.
11 comments:
I think it's a really neat idea to be able to lose yourself in an activity. Unfortunately, that's not always practical, because often, people are juggling so much that there just isn't time to sit down and really do something with passion. So, I wonder if this is stress-reducing because you need to simplify your to-do list enough to make time for getting lost in an activity?
--Christina Pokorny, ward5672(a)gmail.com
Very good way to view things. It not only keeps you in the mind set of what you are doing but keeps you from thinking about the possible "could bes" and "what ifs".
Katie Bowman
What other ways can you suggest to incorporate, mindful meditation into our lives.
Selena
What other ways can you suggest to incorporate, mindful meditation into our lives.
Selena
It's a simple concept; but not always simple to do. Spend time doing things you enjoy enough that every time you do it, it's like new, something you enjoy so much that you lose track of time and are fully and completely in the moment. It can be almost anything.
It is not always easy to have enought time to just sit and clear our minds. To be able enjoy some time for meditation would be great. I hope would love to relax and enjoy trying it.
As long as your enjoying yourself and doing something that makes you happy that is a good thing.
This is a great idea and activity that I'm sure is perfect for students. I am wondering though how it could be encouraged in older elementary schoolers who have already learned to be focusing on multiple things at once or who get bored easily? How could a teacher adapt parts of this to work with students with attention-deficit disorders?
With this new generation coming up I wonder how this will ever work for them? Often when I see a group of teenagers 2 out of 5 of them have some type of electronic device in their hands.
We are definitely going to be doing more mindless meditation activities. Getting outside and looking for rocks or leaves or even finding shapes in the clouds. Get some fresh air. Give them some time to just think.
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