practicing mindfulness an introduction to meditation part 2

mindful consuming

-study the food with your senses -think about how it got there -eat it slowly and mindfully -feel it in your mouth -chew slowy

Operating motor vehicles is an extremely important part of American culture.

. According to the Bureau of Transportation, there are more automobiles in the United States than licensed drivers. In the first decade of the 21st century, Americans drove approximately 3 trillion miles each year.

Like sitting meditation, there is no single best time for practicing walking meditation.

. If you are able to do so, however, walking just before or just after sitting meditation is bene¿ cial; walking and sitting alternately has a synergistic effect on mindfulness. Whereas sitting meditation after a meal can lead to drowsiness, research suggests that a gentle walk after eating can be healthy and invigorating.

As you prepare to walk, remind yourself of your intention to be mindful during this exercise, just as you do at the beginning of sitting meditation.

. Now, focus your vision on the ground about ¿ ve or six feet in front of you, but don't gaze at anything in particular. You'll keep your eyes open during the entire meditation.

Mindful driving begins long before you enter the car.

Because driving is a potentially hazardous activity, we should do all we can beforehand to ensure our journeys are safe.

Walking can also be a way of imagining letting go. With each pace, you can envision leaving your anxieties and worries behind and taking a fresh step into a new moment.

It's important to remember that although you're walking, you're not going anywhere. Walking meditation has no destination but awareness.

Knowing what is wholesome food and what's not, however, isn't always easy.

Almost daily, the media reports the shifting opinions about this or that food item. For now, we can only say that mindfulness practice entails using our best wisdom and the knowledge we have available to choose the most wholesome foods.

When you are ready to begin the meal, make sure the location is quiet and uncluttered.

An appropriate beginning to a mindfulness meal could be a few words encouraging reÀ ection on the purpose of eating, the process by which the food has come to table, and the fact that many in the world are malnourished. Depending on your personal beliefs, these words may or may not make mention of God.

Once you've become accustomed to the basic skills of mindful walking, you're free to vary the practice in ways that you ¿ nd meaningful.

As you walk, you might recite a gatha, a short verse from the Buddhist tradition that focuses the mind on a wholesome thought.

It's basic walking, of course, except with greater attention to the experience.

At first, walking with attentiveness may feel awkward. Beginning practitioners sometimes even lose their balance because they're trying to be conscious of what is ordinarily an unconscious process. The awkwardness will dissipate as you become accustomed to the pace and deliberate style of the practice.

Wherever you are, use markers to remind you to drop your thoughts and reacquaint yourself with the present moment.

Bring your attention back to the visual ¿ eld and then feel the sensations of your hands and proceed.

Are you a mindless driver? Take a moment to assess your ordinary driving habits.

Consider how often you fail to drive completely attentive to the experience as it's happening. It's not uncommon for people to drive for miles and miles without paying full attention to the route they're taking.

As you drive mindfully, you will notice that you have little control over the full range of events that are unfolding before your eyes. You have slight, if any, authority over what others do. Your powers are fairly limited to the control you have over your own vehicle, but even that is not absolute.

Despite your limitations, it is possible to sit back, relax, and become mindfully alert to your experiences. You'll see interesting things, scary things, things that will make you sad, things that will make you laugh—but you'll always keep going.

Before you begin, make sure you're wearing comfortable clothing, appropriate to your environment.

Divest yourself of needless sources of distraction or discomfort, such as cell phones or music players. You may want to stretch a bit to loosen and relax your muscles. Do whatever is necessary to maximize your sense of freedom.

Think also about the way you drive. Do you drive aggressively? Timidly? Competitively?

Do you drive lawfully, always observing speed limits and other traffic regulations? Many people don't always feel obligated to obey the rules when they're on the road. If you think of your automobile as an extension of your personality, as some psychologists suggest it is, what does your driving say about you?

racticing mindfulness while driving is not only a choice opportunity; it's also a veritable necessity.

Driving may be the most hazardous activity the average person participates in. Each year, there are well over 6 million vehicle collisions in the United States, in which 3 million people suffer injuries.

An alternative method involves focusing your awareness on the sensations of your feet as they make contact with the ground. This technique is most effective when you're walking barefoot.

Due to a high concentration of nerve endings, the bottoms of the feet are among the most sensitive areas of the body. Consequently, they provide an excellent anchor for the attention.

After committing yourself to a regular practice, decide if you'd like to observe it alone or with others

Eating with others provides additional richness to the experience when they are also committed to the practice. Although no one says a word, having a mindful supper with friends and family can strengthen the intimacy of these relationships.

Like sitting meditation, walking has a number of variations that you can explore to help you design the practice that is most effective for you.

Experiment with these variations to determine which techniques best sharpen your awareness.

Using a body scan, briefly survey the different areas of your body from the feet to the top of your head, releasing any tension as you do.

For a few moments, simply stand there and observe the sensations of your body. Take a moment to appreciate your surroundings and the feel and fragrance of the air.

eing physically calm, as we have observed, helps foster the mental tranquility necessary for moment-to-moment awareness

However, bodily stillness is not essential to mindfulness; it merely helps promote it, especially for those who are in the initial stages of learning the practice.

Regardless of the technique you choose, your objective is to keep your attention on each moment, as time moves from one instant to the next.

If at any moment you wish to stop and enjoy your environment—to watch the leaves fall or to listen to a sparrow's chirp—you should feel free to do so.

Whether you choose to eat alone or with others, the practice of mindful eating really begins before the meal starts, as you choose and prepare your food

If you dine with company, it's an enriching practice to include them in the preparation phase.

If you ¿ nd yourself distracted by a thought or an emotion, you can gently return attention to the soles of the feet.

If you find it helpful, you can pause to refocus your awareness and then resume your walk. As in other forms of meditation, allow your mind to be relaxed and focused.

Mindful eating is a way to enjoy one of the most pleasurable, yet one of the most ordinary, things we do.

It's also a practice that allows us to discover—or perhaps rediscover—many wonderful things that happen right under our noses and within our bodies. Mindful eating helps us attend to our body's inner wisdom and to our natural capacity for compassion and gratitude. It also helps us appreciate our place in the greater web of life.

When grace is concluded, the meal may begin. Eating the entire meal in silence helps create an environment conducive to momentto-moment awareness.

If you have company, eating in silence may seem awkward at FIrst, but most people quickly become used to it.

You can place your hands in front of you or behind. If you hold them in front, you may put one hand in the other, as in sitting meditation

If you put them behind you, let one hand clasp the other and allow them to rest against the back. You can also allow the arms to remain at your sides and swing slightly as you move.

When you reach the end of your path, come to a complete stop. Stand still and observe your whole body

If you wish, you can do a brief body scan or simply take a few moments to enjoy the sensation of being alive. You can walk for as long or as short a period as you like, but 30 minutes is a good time for beginners and experienced practitioners.

hink about how your actions are part of the greater web of life. ReÀ ect on the fact that other beings have given up their lives to sustain yours.

If you're cooking for others—or even just for yourself—remember that what you are doing is an act of compassion. You're helping to sustain life and bring happiness.

In driving, it's possible to create specific ways to remind yourself to return to the present moment.

If you're driving in town, you can designate certain recurring markers—such as intersections, traf¿ c lights, or stop signs—as prompters to jog your memory. If you're on the highway, telephone or light poles might serve the same function.

Many practitioners have come to prefer walking mindfulness to the motionless forms of meditation because walking practice can be more versatile than sitting:

It doesn't require a particular setting or equipment, such as a chair or cushion.

The basic practice of driving mindfully is quite simple.

It follows the observe-and-return dynamic of sitting meditation. Whenever you notice your mind drifting away from being attentive to the experience of driving, gently escort your awareness back to these two anchors, which ground you in the present.

The second anchor in mindful driving is the sensation of the hands on the steering wheel.

It's a good practice, both for mindfulness and for safety's sake, to keep both hands on the wheel. If you're in the habit of driving with one hand, it will take a good bit of mindfulness just to remember to use both hands.

In mindful driving, the hands function like the feet in walking meditation.

Just as you do with the feet in walking, bring your awareness to the sensations of the hands. You may feel the hardness or softness of the wheel itself, some pain or tension in your hands, or the vibrations generated by the engine and the car as it moves.

Then, check your posture. Make sure you're sitting in a position that promotes alertness and allows you to be relaxed.

Keep your hands ¿ rmly on the steering wheel, but don't clench them. They, too, should feel relaxed. Perhaps you can manage a quick body scan to release any tension you may feel. Take several deep breaths and go.

As you begin to master the basic technique, you can start to work with other aspects of your experience.

Keeping the mind focused on the visual ¿ eld and the sensations of the hands affords the occasional opportunity to attend to other aspects of your bodily experience. Every so often, you can take a moment to check your posture and make adjustments if necessary. You can notice if any areas of your body are contracted or tense and allow them to relax.

Another variation on the practice involves using a contemplative tool that has regained popularity among many Christians in recent years.

Labyrinths are intricate structures or patterns that de¿ ne a pathway; they have been found in a wide range of cultures throughout history and assume a variety of different shapes.

Because we spend so much time on the road, driving represents a wonderful opportunity for us to practice mindfulness.

Like walking and eating, driving is an ordinary experience whose potential for enriching our awareness of life is usually overlooked.

Eat your meal at a leisurely pace, and be keenly attentive to your body to know when your hunger has been satised.

Many of us continue to eat long after our hunger pangs have subsided. When you sense that you have eaten enough, stop.

Like walking, consuming our food and drink is a profoundly ordinary experience whose depth is usually overlooked.

Most of us, most of the time, devour mindlessly, missing out on what is potentially one of the most satisfying experiences we can have.

Most of the time, you will anchor your attention on the visual field in general rather than on anything in particular.

Occasionally, of course, it will become necessary to focus on specific things in your view as they become relevant to your driving.

Initially, you may find it helpful to coordinate your movements with your breath.

On the inhalation, you can lift and move the foot, and as you exhale, you can place the foot and shift your weight. You'll probably discover, however, that your breath and bodily movements will fall into a natural, synchronized rhythm after a while.

Walking practice can also be modified to emphasize our full attentiveness in the present moment.

One way to use walking for this purpose is to stop at each step and bring your complete attention to that moment before taking another step. By so doing, you're reminding yourself that life is a series of present moments.

The value of this exercise is to reveal the possibilities available to us for using the ordinary experience of eating to deepen our awareness and act in more wholesome ways.

Perhaps it would be great to eat this way all the time, but for many of us, that's not practical. We can, however, incorporate some of the methods and principles of tangerine meditation into our daily lives in relatively painless—but very meaningful—ways.

A third technique is to direct your awareness to the sensation of your body as a whole.

Rather than concentrate on a particular part, try to gain a sense of the body as a single organism. Be open and attentive to whatever experiences come your way. This method is especially useful when you want to practice walking mindfully at a faster pace.

Anytime you walk, you can be mindful. Your pace will probably be more brisk than the formal practice, and you'll probably find it most helpful to stay aware of your entire body as it moves, rather than focusing on the feet.

Rather than thinking about your destination, stay focused on the act of walking.

If you have passengers, make sure everyone is prepared and safely buckled.

Remember that the safety of yourself, the others in the car, and strangers on the road depends on your full awareness. Careful driving is an act of compassion. Therefore, you should focus on the experience of driving and not on the destination

First, that means making sure the vehicle we're driving is well maintained and in good operating condition.

Second, it means preparing our minds to take the responsibility of driving seriously, knowing that getting behind the wheel requires our full attention. If we're unprepared for that responsibility, we should at least be responsible enough not to drive.

When you're ready to start your mediation, take your place at one end of your walkway.

Stand tall with your spine upright and your shoulders relaxed, letting your arms hang naturally by your sides. Keep your chin level with the ground. Relax your jaw and smile slightly. Take a few slow, deep breaths.

When you are ready, begin slowly and mindfully to turn around 180 degrees.

Stop your turn when you're facing the other end of the walkway. Once again, set your intention to be mindful during the next segment and begin again.

Like preparation, the clean up can be done in a meditative way, but it may be harder to do so because you usually want it done with as soon as possible.

The mindfulness approach is to reorient your attention from getting the job FInished to staying aware of what you're doing.

Anytime is a good time to walk mindfully, but this practice is especially helpful when you get angry.

The next time you're taken with anger, try to walk mindfully. You'll discover that it cools the ¿ res of rage.

Choosing the Menu x It's important to give careful thought to the menu.

The principal reason we eat is to nourish our bodies and minds, so making wise choices about the food that will ultimately become us is essential. The mindfulness tradition doesn't specify a particular kind of diet; it only encourages us to consume food and drink that will keep us healthy and contribute to our moment-to-moment awareness.

The space doesn't need to be demarcated in any way; you can simply set the boundaries in your imagination.

The surface of the walkway only needs to be level and stable. If you walk barefoot— which is a very pleasant thing to do—just make sure the walking surface will not endanger your feet.

Now, begin to walk, using small, careful steps. Mindfully, lift your right foot, move it forward, and place it on the ground a few inches beyond the toes of your left foot. Then, allow your weight to shift onto your right leg, and mindfully lift your left foot.

Then, move it and place it on the ground a few inches beyond the toes of your right foot. Shift the weight of your body forward onto your left leg. Repeat

As you begin to drive, do so normally.

There is no need to slow your rate of speed as we do in walking and eating meditation. On the other hand, you might experiment with driving a bit slower than usual to see if that affects your ability to stay attentive. Slightly breaking the routine can help keep your mind focused.

First, let me suggest that you set a goal to practice mindful eating during one meal each week.

This is a modest beginning, and as you start to see the benefits ts, you may want to have mindful meals with greater frequency. You'll also begin to notice how the practice of mindfulness while eating begins to affect all of your eating experiences.

As you move, be sure to retain an upright posture. Many people walk improperly, allowing their head and upper torso to lead their body.

To maintain a correct carriage as you walk, imagine the rest of your body being led forward by the belly rather than by the head and chest.

We exist in a complex web of life. How we sustain our own life has a profound effect on the rest of the biosphere of which we are part.

Today, we are becoming more aware that how we get our food affects the greater world in which we live.

As you prepare to leave, reflect on the value of removing potential distractions, just as you would for sitting meditation.

Try driving without the radio, coffee, or any other possible distractions and study the effect of its absence on your attentiveness.

Being conscious of what we eat also involves awareness of how food gets to our table.

Unless we grow all our own food, we probably have little idea about where most of what we eat comes from or how it is produced

Although most of us give little consideration to the activity of walking, some of the most thoughtful among us have been keenly aware of its importance.

Walking need not be just a way to move our brains around; walking can help improve the way those brains work.

ReÀ ect on the ways you can integrate mindfulness practices into your everyday eating experiences.

What aspects of the rest of your life do you need to change in order to accommodate mindful eating?

Make a determination to keep your eye on the road.

When the next marker appears, note how successful you were at staying attentive, return to your anchors, and continue. Over time, repeating this practice will allow your attention to remain concentrated on driving.

This natural rhythm will allow your mind and body to relax.

When you sense this harmony, you can withdraw your attention from the breath. Unlike sitting, in walking practice, we allow the breath to fade into the background and place our attention on other bodily sensations.

Pay special attention to the sensations at the bottom of your feet. If you're barefoot, allow yourself to completely feel the qualities of your walking surface.

Wiggle your toes a bit to let them sense the textures under your feet.

When the food has been bought and the menu set, you can make preparation itself a mindful practice.

Work in a quiet, clean, distraction-free environment. Enjoy the sensual nature of your experience. Notice colors, textures, aromas, and tastes.

A labyrinth should not be confused with a maze, which is a kind of puzzle with many pathway options.

You can get lost in a maze, and the goal is to ¿ nd a way out. A labyrinth, however, has only a single route. It has twists and turns like a maze—but no branches offering alternative paths.

To introduce you to mindful eating, we will mindfully eat a tangerine.

You can perform this exercise with any kind of food, but this meditation is designed speci¿ cally for tangerines. As you'll see shortly, the practice means nothing without your participation.

To begin the practice of walking meditation, you must first find a suitable location.

You can walk within the privacy of your own home, your own backyard, or any other space free from dangers and distractions. The fresh air of the outdoors, of course, has much to recommend it.

When you're ready to go, bring mindful attention to what you're doing as you approach the car.

You might start by engaging in a walking meditation practice as you move toward your vehicle; then, stay attentive as you go through the usual routine of preparing to drive, such as buckling up and ¿ xing your mirrors.

Eating a meal in mindfulness follows the same principles as the tangerine meditation, with just a few variations and additional options.

You will, of course, eat slowly and attentively, trying to experience the richness of the moment. It will be most helpful to vary your usual eating experience to break the habits of mindless eating.

The first is the visual field available to us as we look through the car windshield and windows.

You'll be paying attention to all items that come within your field of vision—other cars, pedestrians, signs and stoplights, buildings, and so on.

The space for walking doesn't need to be large, but you will be walking back and forth on this space.

You'll start at one end, walk to the other end, turn around, and walk the other way—repeating this many times.

reach out

and savor

we receive this food in gratitude to all beings who have help bring it to the table

and vow to respond in turn to those in need with wisdom is compassion

all truly great thoughts

are conceived by walking

80% of all driving accidents are caused by

distracted driving

we are what we

eat

you can practice walking meditation

everywhere

be concerned about the

food you eat

set a goal to eat mindfully

for one meal a day

driving is the may be one of the most

hazardous activities out their

make sure what you are eating is

healthy

our walking is spend

in mindlessness

become fully alive

in the monent

Before you try this form of meditation during a stroll in the park or on the way from the car to the office

it's a good idea to get some experience in a special setting that is free from distractions and hazards so that you can master the basic technique.

drustracted driving is one of the

leading causes of death

There are several places where you may focus your awareness. Some instructors recommend attending to the legs and feet while silently labeling the three parts of each step

lifting, moving, and placing. You may ¿ nd this technique helpful for your practice, but only use it in the initial stages of learning.

Certainly, a major factor in many accidents is the lack of attentiveness, whether that's caused by cell phone use, eating food, engaging in conversations, or just driving under the influence of

mindlessness. If there's anything we do that can bene¿ t from the application of mindfulness, it's operating a vehicle.

we eat mindlessly

missed out on an enjoyable experience

As an exercise in mindfulness, investigate where some of your food comes from

or at least give some thought to the source of your food before you eat it, as we did in our tangerine meditation. If you're able, consider gardening, if you don't already.

why complain

or despair

Walking meditation shares the same goal as all practices in this tradition—

that of gaining deeper awareness—but it approaches that objective in a different and complementary way from the techniques that involve physical stillness. In this way, walking meditation provides a balance to the other practices.

When everyone has ¿ nished and the mindfulness meal is over,

the participants might engage in some quiet chatting, perhaps even discussing their experience.

Invite a like-minded friend, or group of friends, to spend an evening

together cooking and enjoying a mindfulness supper using the principles suggested in this lecture.

its recommenced the do

walking and siting meditation at the same time

As we do in other forms of meditation,

we'll need to establish anchors as a way to stabilize our attention when it begins to wander. In driving practice, we'll use two.

eating mindfully can be done

with friends