If you ride a bicycle you might find this exercise quite refreshing. And it may even open a new frontier for you in biking.
Riding a bicycle while being mindful is a much safer way of biking. Not being mindful while biking is dangerous! I bike every week and often see other bikers on the road listening to their ipods or riding side-by-side talking to one another. Needless to say, these are not the safest ways to bike.
If you ride a bicycle you might want to begin practicing mindful biking the next time you go for a ride. Share this mindful practice with other bikers.
While biking, see the road passing under you like a ribbon and then go immediately to the feeling of the road by becoming aware of your buttocks on the bike seat and your hands on the handle bars. Notice how the road vibrations travel all the way through your body giving you a sense that you, the bike, and the road are one. Broaden your awareness to the sound of the wind in your ears and everything that surrounds your very being. At this point you might have the feeling of greater clarity, vitality,and freedom. It doesn't take long under these circumstances to go from being lost in thought to total awareness.
While holding all of these sensations in your awareness bring your attention to your breathing. Allow your legs and breathing to flow in unison. Visualize energy coming from the earth, up through your body and out the top of your head like wind blowing through a tunnel. You are now mindfully biking - fully aware of your body and the environment, in the moment, without judging. You are as free as the wind moving over Mother Earth. It is a magnificent feeling!
Practicing mindfulness while biking brings a greater sense of joy in biking and appreciation for being alive. It will open new frontiers in what the sport has to offer and it will broaden your prospective on yourself and your capabilities.
Sunday, March 31, 2013
Friday, March 29, 2013
Mindfulness Practice 2
"Why is it when I am fatigued it's hard to stay in the moment?" questioned my friend as we were driving to lunch. "Because when you are fatigued it takes energy to stay in the moment," I said, as my friend settled back in the car seat, "but it takes practically no energy to be in waking sleep and absorption. So, when a person is tired it is much easier to drop back into these two lower states of consciousness."
"Learning to stay in the moment requires practice. It is much easier to be in waking sleep, walking along and letting the mind wander, or in absorption, totally immersed in an event or some activity. It is human nature to take the path of least resistance and that path is waking sleep and absorption. But staying in the moment requires practice and effort. In other words, it takes energy to stay in the moment," I said. "I see what you mean," he replied.
You can discover your own energy potential by doing mindful walking:
Go for a little walk outside, for five or ten minutes, or you can walk around inside. While you are walking, be alert and open to everything and anything that happens to be in your field of awareness. You may notice smells, various sounds, sights, and even vibrations and feelings inside your body. Be open to how your body moves, arms and legs are swinging, air coming in and out of your lungs. As you walk be aware of how it feels as your feet touch the ground heal to toe, heal to toe. Be aware of textures, colors, contours, and shadows.
This is walking with mindfulness -walking with full intention of being in the moment. Walking this way requires effort because it is a new way of walking. If you have never done this kind of walking before you might find your mind wandering from one thought to another. That's okay because the natural tendency is for everybody's mind to wander the first time they attempt mindful walking.
Congratulate yourself for doing this walking exercise. It is not an easy practice because it requires energy. But the more you do it, the easier it becomes because a new neural pathway is building each time you practice it. The old waking sleep and absorption paths will be replaced by a new and improved mindful path.
"Learning to stay in the moment requires practice. It is much easier to be in waking sleep, walking along and letting the mind wander, or in absorption, totally immersed in an event or some activity. It is human nature to take the path of least resistance and that path is waking sleep and absorption. But staying in the moment requires practice and effort. In other words, it takes energy to stay in the moment," I said. "I see what you mean," he replied.
You can discover your own energy potential by doing mindful walking:
Go for a little walk outside, for five or ten minutes, or you can walk around inside. While you are walking, be alert and open to everything and anything that happens to be in your field of awareness. You may notice smells, various sounds, sights, and even vibrations and feelings inside your body. Be open to how your body moves, arms and legs are swinging, air coming in and out of your lungs. As you walk be aware of how it feels as your feet touch the ground heal to toe, heal to toe. Be aware of textures, colors, contours, and shadows.
This is walking with mindfulness -walking with full intention of being in the moment. Walking this way requires effort because it is a new way of walking. If you have never done this kind of walking before you might find your mind wandering from one thought to another. That's okay because the natural tendency is for everybody's mind to wander the first time they attempt mindful walking.
Congratulate yourself for doing this walking exercise. It is not an easy practice because it requires energy. But the more you do it, the easier it becomes because a new neural pathway is building each time you practice it. The old waking sleep and absorption paths will be replaced by a new and improved mindful path.
Thursday, March 28, 2013
Mindfulness Practice 1
As you probably know already, mindfulness is the ability to be in the moment without judging. Simply said but not easily accomplished. So, with that said, here is the first practice of mindfulness you can try when you get around to it:
While you are working on the computer, emailing a friend, reading your email, or whatever you are doing on the computer; notice the images, words, and colors on the screen. Feel your body in the chair. Allow awareness to go to your hands on the keyboard and your feet on the floor. Notice your breathing. Let your awareness expand beyond the screen to sounds around you, perhaps light coming into the room, emotions you may be feeling this very moment, and possibly even staying in the moment with thoughts of the past and the future. Yes, you can have thoughts of the past and the future and still be mindful as long as you know you are having those thoughts right now in the moment.
See how long you can stay in this state of mindfulness before drifting off into waking sleep or absorption. Waking sleep is when your body is doing one thing and your mind is doing something else, such as typing on the keyboard while thinking of what you will be doing tomorrow. Absorption is when you become so engrossed in a project or event you become unaware of things in and around you.
Good luck with mindfulness.
While you are working on the computer, emailing a friend, reading your email, or whatever you are doing on the computer; notice the images, words, and colors on the screen. Feel your body in the chair. Allow awareness to go to your hands on the keyboard and your feet on the floor. Notice your breathing. Let your awareness expand beyond the screen to sounds around you, perhaps light coming into the room, emotions you may be feeling this very moment, and possibly even staying in the moment with thoughts of the past and the future. Yes, you can have thoughts of the past and the future and still be mindful as long as you know you are having those thoughts right now in the moment.
See how long you can stay in this state of mindfulness before drifting off into waking sleep or absorption. Waking sleep is when your body is doing one thing and your mind is doing something else, such as typing on the keyboard while thinking of what you will be doing tomorrow. Absorption is when you become so engrossed in a project or event you become unaware of things in and around you.
Good luck with mindfulness.
Sunday, March 24, 2013
Without A Doubt
Be as free as light
that bounces here and there,
and free as night
that creeps slowly in.
There was never a time
when you weren't here,
and never a time
when you weren't there.
Be as free as the wind
that blows o'er the sea,
and free as the waves
that lead the way.
There is always a place
for you to go,
and always a place
where you can stay.
Remember this
as you go about,
for it is always with you
without a doubt.
that bounces here and there,
and free as night
that creeps slowly in.
There was never a time
when you weren't here,
and never a time
when you weren't there.
Be as free as the wind
that blows o'er the sea,
and free as the waves
that lead the way.
There is always a place
for you to go,
and always a place
where you can stay.
Remember this
as you go about,
for it is always with you
without a doubt.
Thursday, March 21, 2013
Who?
Is any being
too small or large
to enjoy the sun,
love its neighbor,
have its fun,
and enjoy freedom
from harm or pain?
Who is to say
it cannot have these things?
Who can say
it should die
or it should live?
Is any being
too ugly or dumb
to walk the earth,
feel the wind,
taste the crumb,
and smell the flower?
Who is to say
it cannot have these things?
Who can say
it should die
or it should live?
Who?
too small or large
to enjoy the sun,
love its neighbor,
have its fun,
and enjoy freedom
from harm or pain?
Who is to say
it cannot have these things?
Who can say
it should die
or it should live?
Is any being
too ugly or dumb
to walk the earth,
feel the wind,
taste the crumb,
and smell the flower?
Who is to say
it cannot have these things?
Who can say
it should die
or it should live?
Who?
Monday, March 18, 2013
Spaceous Thoughts
The longer you practice mindful meditation the more you will notice thoughts and Self getting further and further apart. In the beginning you may have felt that you were your thoughts - that you and your thoughts were one and the same.
But now you know that you (the Self) are separate from the thoughts that spontaneously arise at any given moment. Thoughts come and go and seem as if they have a mind of their own. That's because they are not of your mind. They are manifested out of thin air - the mind-field of the cosmos.
When you learn to see thoughts as separate entities, the distance between you and unwanted thoughts will grow further and further apart. There will come a time when those spontaneous, and sometimes disturbing, thoughts are realized as nothing more than bits and sparks of energy flying in and out of your own mind-field.
Practice mindful meditation often. It's really quite simple. Just sit and witness thoughts without judgment and allow the space to open.
But now you know that you (the Self) are separate from the thoughts that spontaneously arise at any given moment. Thoughts come and go and seem as if they have a mind of their own. That's because they are not of your mind. They are manifested out of thin air - the mind-field of the cosmos.
When you learn to see thoughts as separate entities, the distance between you and unwanted thoughts will grow further and further apart. There will come a time when those spontaneous, and sometimes disturbing, thoughts are realized as nothing more than bits and sparks of energy flying in and out of your own mind-field.
Practice mindful meditation often. It's really quite simple. Just sit and witness thoughts without judgment and allow the space to open.
Saturday, March 16, 2013
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