Mindfulness is a practice. And awareness is an experience. It's kind of like putting a jigsaw puzzle together. The pieces of the puzzle represent bits of mindful practices and once the puzzle is put together you have the big picture - an experience of total awareness.
Practicing mindfulness in various situations develops a larger, wider, and deeper consciousness. For example, start out practicing being mindful while walking, and then mindful biking, and then mindful eating, and on and on. Eventually the practice comes together as one mindful life.
All the practices up to this point have focused on single exercises. Now it's time to begin fitting the pieces together into the big picture.
If you have been practicing mindfulness in many aspects of your life you are probably ready to take the next big step - becoming aware of being mindful. For example, let's say you are doing yoga and you are mindful of your posture, your breathing, the stretch in your hamstring and groin, energy flowing through your body, the light in the room, the sounds next door, and sweat beading up on your forehead. With all of that going on, you can step back into your consciousness and observe the one who is being mindful. This is a different and larger consciousness experience than being mindful of many different events.
It should be said, however, that it is almost impossible to be aware of mindfulness in a situation like doing yoga because of the varied number of experiences happening simultaneously. In the beginning it is easier to be aware of being mindful in less complicated situations. For instance, you can be aware of being mindful of your breathing. However, it is not advisable to try being aware of being mindful while driving or other situations that could put you in danger. It's best to start out slow and take simple tasks.
For your first aware of mindful experience sit in a chair and focus on an object like a picture, a vase, another person - something that is not moving. As you focus on the object allow mindfulness to widen. Notice the feelings in your body, your breathing, your buttocks in the chair, feet on the floor, and so on. Continue to widen your mindfulness to light in the room, sounds, and any smells that may be present and thoughts you may be having. Sit for a minute in this "bubble of mindfulness."
Soften your gaze and relax your breathing. And then ask the question, "who is mindful?" This is the key question to unlocking awareness. Visualize awareness expanding out into the universe. Notice the feeling of your presence sitting in the chair being mindful of objects and feelings. You are now aware of being mindful - a totally new and consciousness expanding experience.
Tuesday, April 30, 2013
Saturday, April 27, 2013
Mindful Practice 12
Cultivating mindfulness is a big part of yoga yet how many of us are integrating mindfulness into our yoga practice? Besides increasing strength, flexibility, balance, range of motion, lung volume and spiritual well being, yoga can expand our consciousness.
In the truest sense of the word, traditional yoga, as taught by Patanjali Maharashi, has the main goal of reaching samadhi - total freedom from the mechanical mind. A person who has reached samadhi is fully conscious of his own state of pure clarity at the highest level and the mind becomes a faithful servant.
Yoga, when practiced in the traditional sense, not only employs body exercises but also awareness of the environment, yourself, the breath, the senses, and the ability to focus the mind. Yoga is a good way to practice mindfulness because while you are moving through poses (asanas) and holding poses you can also learn to be aware of your thinking, your breathing, the body's subtle aches and pains, as well as the surroundings (light, temperature, sounds, etc.). In other words, don't become absorbed. Allow your consciousness to expand.
The next time you do yoga see if you can go into a state of awareness without judging yourself and others. Move through asanas with total mindfulness. Expand your consciousness. You may discover a whole new experience.
In the truest sense of the word, traditional yoga, as taught by Patanjali Maharashi, has the main goal of reaching samadhi - total freedom from the mechanical mind. A person who has reached samadhi is fully conscious of his own state of pure clarity at the highest level and the mind becomes a faithful servant.
Yoga, when practiced in the traditional sense, not only employs body exercises but also awareness of the environment, yourself, the breath, the senses, and the ability to focus the mind. Yoga is a good way to practice mindfulness because while you are moving through poses (asanas) and holding poses you can also learn to be aware of your thinking, your breathing, the body's subtle aches and pains, as well as the surroundings (light, temperature, sounds, etc.). In other words, don't become absorbed. Allow your consciousness to expand.
The next time you do yoga see if you can go into a state of awareness without judging yourself and others. Move through asanas with total mindfulness. Expand your consciousness. You may discover a whole new experience.
Thursday, April 25, 2013
Mindful Practice 11
The weather is warm and the humidity low.
The sky is clear and the sun is bright.
My mind is full of things that delight.
Everything is balmy and nothing seems right.
The smoke in the air makes everything dark.
My mind is dull and all is stark.
In which scenario do you live your life?
Wake up and smell the coffee if it's the second one.
You can become aware of all the beauty under the sun.
Just open your eyes and open your heart.
Be mindful of the present, not the past.
For this very moment will always last.
The sky is clear and the sun is bright.
My mind is full of things that delight.
Everything is balmy and nothing seems right.
The smoke in the air makes everything dark.
My mind is dull and all is stark.
In which scenario do you live your life?
Wake up and smell the coffee if it's the second one.
You can become aware of all the beauty under the sun.
Just open your eyes and open your heart.
Be mindful of the present, not the past.
For this very moment will always last.
Monday, April 22, 2013
Mindful Practice 10
Sex is a very intimate subject and can provoke all kinds of emotions when it is discussed. So beware - don't read any further if you are squeamish reading about sex.
The Kama Sutra, an ancient Hindu sex manual dating back two thousand years considers sex a natural act between two consenting adults. Sensually sexual pleasures were as much a part of life for Hindus as breathing and eating. For them vastu (matter) and shakti (cosmic energy) come together when a man and a woman compatibly unite in sexual harmony. With this remarkable sexual union of man and woman, prana (life force) is greatly enhanced for both participants.
The Karma Sutra has been a practical guide for sexual intercourse for thousands of years and for millions of people. It discusses love making, various types of embraces, kissing, oral sex, and 64 sexual positions. For most people that would seem to be enough, but it is possible to go further, much further, in the enjoyment of love making.
Mindful Love Making (MLM) goes beyond the Kama Sutra and allows sexual partners to explore, even deeper, the joys of intimate love making. No toys, no special embraces, or hundreds of different positions are needed. The only thing required is mindfulness and allowing nature to guide the way.
In the human brain there is a region called the homunculus located in the cerebral cortex. This region is responsible for receiving information from various sensory nerves of the body. The largest and most sensitive areas of the homunculus are those that receive information from the fingers, lips, nipples, and genitals. During love making these are the areas (the pleasure buttons) on which a mindful lover focuses. Just remember the acronym FLNG (Fingers, Lips, Nipples, Genitalia).
Lips kissing lips, sucking nipples, licking genitals, genitals on genitals, fingers on genitals, genitals on lips, and any combination thereof will guarantee supreme erogenous pleasure. Being mindful, taking it slow and easy, and allowing time to explore as many pleasure buttons as possible is the key to the spice of love making. Foreplay - getting there, is what creates passion which soon builds to a crescendo and finally to an impending orgasm making sex more fun and pleasurable than plain old penile insertion alone. And isn't it the fullest sexual pleasure possible we are seeking for ourselves and our partner?
When both the female and male are sexually aroused toward a climax the brain releases oxytocin, a hormone that quickly precipitates into a full-blown orgasm lasting a glorious twenty seconds for the female and about six seconds for the male. The female's clitoris becomes erect and pulsating waves encircle the vaginal wall. The pulsating vagina activates every system in her brain creating shear joy and enormous pleasure that will last for hours and sometimes even days.
In the male, the penis becomes engorged with blood enlarging to twice or more its normal size. The head of the penis (glans) is the same in origin (embryologically) as the clitoris. Both are abundantly supplied with nerve endings and are highly sensitive. With continuous rubbing of the glans, nerve impulses stimulate the prostate gland, seminal vesicles and vasdeferens. These rubbery glands and tubes squeeze semen into the urethra of the penis. This is the beginning of the orgasm for the male. And then rrhythmic muscle contractions at the base of the penis squirts semen out of the penis while nerve impulses travel up the spine. This is ejaculation. Although orgasm and ejaculation occur almost simultaneously they are not the same thing. They are separate entities. But who cares? It feels good.
In essence, if you want the ultimate experience in love making, practice MLM.
The Kama Sutra, an ancient Hindu sex manual dating back two thousand years considers sex a natural act between two consenting adults. Sensually sexual pleasures were as much a part of life for Hindus as breathing and eating. For them vastu (matter) and shakti (cosmic energy) come together when a man and a woman compatibly unite in sexual harmony. With this remarkable sexual union of man and woman, prana (life force) is greatly enhanced for both participants.
The Karma Sutra has been a practical guide for sexual intercourse for thousands of years and for millions of people. It discusses love making, various types of embraces, kissing, oral sex, and 64 sexual positions. For most people that would seem to be enough, but it is possible to go further, much further, in the enjoyment of love making.
Mindful Love Making (MLM) goes beyond the Kama Sutra and allows sexual partners to explore, even deeper, the joys of intimate love making. No toys, no special embraces, or hundreds of different positions are needed. The only thing required is mindfulness and allowing nature to guide the way.
In the human brain there is a region called the homunculus located in the cerebral cortex. This region is responsible for receiving information from various sensory nerves of the body. The largest and most sensitive areas of the homunculus are those that receive information from the fingers, lips, nipples, and genitals. During love making these are the areas (the pleasure buttons) on which a mindful lover focuses. Just remember the acronym FLNG (Fingers, Lips, Nipples, Genitalia).
Lips kissing lips, sucking nipples, licking genitals, genitals on genitals, fingers on genitals, genitals on lips, and any combination thereof will guarantee supreme erogenous pleasure. Being mindful, taking it slow and easy, and allowing time to explore as many pleasure buttons as possible is the key to the spice of love making. Foreplay - getting there, is what creates passion which soon builds to a crescendo and finally to an impending orgasm making sex more fun and pleasurable than plain old penile insertion alone. And isn't it the fullest sexual pleasure possible we are seeking for ourselves and our partner?
When both the female and male are sexually aroused toward a climax the brain releases oxytocin, a hormone that quickly precipitates into a full-blown orgasm lasting a glorious twenty seconds for the female and about six seconds for the male. The female's clitoris becomes erect and pulsating waves encircle the vaginal wall. The pulsating vagina activates every system in her brain creating shear joy and enormous pleasure that will last for hours and sometimes even days.
In the male, the penis becomes engorged with blood enlarging to twice or more its normal size. The head of the penis (glans) is the same in origin (embryologically) as the clitoris. Both are abundantly supplied with nerve endings and are highly sensitive. With continuous rubbing of the glans, nerve impulses stimulate the prostate gland, seminal vesicles and vasdeferens. These rubbery glands and tubes squeeze semen into the urethra of the penis. This is the beginning of the orgasm for the male. And then rrhythmic muscle contractions at the base of the penis squirts semen out of the penis while nerve impulses travel up the spine. This is ejaculation. Although orgasm and ejaculation occur almost simultaneously they are not the same thing. They are separate entities. But who cares? It feels good.
In essence, if you want the ultimate experience in love making, practice MLM.
Thursday, April 18, 2013
Mindful Practice 9
Getting up early in the morning, hurriedly getting dressed, downing some coffee and maybe a bite to eat, you jump in the car and race off to work. You don't have time to spare but half-way there you get in a traffic jam. Horns are honking, cars aren't moving, time's a wasting, and you are going to be late for work. "What am I going to tell the boss?" you think. "I've already been late twice this year" you scream. You can feel your blood pressure rise and your palms are sweaty.
Here are three techniques you can use to help reduce stress that may crop up in your life from time to time:
1. Mindfully come into the present moment. Become fully aware of everything around you, right now. When your mind wanders bring it back to what's happening right now. Be fully present with what is.
2. Place the heels of your hands gently on your closed eyes with your fingers on your head. Take in a deep breath and hold it for five seconds. When you breathe out make a humming sound so that you can feel vibrations in your chest. Do two more breaths. This practice is called the Oculocardiac reflex. It stimulates the vagus nerve and switches on the parasympathetic nervous system - the relaxing part of the autonomic nervous system.
3. Take in a deep breath. Wrap your arms around yourself and hug tightly while breathing out. Squeeze! Slowly release the hug and take a deep breath in, spreading your arms apart as if you are going to fly. Visualize clean, pure oxygen pouring into every pore and cell of your body. Do this hugging practice a few more times until you have flushed all the toxins and stress out of your body.
Warning! Do not practice exercises 2 and 3 while driving or operating heavy machinery.
Here are three techniques you can use to help reduce stress that may crop up in your life from time to time:
1. Mindfully come into the present moment. Become fully aware of everything around you, right now. When your mind wanders bring it back to what's happening right now. Be fully present with what is.
2. Place the heels of your hands gently on your closed eyes with your fingers on your head. Take in a deep breath and hold it for five seconds. When you breathe out make a humming sound so that you can feel vibrations in your chest. Do two more breaths. This practice is called the Oculocardiac reflex. It stimulates the vagus nerve and switches on the parasympathetic nervous system - the relaxing part of the autonomic nervous system.
3. Take in a deep breath. Wrap your arms around yourself and hug tightly while breathing out. Squeeze! Slowly release the hug and take a deep breath in, spreading your arms apart as if you are going to fly. Visualize clean, pure oxygen pouring into every pore and cell of your body. Do this hugging practice a few more times until you have flushed all the toxins and stress out of your body.
Warning! Do not practice exercises 2 and 3 while driving or operating heavy machinery.
Sunday, April 14, 2013
Mindful Practice 8
By now you know being mindful is not easy. It requires a great deal of effort in the beginning but as you practice it gets easier. Meditation plays a big role in becoming mindful because, for one thing, it acclimates the mind to being in the moment. Meditation is not only important for learning how to stay in the moment it is also important for recognizing judging thoughts. For example, you are meditating and a thought suddenly appears, "Betty is a good friend." And then another thought appears. "But she needs to lose some weight." The first thought was generic and the second thought was judging.
It is okay to have judging thoughts as long as you recognize them as such. Let's say you are sitting in a waiting room at the doctor's office and you have been waiting for a long time. You hear the doctor talking to another patient in the adjoining room. You think, "why is he talking to her when he knows I was here first. I've been waiting here for over forty minutes. He is a no good son of a _ _ _ _ _ for treating me like this."
One thing you could do is get very angry and leave. The other thing you could do is recognize the thought as a judgment. In the first case nothing would be gained and in the second case the negative feeling would disappear. Once you recognize negative thoughts for what they are - nothing but negative energy, they disappear almost immediately. You cannot be your thoughts if your are mindful, therefore you cannot be negative or angry.
Include in your sitting meditation practice some thought awareness. Just let your thoughts come and go without trying to control them and simply recognize them.. There may be times in your meditation where there are no thoughts at all and that is great. As you get deeper into meditation the gaps (no thoughts) between thoughts will widen but what you want to be aware of are the thoughts on both sides of the gaps. Are they generic thoughts or are they judging thoughts?
By recognizing thoughts they become distant from the "you" - the witness of the thoughts. Thoughts become objects and you can observe them without becoming emotionally involved. You want to see them for what they are - subtle and temporary forms of energy. By becoming the observer of your thoughts you can identify them better and easier than when you become emotionally involved with them.
By becoming aware of your thoughts during meditation you can become aware of them when you are not formally meditating such as when you are carrying on a conversation, walking, talking, teaching, resting, watching television, participating in sports, watching sports, and so on. As your thought awareness grows you should see your mindfulness grow too. Thoughts that normally provoked anger, despair, jealousy, anxiety, and other negative emotions will become temporary objects of energy passing by. You will become more mindful.
It is okay to have judging thoughts as long as you recognize them as such. Let's say you are sitting in a waiting room at the doctor's office and you have been waiting for a long time. You hear the doctor talking to another patient in the adjoining room. You think, "why is he talking to her when he knows I was here first. I've been waiting here for over forty minutes. He is a no good son of a _ _ _ _ _ for treating me like this."
One thing you could do is get very angry and leave. The other thing you could do is recognize the thought as a judgment. In the first case nothing would be gained and in the second case the negative feeling would disappear. Once you recognize negative thoughts for what they are - nothing but negative energy, they disappear almost immediately. You cannot be your thoughts if your are mindful, therefore you cannot be negative or angry.
Include in your sitting meditation practice some thought awareness. Just let your thoughts come and go without trying to control them and simply recognize them.. There may be times in your meditation where there are no thoughts at all and that is great. As you get deeper into meditation the gaps (no thoughts) between thoughts will widen but what you want to be aware of are the thoughts on both sides of the gaps. Are they generic thoughts or are they judging thoughts?
By recognizing thoughts they become distant from the "you" - the witness of the thoughts. Thoughts become objects and you can observe them without becoming emotionally involved. You want to see them for what they are - subtle and temporary forms of energy. By becoming the observer of your thoughts you can identify them better and easier than when you become emotionally involved with them.
By becoming aware of your thoughts during meditation you can become aware of them when you are not formally meditating such as when you are carrying on a conversation, walking, talking, teaching, resting, watching television, participating in sports, watching sports, and so on. As your thought awareness grows you should see your mindfulness grow too. Thoughts that normally provoked anger, despair, jealousy, anxiety, and other negative emotions will become temporary objects of energy passing by. You will become more mindful.
Wednesday, April 10, 2013
Mindfulness Practice 7
What is your modus operandi when you sit down to eat? Do you devour your food as quickly as possible, read, carry on a conversation, watch television, or do you taste each morsel as though it was your last? If you answered "taste each morsel as though it was your last" congratulations, you are a mindful eater. If you didn't answer yes, you might want to explore a new way of eating that can enlighten your senses.
Slowly taking the food on your utensil to your mouth, smelling its aroma, savoring it as you place it in your mouth and allowing your taste buds to explore the delicate flavors of each piece of food is an art that has been lost in our hurried, modern life style of today. Bhukti is enjoying the senses to their fullest. In the case of eating there can be great pleasure in seeing, smelling, tasting as well as touching and hearing. All five senses may be engaged in the process of dining on a delicious meal.
Not only may all five senses be involved in eating but the internal satisfaction of having eaten a good meal and the feeling of satiation can be one of heavenly delight. Food having been eaten mindfully and then digested slowly in the viscera is beyond description. Thirty percent of the our blood is needed for adequate digestion. Blood rushing into the gastrointestinal tract and absorbing vital nutrients is a process that should be allowed to occur without disturbance. All too often, though, we are in a rush to get up and get going.
Rushing to get through eating and rushing to get somewhere afterwards can cause all kinds of problems in the body due to poor digestion and over consumption. This can lead to obesity, high blood pressure, heart disease, acid reflux, heart burn, mental disease, cancer, and Barrett's esophagus http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-2064544/Why-eating-quickly-fast-track-early-grave.html.
So, the next time you sit down to eat a meal why don't you do it mindfully? Take a few seconds to look at your food. Observe its colors and textures. If you have some finger food on your plate feel it as though your are feeling it for the first time. Close your eyes and smell the aroma that is drifting into your nostrils. Be aware of saliva building up in your mouth and the urge to eat right now. As you take some food toward your mouth do it slowly and purposefully. Enjoy this miraculous moment of dining on fine cuisine. Think, "this could be my last meal. I will enjoy it to the fullest."
When you place the first piece of food in your mouth, chew it slowly. Stay conscious and start tuning in to bhukti. Turn on all of your senses and enjoy every bite, every chew, and every swallow. Mindful eating is a sensual and enlightening experience. Bon appetite.
Slowly taking the food on your utensil to your mouth, smelling its aroma, savoring it as you place it in your mouth and allowing your taste buds to explore the delicate flavors of each piece of food is an art that has been lost in our hurried, modern life style of today. Bhukti is enjoying the senses to their fullest. In the case of eating there can be great pleasure in seeing, smelling, tasting as well as touching and hearing. All five senses may be engaged in the process of dining on a delicious meal.
Not only may all five senses be involved in eating but the internal satisfaction of having eaten a good meal and the feeling of satiation can be one of heavenly delight. Food having been eaten mindfully and then digested slowly in the viscera is beyond description. Thirty percent of the our blood is needed for adequate digestion. Blood rushing into the gastrointestinal tract and absorbing vital nutrients is a process that should be allowed to occur without disturbance. All too often, though, we are in a rush to get up and get going.
Rushing to get through eating and rushing to get somewhere afterwards can cause all kinds of problems in the body due to poor digestion and over consumption. This can lead to obesity, high blood pressure, heart disease, acid reflux, heart burn, mental disease, cancer, and Barrett's esophagus http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-2064544/Why-eating-quickly-fast-track-early-grave.html.
So, the next time you sit down to eat a meal why don't you do it mindfully? Take a few seconds to look at your food. Observe its colors and textures. If you have some finger food on your plate feel it as though your are feeling it for the first time. Close your eyes and smell the aroma that is drifting into your nostrils. Be aware of saliva building up in your mouth and the urge to eat right now. As you take some food toward your mouth do it slowly and purposefully. Enjoy this miraculous moment of dining on fine cuisine. Think, "this could be my last meal. I will enjoy it to the fullest."
When you place the first piece of food in your mouth, chew it slowly. Stay conscious and start tuning in to bhukti. Turn on all of your senses and enjoy every bite, every chew, and every swallow. Mindful eating is a sensual and enlightening experience. Bon appetite.
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