• Formal Practice

  Setting aside time each day for some formal mindfulness practice supports our ability to stay with "what is" with compassion and openness during our daily life.  Formal practice involves sitting, on the floor or in a chair, in an upright position that embodies wakefulness and paying attention to our experience, in the moment.   We practice an attitude of openness rather than judgment and evaluation.

The breath is an ally in this process.  Here's why:  from birth to death the breath is always with us.  The body breathes whether we focus on it or not.  We don't have to do anything; the body breathes itself.  We can, therefore, use it as an anchor to connect with the present moment.  sitting still and focusing on the sensations of the breath is one simple way to practice not engaging with the chatter of the mind.

Formal practice reveals the reality of our mind.  It is the nature of the mind to think.  We will never completely stop the mind from chattering, so we need not set that as a goal.  The mind does not suddently stop thinking because we have decided to focus on the breath.  The practice is allowing whatever arises in the mind and body (thoughts, feelings, sensations) while choosing to return to awareness of breathing again and again.  It is common to notice expectations and assumptions in your thoughts.  We can cultivate a friendly attitude towards them as webring ourselves back to the breath.  This is the practice!

Again and again we bring our attention back.  As the meditation teacher Jack Kornfield put it in his introduction to meditation CD, it's like training a puppy to stay.  We remind the puppy again and again when it gets up out of the stay position.  "Stay," we remind the puppy.  Frustration may arise when we are trying to "do it right," misunderstanding the practice as being about keeping the mind from drawing us away.  We are just like the puppy who is learning something it has never done bwfore.  Here is where we see the imporance of practicing with an attitude of patience and gentleness towards ourselves.  Just like training the puppy, Kornfield reminds us that, "There's no need to beat the puppy."   And so it is with ourselves.  We practice (over and over again!) being gentle with ourselves as we bring our awareness back from the distractions of the mind.  In this way, we are making the decision to be "in the now" (sitting, breathing), instead of getting caught up in the mind's judgments of our experience, imaginings of the future, or recollections of the past. 

Regular formal practice is changing the way we relate to our minds.  Rather than being caught up in the contents of the mind, we are freer to decide which thoughts/feelings/sensations to give our energy and attention to, thereby relating to the mind instead of from the mind. 

In the beginning you may want to start with 3-5 minutes of practice.  You can set a timer (cell phones have alarm clocks!) so that you don't have to watch the clock.  It is helpful to set the time ahead of time so that the mind is not deciding to end the practice in some arbitrary way ("I can't stay focused on the breath anymore so I'll stop").   Gradually, you can increase the amount of time you spend practicing.  In the links & resources page you will find books and CDs to help with your practice.  Please feel free to share your experience with me!