mindfulness of seeing

Dear Listener,

I recently had a conversation with a patient about finding ways to settle the mind and meditation came up. BUT, like many of my patients, understandably, it felt daunting to start and challenging to maintain based on prior attempts. So my response is maybe consider an informal (versus formal) practice. Whats that?

Informal meditation is what you can do as you ‘do your day’ (not quite muti-tasking, read on). Consider it mini-meditation, practice may be brief (moments to minutes or longer), yet remains engaged in a focused absorption on sensations in an experience. An example of this is washing dishes… only washing dishes, hearing the water, feeling it on your hands, hearing the dish squeak, sensing the temperature, the textures, etc). It is fully engaging the senses, interior (within the body) and exterior (in your environment). I encourage you to try this, even for a few minutes, its a practice I use often and makes sense to me in terms of my experience with yoga practice.

Formal meditation involves a structured practice, like sitting, standing or walking meditation, or yoga. This has a set time/place and style to it. It is best practiced with regularity (eg: every morning at 7am for 15minutes, not that you have to do it that way, it's an example). The regularity of it helps you notice your mind’s tendencies- ‘yay today I WANT to do it’, or ‘this is going to be TORTURE'. Why? Because this is what the mind does and depending on your tendencies you might notice your habits deviate in one direction more than another; only liking it when it feels good, running lists, self judgement or falling asleep (maybe you're tired? If so, rest.)

Below are some simple and easy descriptions (via video) from teachers who offer clear explanations.

How to start if you have trouble stilling the mind? Begin with the body by engaging the senses, or practice with short guided meditations like todays (in case you get lost in thought). How to remember to breathe when doing the dishes, walking or driving? Practice, practice, practice.

Start with something accessible you can connect to, some people are more visual, so practicing mindfulness of seeing may be a way to begin. Other are more auditory, so mindfulness of hearing may be interesting. Others find noticing the body is accessible to them, so mindfulness of sensations, or awareness of breathing, is a place to start. Mix it up though. If anxiety or stress is high, start with box (or square breathing) see my prior post. If you like a teacher's’ style or voice, begin with that person. It doesnt matter, just start.

I first began informal meditation when doing social work. I’d notice how tense I became with certain patients and wanted to relax. Already practicing yoga a few years and I began to split my attention- I’d direct one part on the session and simultaneously another part on the sensations of sitting in the chair. It took a while to get comfortable with this, but years later I continue to use it.

Below are two brief videos on informal meditation to offer examples and possibly peak your interest. Just remember, listening someone talk about meditation is helpful, but in essence this is an experiential practice. So, just do it!

Thank you for reading and listening. This post is public, please share it with anyone you think it might help.