be mindful

.. of mindful meditation books! I may have mentioned John Kabat-Zinn in another entry as his online videos proved very helpful. In Soft Pages, one of my favorite second hand bookstores, I saw one of his books wedged between Anne of Green Gables and a Salman Rushdie. Had to get it even though I swore not to spend any money!

The title is:
Wherever You Go There You Are
Mindfulness Meditation in Everyday Life

Has helped me in understanding the concept of meditation and put right some of the misconceptions that were lodged in my head. I highly recommend this read to those whom, like me, have committed to mindfulness but are unsure of how to proceed.

I’ve practiced yoga and meditation twice. Will do this tonight as well. A and C series salutations. Also, downloaded audio files on awareness.

It’s good to have my ‘things’ on the list arranged and organized. I figure this is the best way to get things accomplished.

So the choices we make and the things we do are a result of our thoughts. We live our lives according to how we think of ourselves, the world, and everything in between. I have wondered at times why I feel unsatisfied with the way things are going. My life doesn’t feel to be in line with who I am, and I’m not even sure who that is, really – most definitely the result of living and thinking mindlessly for years and years. When we were kids, my best friend and I would talk about an important sort of quality we felt we possessed that most grownups were without. The wisdom of children must come from mindfulness – of simply being and witnessing the present, just as it is. What makes us fall out of sync with ourselves? When we align ourselves instead with receiving love and acceptance, avoiding pain and rejection? That must be the nutshell version of it. Perhaps, also, it is a crucial part of going through life. A book I read recently contained a quotation which I liked. To find the soul, you must first lose it. – A.R. Luria. Ironically, the book did not give me the faith and grounding I expected, but instead examined the instability and total myth of self!

I’m 24, although as a person who relates a lot to the fleeing-from-responsibility story, I feel about 20. Needless to say, there hasn’t been much growth in the past few years. I haven’t allowed for it. That is, not until last summer, when change started to happen. First, with little things, then bigger ones, until the world occurred to me in a completely different light. I may not be christian, but I can say that I’ve experienced what it is like to feel born again. Habit, though, is a tricky thing, and old ways of thinking, being and doing creep back in. At this point I’ve decided that if I’m going to live a life that I want and consistently choose for myself, I’ll have to get to know my mind. I want to know what I think, why I think it, how I think, and align this with who I feel I am.

I plan to achieve this by really taking a look at what matters to me – to the thing I am truly committed to. I plan on practicing 20 mins of mindfulness meditation for one whole week, then doing two 20 min sessions each day for the following week. I will compliment this with yoga at least 5 times a week (which is another goal!). For useful instruction and inspiration, i looked up Mathieu Riccard and John Kabat-Zin on youtube. Their videos really reinforced my mission!