Mindfulness in Daily Life

As I am a humble student of Life, sometimes the daily grind of 'personality living' or, the Mind (ego) being in control of my awake and aware functions over-rides that which I meditate daily to realize and reclaim - Mindfulness in my daily life.  When I sink into meditation - the release is instant, mindfulness enters; the problems, anxieties, fears melt away and I am transformed almost into another being it feels at times.  However this cannot be - I am not 2 persona, but one whole being - part of the greater Oneness that 'is' All that Is.   As I've listened to the teachings and insight from many teachers past and present via writings and audio recordings that are bringing the teachings of the Buddha to the world - I hear many similar components, similar reasonings.   One of the key teachings or reasonings, is the understanding of Mindfulness; what it means, how to achieve it, and how to apply it in daily living - and why.   This has made a great impact on my life as one of the teachers that I listen to often (Thich Nhat Hanh) delivered a message that seemed almost crafted for me; a method to retain mindfulness throughout your day, how to grasp and love all parts of yourself through this mindfulness - even your anger and depression that you may have.

What a joy to receive this lesson!  Slowly, day by day I am using this method to maintain my mindfulness now in such a way that it is like breathing - there is no 'thinking' of 'being' mindful - it just is.   If you are interested, it is a track from one of TNH's recordings titled 'Present Moment'.   This message is delivered from a number of teachings by many teachers and reaches back to the teachings of the Buddha himself.  It is in actuality one of the 14 mindfulness trainings:

The Sixth Mindfulness Training: Dealing with Anger
Aware that anger blocks communication and creates suffering, we are determined to take care of the energy of anger when it arises and to recognize and transform the seeds of anger that lie deep in our consciousness. When anger comes up, we are determined not to do or say anything, but to practice mindful breathing or mindful walking and acknowledge, embrace, and look deeply into our anger. We will learn to look with the eyes of compassion at ourselves and at those we think are the cause of our anger.

In my own post about 'What really makes us Human' I give my personal definition of Mindfulness.

Some Zen masters argue that seeking Mindfulness in a direct way, destroys what you are seeking.   How can you destroy something that is already a part of you, I ask?  We are not 'seeking' mindfulness truly - but 'reclaiming' this method of thinking and putting it into play in a modern world. This is a personal goal in this life, and how I wish to aid all others to have the possibility to realize and achieve egoless Mindfulness.  It sounds simple - and it is.  It's only made difficult by ourselves as I have discovered.

You may ask - how then is Mindfulness expressed - what do you mean?

Everyone has had at least a few mindful moments that you can recall - if you know what to think upon.

"That day the sky was so blue, the trees so green"

"The sunset was so beautiful, the purples and blues"

"The air smelled crisp and fresh, clean and light"

These are simple and brief viewpoints with mindfulness applied.  Not just the 'thought' of each of these statements, but the 'feeling' inside that you are speaking Dharma - Truth, and experiencing the moment in it's fullness.

Now comes, the sometimes daunting thought of applying Mindfulness to every aspect of your daily life (I still find it  challenging - and inspiring to seek all at once).  This is especially difficult for those of us in the Western World, where our daily lives are sped up year after year with the latest technological devices that take away the 'thinking' involved in tasks where maybe, technology should take a back seat or another approach..  Mindfulness is not just a concept of Buddhism - however for me it delivers the best teachings and explanations for that which is within each of us no matter East, West, North, or South and the means for anyone, anywhere to achieve this mindful clairity in your thinking and reactions. 

Mindfulness is that quick darting thought that floats though your mind of what to say - before you speak.  If you give pause, contemplate that elusive darting thought, then give response, this is a lead-in to Mindful thinking.

"Well, isn't this just smart thinking, or being wise and listening before speaking?"

Very close yes, but do not let terminology confuse how mindfulness is expressed from the buddhist point of view - apply your own terms to the situation but understand the viewpoint:  Saying 'mindfulness' implies that the response you give, you are giving from a neutral standpoint, with no advantage sought just pure truth of the moment.

"How about a modern application of Mindfulness??"

You are driving home from work, and your commute is 1 hour each way, 5 days a week.  Today it is raining, traffic is terrible, and someone has just cut you off causing you to sit through one more long red light before you can turn down to a faster moving street.

What comes to mind directly for most - is not a mindful thought..   :)

a mindful thought or reaction in this instance would be;

"Whoever you are - be safe and at ease"

"Reach what you are heading towards, safely"

or

to allow a smile to cross your face, instead of unrest and frowns. (or a multi-fingered salute)

Sounds peaceful, yes? How easier and more agreeable would everyones daily commute in the world be if this way of thinking were applied by everyone to each other at all times?

What do you think?


Namaste'