Hi Doug!
Good question.
That’s great that the mindfulness bell helps you to stop, pause, and realize everything.
I used to use a Mindfulness bell that chimed once an hour, but to be honest, I would always ignore it. It’s so easy to swipe away and/or turn off the reminder.
I hold a lot of tension in my body because of fibromyalgia and anxiety. My body, especially my shoulders, are always up to my ears from clenching. I’ve been really trying to be aware when my shoulders and body are tight and clenching. Once I do realize this, I take a breath, unclench everything as best I can, and really feel my body.
Another thing I do throughout the day is purposely stopping myself from running around like a chicken who has had too much Red Bull, and look around at my surroundings. Where am I? Who am I? What is happening around me? Being curious about everything.
I think as human beings we always need something to do. At least we think we do. I sure think I do. Technology can be a wonderful thing, but it can also be very distracting. I’m sure lots of us will eat our lunch in front of the TV or scrolling on our phones and not really enjoying what we’re eating. Maybe we don’t even realize what it is we are eating. Instead, we shovel in our food as fast as possible, while distracted.
Not too long ago I decided I was going to have lunch with no technology. I took the ingredients out of the fridge, chopped everything up, cooked it, put it into a bowl. I went outside onto our porch, sat and simply ate my lunch. I don’t remember the last time I’ve done this. And let me tell you, what an experience it was. Everything was quiet, except for the birds singing and a gentle breeze. Every single bite was flavourful. But it was much more than that. Being outside with nature. Looking at the food, really looking at it. Wondering where the lettuce was grown, who picked the lettuce, who drove the truck that brought the lettuce to the grocery store that my wife purchased and brought home. The act of eating this food was eating everything.
Simply sitting can feel as though you’re wasting time. What else could I be doing right now? There’s too much going on in my mind. I could sit later, etc. But that’s exactly it. Sitting is this moment. Zazen is everything. When sitting, we simply sit. One thing instead of 20 things.
Suzuki Roshi has a great quote:
”let your thoughts come and go, just don’t serve them tea.”
Doing one thing, and one thing only, at a time. Focussing on that one activity and nothing else. Really seeing what you are doing and wholeheartedly throwing yourself into it.
That’s what I think anyway.
Gasshō,
On
sat/lah
Good question.
That’s great that the mindfulness bell helps you to stop, pause, and realize everything.
I used to use a Mindfulness bell that chimed once an hour, but to be honest, I would always ignore it. It’s so easy to swipe away and/or turn off the reminder.
I hold a lot of tension in my body because of fibromyalgia and anxiety. My body, especially my shoulders, are always up to my ears from clenching. I’ve been really trying to be aware when my shoulders and body are tight and clenching. Once I do realize this, I take a breath, unclench everything as best I can, and really feel my body.
Another thing I do throughout the day is purposely stopping myself from running around like a chicken who has had too much Red Bull, and look around at my surroundings. Where am I? Who am I? What is happening around me? Being curious about everything.
I think as human beings we always need something to do. At least we think we do. I sure think I do. Technology can be a wonderful thing, but it can also be very distracting. I’m sure lots of us will eat our lunch in front of the TV or scrolling on our phones and not really enjoying what we’re eating. Maybe we don’t even realize what it is we are eating. Instead, we shovel in our food as fast as possible, while distracted.
Not too long ago I decided I was going to have lunch with no technology. I took the ingredients out of the fridge, chopped everything up, cooked it, put it into a bowl. I went outside onto our porch, sat and simply ate my lunch. I don’t remember the last time I’ve done this. And let me tell you, what an experience it was. Everything was quiet, except for the birds singing and a gentle breeze. Every single bite was flavourful. But it was much more than that. Being outside with nature. Looking at the food, really looking at it. Wondering where the lettuce was grown, who picked the lettuce, who drove the truck that brought the lettuce to the grocery store that my wife purchased and brought home. The act of eating this food was eating everything.
Simply sitting can feel as though you’re wasting time. What else could I be doing right now? There’s too much going on in my mind. I could sit later, etc. But that’s exactly it. Sitting is this moment. Zazen is everything. When sitting, we simply sit. One thing instead of 20 things.
Suzuki Roshi has a great quote:
”let your thoughts come and go, just don’t serve them tea.”
Doing one thing, and one thing only, at a time. Focussing on that one activity and nothing else. Really seeing what you are doing and wholeheartedly throwing yourself into it.
That’s what I think anyway.
Gasshō,
On
sat/lah
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