Breath is the bridge which connects life to consciousness,
which unites your body to your thoughts.
Thich Nhat Hahn
Tag: Mindfulness
Recommended Summer Reading 2
As well as books that apply mindfulness to problems or aspects of our life, it is good to strengthen our practice by reading books that focus on meditation in itself. Good ones are not easy to find, but this one – Turning the Mind into an Ally – written by Sakyong Mipham Rinpoche in 2004 is one of the best that there is. I have returned to it on numerous occasions over the years, because it is a serious, but accessible work that looks at meditation as an extended exercise in mind training and gives the tools to do this.
The book “translates” some traditional teachings from Tibetan Buddhism into a language that is easy to understand in the West. It gets across the heart of that meditation practice without the cultural baggage which can be so off-putting in similar books. The author is fond of using imagery to convey his point, comparing the mind to a wild horse, which we have to get to know and tame:
The bewildered mind is like a wild horse. It runs away when we try to find it, shies when we try to approach it. If we find a way to ride it, it takes off with the bit in its teeth and finally throws us right into the mud. We think that the only way to steady it is to give it what it wants. We spend so much of our energy trying to satisfy and entertain this wild horse of a mind.
The author goes on to outline – in very clear language – the basics of mindfulness and sitting meditation to tame this wild horse. It is here that he is most successful, gently going through the steps from the first, when we place the mind on the breath:
Placing our mind on the breath is the first thing we do in meditation. In the moment of placing our mind, it’s like we’re mounting a horse: we put our foot in the stirrup and pull ourselves up to the saddle. It’s a matter of taking our seat properly. This moment of placement starts when we extract our mind from its engagement with events, problems, thoughts and emotions. We take that wild and busy mind and place it on the breath. Even though we’re placing our consciousness, which isn’t physical, placement feels very physical. In order for placement to be successful, we have to formally acknowledge that we’re letting go of concepts, thoughts and emotions: “Now I’m placing my mind upon the breath.”
This is an excellent hands-on manual for those who wish to deepen their understanding and practice of meditation as a way of working with the mind. It is an encouragement to practice and as such is a valuable addition to any library.
Making time for better health 4: One step at a time
We tend to think in sequences. For example, when we go grocery shopping, our mind is on what we need to buy and where to shop. We’re likely to skip over all the little experiences on the way: locking the front door, seeing the neighbour standing at the window, rain splattering on the windscreen, the noise of traffic, and so on. The same thing happens when we learn something new. We’re always looking towards what we’ll know or be able to do in the future, instead of focusing on the next step right now.
Tip: Take one step at a time without worrying about the journey.
Zenhabits, How to Live Life to the Max with Beginner’s Mind
We discover as we go along
Walking on the country roads near my house early yesterday. It is nice walking the same paths each day or each week – we see the changes that the seasons bring, and the colours which follow those changes. The fields demonstrate a constant succession of decay and growth. However, we also see what does not change and how the path stretches out in front of us each day, not matter how many things have moved on.
We don’t receive wisdom;
we must discover it for ourselves after a journey
that no one can take for us, or spare us.
Marcel Proust
Making time for our better health 3: Arrive Early
For the next seven days, see if you can arrive early for scheduled appointments. Notice how this impacts upon your state of mind. Do meetings feel more spacious? Do you feel more relaxed and better prepared? Do you feel that more is actually accomplished? Sub-rule to this practice: If you are late, relax. Just be late. Don’t punish yourself
Marc Lesser, 3 practices to shift your relationship with time
Mindful eating and weight loss
A pilot study has looked at the effect of Mindful Eating on weight loss. The report of the study was published in Complementary Therapies in Medicine in 2010 and involved ten people classified as “obese” (average age was 44) who followed a Mindful Eating program for six weeks, consisting of mindfulness meditation, group eating exercises, and group discussions. Pairing daily meditation with eating was encouaged to enable people to identify and examine eating triggers, hunger and fullness cues, the quality of craved foods, and emotions associated with eating. They were encouraged to engage in as much mindful eating as possible and to increase their physical activity by about 5 to 10% each week. The participants were assessed during the trial and again after three months for changes in eating behaviour, psychological functioning, and weight and inflammation markers.
It was found that all of the participants lost a significant amount of weight, almost nine pounds over 12 weeks, on average. A measure of inflammation in the body (C-reactive protein,), decreased significantly, as well. Measures of mindfulness—the ability to observe, be aware of, accept, and describe their eating patterns—saw moderate to large increases throughout the study and follow-up periods. The participants’ self control improved dramatically, and binge eating was significantly reduced. In addition, significant improvements were seen in depressive and physical symptoms (such as indigestion and headache), as well as negative affect (mood) and perceived stress. The cautious conclusions drawn by the researcher were that mindful eating programmes could result in significant changes in weight and eating behaviour.
“In contrast to a focus on cutting calories, mindfulness helps people reduce weight and improve health by restoring the individual’s ability to detect and respond to natural cues,” stated Jeanne Dalen, lead author of the study who works at the Center for Family and Adolescent Research in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
Jeanne Dalen, Bruce W Smith, Brian M Shelley, Anita Lee Sloan, Lisa Leahigh, Debbie Begay, “Pilot study: Mindful Eating and Living : weight, eating behavior, and psychological outcomes associated with a mindfulness-based intervention for people with obesity”, Complementary Therapies In Medicine (2010), Volume: 18, Issue: 6.
