#639 Mindfulness in the Real World

     Many of us, even if we have some mindfulness practice under our belts, underestimate the practical importance and impact of mindfulness on our day-to-day life.
     We (incorrectly) tend to assume that our usual way of being & doing things (ie mindless / autopilot) is practical, effective - "necessary to survive in the real-world".
     Conversely, we (incorrectly) assume that mindfulness is impractical - akin to "being the nice guy" in a world where only SOBs "succeed".
     However, our mindless default state, being egocentric, mostly ignores others, where we are, the present moment - so it's profoundly alienating. Everyone keenly notices whenever we lack interest, attention, caring. There's no engagement, no quality of connection, no quality of life. We may well be seen as irrelevant, burdensome, an energy drain.
     When we're being mindful, others readily perceive our "presence". They feel the vitality of a powerful connection between us: attention, caring, empathy, kindness flows unobstructed. Quality engagement defines interpersonal quality of life. We cultivate a "magnetic personality".
     Mindfulness is a product of sincere, open-hearted practice. It's not easy, but nothing of profound value is.
     See: http://mindfulnessforeveryone.blogspot.ca/search?q=presence

#588 To Evolve OR Blame? - THAT is the Question!

     As we start to practice sitting meditation, all sorts of apparent impediments arise: mental, physical & emotional irritations that we blame on the practice, teacher, room, time of day, hunger, noise, weather, work, our own ineptitude ... We find all sorts of excuses for not being able to just sit still.
     Mindfulness practice is a structured process that can enable us, initially, to simply remain aware and accepting while sitting comfortably - how stress-free can we get! The more we train, the more able we are to rest in awareness during increasingly challenging "real-world" situations.
      Paradoxically, the more completely we let go of excessive self-concern ("noisy ego"), the greater our freedom and true happiness. Charles Dickens' "A Christmas Carol" is a powerful study of this universal human process of transformation or evolution of consciousness / heart-mind, found outside of, as well as within, all wisdom traditions.

Winfield Parks, National Geographic   http://photography.nationalgeographic.com

#579 Opening the Heart-Mind

     "When your children arrive, the best you can hope for is that they break open everything about you. Your mind floods with oxygen. Your heart becomes a room with wide-open windows."

       Amy Poehler "Yes Please." HarperCollins, 2014, excerpted in The Globe and Mail, Nov 1, 2014.

#575 Struggle & Stress - vs - a Better Way of Being

     You might find it useful to question the very idea of struggling, striving etc to get somewhere / something, or become someone / something - as opposed to effortlessly shifting awareness towards who you actually are. We can only experience the latter - which we might call "discerning awareness" - in inner silence & inner stillness, via meditation, nature, mature love etc.
     As soon as we introduce words, concepts, images, we’re back into egocentric conflicts - “me against the world.” Our identity has nothing really to do with self-images or even ideals – those are mental concepts, dummed-down operationalizations that the mind can easily manage. Reality is well beyond the mind’s abilities, and thus the mind / ego doesn't wan’t to deal with it.
     What would happen if you changed nothing at all in your life EXCEPT stopped struggling? Example: If, immediately after you took a sharp knife away from your very young child, she yelled that you're the worst Mommy in the world, you would probably completely ignore the potential assault on your ego, and instead, seamlessly, would see how to turn this near disaster (cutting herself) into a teachable moment to nurture your child. THIS is being a hypoegoic verb appropriate to life. Was there struggle & suffering?
     We ALL have the capacity to behave THIS MINDFULLY in ALL situations, and thus CAN minimize / eliminate suffering for ourselves AND others. It is literally a matter of patient, intelligent practice.

October near Lewis Lake, Nova Scotia, Canada