Meditation is about being present. That’s all. It’s about being fully present to your life, as it is right now, without trying to change it in any way. This means that you can meditate anytime and anywhere. And you’ll be glad to know that we’re not talking about closing your eyes and focusing on your breath all day long. For example, couldn’t you do your dishes meditatively? Take a mindful shower or bath? Play with the kids mindfully? Eat, drive, do the grocery shopping all in a state of meditation? All that is required is to be fully in the present and pay attention.
Let’s take eating as an example. Let’s say you’re about to eat an apple. You wash it, dry it, perhaps skin and cut it, perhaps not, take a bite, chew and swallow, take another bite, chew and swallow, and so on. We often eat without paying too much attention. But let’s eat the apple mindfully. As you take it out of the fruit bowl, pay attention to the colours of your apple, the feel of its skin. Take a moment to smell it. Notice how it feels to pick it up, the movement of your muscles. Then pay attention to how your body feels as it moves to the sink and turns on the tap. What does the water sound like as it flows into the sink? What does it look like? What does it feel like as you hold your apple underneath its flow for cleaning? Turn the tap off. Does it make a sound as it’s turned off? What does the lack of sound of water flowing sound like? As you dry your apple, notice the texture of the paper or cloth towel, the feel of the towel turning from dry to damp. Is there a sound from the towel rubbing over the apple skin? Hold it close to your ear to find out. Now look at the apple. Has the appearance of its skin changed? Is it shinier? Smoother? What is happening in your mouth? Are you salivating in expectation of eating? Take a bite. What does that feel like? Sound like? Hold the apple piece for a moment in your mouth, noticing texture, taste. Then chew slowly, paying attention to all that happens in your mouth as you chew. Then feel the swallow reflex come up and the food go down. Let it go all the way down before taking the next bite. But first, take a moment to smell the apple now that you have opened its skin with your first bite. How does that smell differ from when you first smelled the apple? Proceed to bite, chew and swallow mindfully.
There is a formal meditation that people sometimes use instead of the breathing meditation. It is a walking meditation. In walking meditation, you are not trying to get anywhere. To reinforce this, you walk in circles around a room or up and down a hall. This gives your mind the message that there’s no use hurrying since it isn’t going anywhere anyway. All you do in walking meditation is walk and focus on the sensation of walking. That is your focus as opposed to your breath. To start, it is usually easiest to focus just on your feet and legs. But you can also focus on your body as a whole in movement. Some find it helpful to slow their walking down and pay attention to each part of each step. However, some people wobble and lose their balance when they walk too slowly and need to speed things up. It isn’t the speed that matters so much as focusing fully on the activity. Again, if your mind wanders from the focus, notice where it has gone, then respectfully escort it back to the walking. People who are agitated may find walking meditation a good meditation to do (there’s a reason we pace when we’re agitated). However, while walking meditation can be used as a substitute for the breathing meditation, some people walk for just 5 to 10 minutes to settle themselves, then do a breathing meditation for the balance of their meditation time.
Day 17
Do a 10-minute walking meditation, then a 10-minute breathing meditation. Suspend judgment for now as to which one you prefer.
Day 18
Do a 20-minute breathing meditation. And do one thing today mindfully. It can be as simple as brushing your teeth.
Day 19
Do a 10-minute walking meditation, then a 10-minute breathing meditation. And do one mindful activity.
Day 20
Do a 10-minute walking meditation, then a 10-minute breathing meditation. Then ask yourself: “How did I find the walking meditation compared to the breathing meditation? Is there one I find works better for me than the other? Or is one better for me on some days and the other better on other days? You are now starting to build a collection of meditations from which you can choose on any given day. But it helps to mindfully consider how you relate to each one so you can choose mindfully.