Maybe like your electric toothbrush, mine has a 2-minute cycle, with 30 seconds allotted for each quadrant of the mouth. I’m consistent at lasting for the entire 2 minutes, but I’m always walking around my apartment, not paying attention. On New Year’s Day, in the spirit of mindfulness, I decided to try another approach, to see what it would feel like to actually be still for 2 minutes and concentrate on the task at hand. It’s hard. Let’s see how long it lasts.
Illustration by Geoffroy de Crécy
I do the exact same thing! (the doing other stuff while the toothbrush runs) I try to meditate for a few minutes every morning and have decided I don’t need to be mindful 24/7 🙂
I agree. Mindfulness 24/7 would be unbearable, unless you’d achieved enlightenment.
I’ve been meditating regularly (for the most part) for almost 5 years now, doing a combination of mindfulness/mantra. I must say that I live somewhat more mindfully, but to be that way 24/7 (as Claire noted) is difficult (and I don’t know that anyone but the Dalai Lama could do that). One of my intentions for 2018 is to eat more mindfully. So, I have to stay away from any screens for at least one meal/day (and 2 on the weekends). I*’m rediscovering the joys of reading actual physical material while dining! But to concentrate solely on my food? That’ll take a little more time. Baby steps!
Hit “submit” before I was finished (how unmindful of me!) Anyway, I’ve been doing the dishes more often by hand these days and I’ve been quite successful at doing it more fully engaged in the task.
By hand, do you mean as opposed to the dishwasher?
Exactly–bypassing the dishwasher for my own two hands. Now with school in session again, I might cut back on this, but I was actually enjoying the whole process of dishwashing. Reminded me of being in graduate school, where I’d throw dinner parties and wash everything by hand, reflecting on a lovely evening.
Oh, yeah, that phone thing! I lost power for 25 hours in November (due to damaging storms), but my neighbor didn’t. She let me come over and charge my phone–otherwise I’d probably have just driven around town, charging it on my car charger!
I love my dishwasher for dinner parties, but I usually don’t generate enough dishes on a daily basis.
When the power was out, and I had to mindful of the charge on my phone, it was very interesting to resist the temptation to check it.
I should eat more mindfully. I have a tendency to overeat and stress eat.
Me too, Claire. I’m just going to start with one semit-mindful meal a day and take it from there.
That’s the way to do it!
Baby steps, I like it. Deciding “I’m going to stop stress eating.” is too big a step and I know I’ll fail before I start.
Here’s what I know as a Coach – for to-do lists and New Year’s resolutions to work, they need to be specific and actionable. http://wendybraitman.com/ditch-the-new-years-resolution-to-achieve-your-career-goals/
I wrote this guest post about healthy eating which includes one of my strategies https://eatingrules.com/healthy-eating-habits/