How to Train a Wild Elephant — Week 3
We’re coming up to Mindfulness Meditation Monday – tonight! Where did the week go?
Last Monday, we had a stellar turnout for week 2 of the “How to Train a Wild Elephant” Practice Group. In this 8-week experience, together, every week, we commit to a particular exercise that assists in bringing mindfulness into daily activities. There’s a particular peace in a formal meditation practice where we dedicate a certain amount of time (daily or otherwise) to observe the ebbs, flows, and pauses of our mind. But it’s a whole different experience to practice informally by paying attention to the activity of the moment.
How many times have you loaded the dishwasher with your mind elsewhere? How many times have you brushed your teeth while being totally mentally absent? By committing to a weekly practice, we commit to mind training, which is necessary to lead a balanced life. When we learn to understand and balance our inner world, we raise our children to understand and balance their inner worlds. If we don’t commit to this, who is going to teach our children how to build their mental wealth? This is a fulfilling way of leading what we call a “successful” life—whatever that means to each of us. When we become present, conscious, and mindful, we pay attention to our children with curiosity, open-mindedness, and a willingness to accept them for who they are. What could be more important than that in raising our next generation?
Oh, but I sound much more serious than what mindfulness really is! While this responsibility of raising children mindfully can be cumbersome at times, building the muscle of mindfulness can be so much fun!
In week 1, we practiced doing tasks with our nondominant hand! While our dominant hand is as old as we are, our nondominant hand is just 2 or 3 years old! Try texting with your nondominant or even brushing your teeth with it. The deeper lesson of this practice is to unfold new possibilities in our mind, to come to life with a beginner’s, childlike mind of openness and learning!
In week 2, we practiced mindful pauses before we answered our mobile devices or returned a text. When the device rings or chimes or sends a notification, just sit there, take a deep breath and then respond. This gap helps the mind pause from the task at hand before going to the next task of answering the phone. It’s like a mind time out that reduces the underlying stress that we all carry from overlapping tasks. As the author of this book, Jan Chozen Bays, sums up, “We need to slow things down. We hear the ring. We pause to take one to three deep breaths, we let go of what is held in the body, heart and mind. Then we can meet the caller and the new situation with openness and clarity.” This slows down our heart rate as well, and mindfulness research has been clear in pointing out its heart health benefits!
Each of these activities is designed to bring us into the present moment, building our mindfulness muscle and core. Here’s the replay of the two sessions if you’d like to start at your own pace. Or you can also simply join in on the next session tonight. Each practice stands alone as well.
To find out what’s in store for this week, you’ll have to join us! Can’t wait to see you tonight, on Mindfulness Meditation Monday from 8pm-8:30pm PST.
Please register here:Registration Link: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZMuc-iopzwpHtVLy9a7WxdQPp5MIJvBqPOP When: August 23rd, 2021 08:00 PM Pacific Time (US and Canada)
For FREE access to weekly Mindfulness Meditation Monday sessions:
https://courses.toolsofgrowth.com
Roma
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