Integrating
Three Aspects of the Practice
Linking the
three aspects of practice, sitting,
walking and awareness of daily activities,
creates an unbroken thread of awareness throughout the day and will
help to integrate the practice into your daily life.
Try
at least a half hour session linking the three techniques:
During sitting
meditation- focus primarily on the body elements,
switching to the other spheres of attention as they arise and become
predominant.
Alternate with
a walking session -
where the steps in walking are noted in detail with the attention
focused on the sensations from movement.
During some
daily
activity
- pay close attention to and label all body movements and actions
as continuously as possible. Be noticing of feelings, mind-states
and thoughts as they arise.
Be especially
mindful during the 'travel time' between each session and the change
of body postures. Rather than abruptly ending a session, make a
gentle transition at the end of a formal sitting or walking period
to the following activity. In this way you will carry through and
sustain the quality cultivated in the session, be it calm, awareness
or concentration. This continuity is the key to deepening the practice
and will eventually lead to penetrative insights.
Awareness
of Daily Activities
For awareness
to deepen, continuity of attention, which gives momentum to the
practice, needs to be maintained for at least a few hours in the
day. Continuity arises through careful and precise attention to
movements, actions, feelings and mind-states, whatever is prominent,
for as long as possible in whatever situation during the daily routine.
Nothing can
be dismissed as unimportant when noting daily activities: domestic
chores, eating, cleaning your teeth. Any and every movement and
activity is repeatedly noted in order to establish the habit so
that it becomes your second nature to note during the daily routine.
Of course, this is not easy to establish and so requires patience,
perseverance and a sense of humour - especially when you feel frustrated
by constant forgetfulness!
It is helpful
to reinforce your efforts in being attentive in daily life, by reviewing
or taking stock of you daily notings. You can record your efforts
in a meditation diary, so long as you are careful not to make any
judgments on the quality of the practice.
