A 5 Minute Mindfulness Exercise
Andrew Scheffer
Make Investing and Retirement Planning Simple and Purposeful. Andrew is a Fiduciary Financial Advisor, former Buddhist Monk, and Wharton MBA who makes it easy for you to achieve financial security and peace of mind.
After my freshman year in college, at Johns Hopkins University, I was looking for something to help me regain some of the mental clarity and focus that I felt I had lost.
My brother gave me some books on mindfulness and I tried to do the simple practice. I tried to pay attention to the breath as my abdomen rose and fell with each breath, and I tried to pay attention to the movement of the legs as I was doing walking meditation.
I remember, that there was a moment of trying to pay attention to the lifting of my foot, where my mind clearly wandered off.
I found this alarming, that a task so simple, paying attention to the lifting of my foot, could not be done without my mind wandering. The implications were clear. If I could not pay attention under perfect conditions when I was trying to, then when my life grew more hectic, I would clearly not have this ability either.
Not paying attention, like in a car when the driver is looking at the passenger rather than the road, can lead to accidents. Accidents of not being present for a business opportunity, for information that is present but not absorbed by us, and in relationships, not being present not feeling heard is a major source for disconnection.
How are you at this seemingly simple practice? Try it when you have a few minutes...
Go to a quiet room with distance enough to take 5-10 steps. Keep your eyes downcast, and try to pay attention to the left step and right step as you walk, noting, left when you move your left foot and right when you move your right foot. When you get to the end of the walkway, stop, note "standing standing", silently in your mind as you feel the sensations in your body. Note "turning, turning" as you turn, and then begin again with the left and right step and noting as appropriate.
After a few minutes, slow it down and try to pay attention to the lifting and the placing, noting lifting as you lift the foot and placing as you place the foot.
And after a few more minutes, try doing this very slowly, paying attention to and noting the lifting, moving and placing as appropriate.
Just like a musician tunes his instrument before playing, by training and tuning our attention, we can see more clearly in everything we do throughout the day.
Learn more and access free resources at www.mindfulness.business