Moment-to-moment practice is moving from 'on the cushion' practice into everyday activities. This turns every moment into an opportunity to cultivate positive mental qualities to support and further develop the sitting practice within activity. Therefore it is far easier for us to get caught up in past and future scenarios, or simply switch off and run on automatic. In this active state there is a higher likelihood of us being 'triggered' to respond through unskilled pre-learnt strategies.
However, the activities we get involved in provide the opportunity to practice & test what you have learnt, treating walking, washing the dishes, waiting, travelling on the bus as an opportunity to practice mindfulness to expand and fill the whole waking day.
Physical movements in-between postures, and everyday postures outside of formal practice
During our everyday moment-to-moment lives we can get caught up with thing, distracted from the practice due to other immediate concerns, and forget about our long-term well-being.
Every moment is an opportunity for reflective practice and appropriate attention whether we are leaning forward or back; looking for, or inspecting something; bending over or stretching; getting dressed for indoors or outside; getting food, eating, or drinking; going to the toilet, walking around, waiting, or sitting; getting ready for bed, or getting up; even while talking, and listening we should fully engage with the task focusing on what we are doing & why we are doing it. Is this task appropriate, or inappropriate; skilful, or unskilled?
With a combination of reflecting on what we are about to do & why – the intention & motivation – and sense restraint – restricting the focus to appropriate objects and tasks – we can turn every moment into practice.
One way to do this is to undertake certain precepts – be they the five or eight precepts – and put into effect the Noble Eightfold Path. And learning from mistakes, and trying to break old unskilled habits.
Step out of Automatic Pilot
Throughout your day-to-day activities keep note of when you zone out and go into an automatic mode. The activity you notice this happening the most in shall be the activity you use first to develop continual awareness in every activity. Activities such as going to the toilet, brushing your teeth, showering, eating, walking, attending meetings, preparing for bed, or waiting for something are all suitable for practice. And it is probably best to stick with one activity for a week or longer rather than changing the activity regularly.
The practice of stepping out of automatic pilot practice can be done at any moment, not just during a specific activity and you may wish to have a frequent 'pause' to re-establish clear awareness during the day.
When the time comes to do the activity, start by resolving to do it with complete awareness. Paying attention only to what you are doing, not planning the next part of the activity or the next thing you are to do that day; only to what is happening right now. And at the end of the activity continue the clear awareness practice for as long as possible.
With short activities, such as brushing your teeth, or showering; aim to be fully aware for the whole activity. If the activity is long - such as eating a meal or walking the dog - aim to keep the momentum of the practice for as long as possible. And at the end of the activity continue the clear awareness practice for as long as possible.
At some point the mind may stray away from its focus to thoughts, moods, planning, daydreams, or simply drifting along. This is just what the mind does on a daily basis. You should know what state the mind has been in & bring the focus back to the activity of focus, no-matter how often it wanders off.
Mini Mindfulness Exercises
This is a brief exercise to be practised as often as needed to re-establish awareness in the present moment.
Eating is one of the most regular thing we do for our bodies and a necessity for life. It can be used in varying ways both positive and negative. How we use nutrients can say and define more about us than almost everything else,
Some eat on-the-run, slow with long breaks, eat a mountain or a tiny amount of food per sitting. And eating with a clear awareness can change things for the better, improving your health through eating what you need at a pace which allows for proper digestion.
However, the activities we get involved in provide the opportunity to practice & test what you have learnt, treating walking, washing the dishes, waiting, travelling on the bus as an opportunity to practice mindfulness to expand and fill the whole waking day.
Physical movements in-between postures, and everyday postures outside of formal practice
During our everyday moment-to-moment lives we can get caught up with thing, distracted from the practice due to other immediate concerns, and forget about our long-term well-being.
Every moment is an opportunity for reflective practice and appropriate attention whether we are leaning forward or back; looking for, or inspecting something; bending over or stretching; getting dressed for indoors or outside; getting food, eating, or drinking; going to the toilet, walking around, waiting, or sitting; getting ready for bed, or getting up; even while talking, and listening we should fully engage with the task focusing on what we are doing & why we are doing it. Is this task appropriate, or inappropriate; skilful, or unskilled?
With a combination of reflecting on what we are about to do & why – the intention & motivation – and sense restraint – restricting the focus to appropriate objects and tasks – we can turn every moment into practice.
One way to do this is to undertake certain precepts – be they the five or eight precepts – and put into effect the Noble Eightfold Path. And learning from mistakes, and trying to break old unskilled habits.
Step out of Automatic Pilot
Throughout your day-to-day activities keep note of when you zone out and go into an automatic mode. The activity you notice this happening the most in shall be the activity you use first to develop continual awareness in every activity. Activities such as going to the toilet, brushing your teeth, showering, eating, walking, attending meetings, preparing for bed, or waiting for something are all suitable for practice. And it is probably best to stick with one activity for a week or longer rather than changing the activity regularly.
The practice of stepping out of automatic pilot practice can be done at any moment, not just during a specific activity and you may wish to have a frequent 'pause' to re-establish clear awareness during the day.
When the time comes to do the activity, start by resolving to do it with complete awareness. Paying attention only to what you are doing, not planning the next part of the activity or the next thing you are to do that day; only to what is happening right now. And at the end of the activity continue the clear awareness practice for as long as possible.
With short activities, such as brushing your teeth, or showering; aim to be fully aware for the whole activity. If the activity is long - such as eating a meal or walking the dog - aim to keep the momentum of the practice for as long as possible. And at the end of the activity continue the clear awareness practice for as long as possible.
At some point the mind may stray away from its focus to thoughts, moods, planning, daydreams, or simply drifting along. This is just what the mind does on a daily basis. You should know what state the mind has been in & bring the focus back to the activity of focus, no-matter how often it wanders off.
Mini Mindfulness Exercises
This is a brief exercise to be practised as often as needed to re-establish awareness in the present moment.
- Become aware of what you are doing and thinking in this moment and stop the action.
- Bring your awareness to the breath coming in and out of the body.
- Take several deep breaths allowing your awareness to be established in the body.
- Expand your awareness to your whole body and spend few moments resting your awareness here before moving awareness to your environment.
- As best you can, bring qualities of friendliness, joy, care, & balance to your awareness, perhaps seeing the repeated wanderings of the mind as opportunities to develop patience, effort, and curiosity to what is going on.
- Become aware of what you are doing and thinking in this moment.
- Bring your awareness to the breath coming in and out of the body at the point where a sensation of breathing is most prominent.
- Take several deep breaths to get fully acquainted with the sensation before allowing your breath to relax into its natural flow for a few moments.
- Expand your awareness to your whole body and spend few moments resting your awareness here before moving awareness to your environment.
- As best you can, bring qualities of friendliness, joy, care, & balance to your awareness, perhaps seeing the repeated wanderings of the mind as opportunities to develop patience, effort, and curiosity to what is going on.
Eating is one of the most regular thing we do for our bodies and a necessity for life. It can be used in varying ways both positive and negative. How we use nutrients can say and define more about us than almost everything else,
Some eat on-the-run, slow with long breaks, eat a mountain or a tiny amount of food per sitting. And eating with a clear awareness can change things for the better, improving your health through eating what you need at a pace which allows for proper digestion.
- When you feel hungry, notice the sensation, and reflect on why you feel hungry. Is it hunger or another craving i.e., thirst.
- When preparing and eating food you should be fully dressed not in ones night cloths.
- Hunger, or a desire to eat can mask or be the embodiment of other cravings. It is sometimes better to explore other options than to fill up on food.
- Make sure the cutlery & crockery is clean before plating up and eating.
- Arrange the seating and table in a proper fashion, with condiments and drinks.
- Take each dish in its proper proportions – of curry to rice (1-4 ratio,) - to the other food already accepted. An amount that will both give you energy until the next meal, and not leave you over or under full.
- Do not take more than needed/is appropriate, without exceding the amount the plate can easily hold.
- When sitting for the meal one should have, and give others, enough space sitting at an appropriate place at an area for sitting.
- Do not rush when going for food or to sit down after receiving it.
- Be appreciative & reflect on the generosity which made each meal possible. Either by following the words of the senior person, or in unison. A good reflection is “I will allay hunger without overeating, so that I may continue to live blamelessly and at ease.” It is also worth bearing in mind the hard work that enabled your meal to get to you, from the farm to the plate before eating.
- Start & finish eating together.
- While eating avoid -
Opening the mouth before the food has been brought to it;
Not bring food to the mouth while still eating the last mouthful;
Eat stuffing the whole hand into the mouth;
Speak with the mouth full of food;
Eat tossing food into the mouth;
At biting off a mouthful from the hand. Food should be the proper mouthful size before being brought to the mouth;
Eat stuffing out the cheeks, i.e., not putting to much food into the mouth.
Eat shaking food off of the hand;
Eat dropping food here and there;
Stick out the tongue while eating;
Make chomping sounds while eating;
Make slurping sounds while eating;
Lick the hand clean while eating;
Lick the crockery while eating;
Lick the lips while eating;
Take hold of a beaker of drinking water with a hand covered in food;
Make sure the food is well chewed before swallowing;
Try to acquire a preferred food through deception due to desire;
Look at the plates of others looking for faults;
Play with your food by mixing it together & making it into a mound;
Eat food specially requested by oneself unless ill.
Scratch the plate trying to get every last piece of food.
- While eating you shout try to -
Eat alms food systematically. Not picking a mouthful from several items.
A properly sized mouthful.
- It is not necessary to stay until the meal is finished if there is a need to interrupt eating. Simply excuse yourself and discreetly leave.
- Be careful not to splash or use to much water when cleaning.
- Left-over food should be disposed of properly.
- you should be clean before & after the meal.
- The dining area should be cleaned, restocked, and set in order after the meal.
- The meal should ideally eaten in silence – with focus upon the food you are eating – saying only what is necessary.
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