Being Present

The Ins and Outs of Mindfulness

The Truth About My Practice

I just returned from a three week vacation somewhere warm. We returned to an additional two feet of snow and two more snow storms in less than two weeks! Yay the north.

Returning to our usual routine has brought awareness about how I actually work with my practice. While I have been a long time meditator – 20 plus years, I am also a sporadic meditator at some level.

One of the places I tend to lose momentum is while I am away from home. Before we left on our vacation I was meditating daily for 45 minutes and studying for an additional hour a day. This is a usual routine for me when I am home. This routine keeps my practice front and center. The routine helps me keep my intention fresh and alive as I set intention every morning at the beginning of practice. It also helps me remember as the day unfolds that there are specific ways I want to behave – kind, compassionate, skillful, connected, and joyful.

Then I leave home, whether for 3 weeks or a long weekend, and formal practice seems to disappear. I say seems to, because I am also aware that my practice over the past decades has increased my capacity to be mindful, aware, and present through the tasks and interactions of the day. I am reaping the benefits of such a steady practice with a much more steady awareness in the present.

Regardless of the gains over time. Missing practice does not meet my intention or aspiration for myself. As a result the critical little voice comes out and gives me what for. There is no difficulty in finding excuses and continuing on not continuing on.

I return home, and because I have let my habit slip, it continues to slip for a few more days. Slowly, with reminders, setting cues, and simply engaging I begin to rebuild the routine. I have noticed that I rebuild by not going for the entire gold ring, instead starting with 20 minutes and letting the timer continue to run if I am in a space during meditation to continue. This often leads to longer formal practices until I am quickly back to my usual.

Somewhere along the way, I remember to bring some self-compassion rather than self-condemnation, and a “yes, this is what is here” practice. And I remember, every practice is a starting over practice and every moment is a starting over moment.

Kindness, compassion, and a willing to start over will help any of us regain momentum when we seem to have lost it.

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drdeb

I am a certified mindfulness meditation teacher who has been teaching and guiding students at all levels in starting, developing, and maintaining a mindfulness meditation practice. I have personally been a mindfulness meditation practitioner for more than 20 years, initially teaching myself and growing into learning from various teachers over the decades. I am also a clinical psychologist, semi-retired from private practice. I have incorporated mindfulness meditation into my psychotherapy practice and taught many people how to use this practice to cope with many aspects of mental and emotional distress as well as social and life distress. Even after decades of practice, my passion for mindfulness meditation has not faded. If anything, my awe and respect for this practice has grown. The benefits (which I will write about in my blog) are immeasurable and continue to accrue in my personal, professional, and teaching life.

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