Mindful Chores: Washing The Dishes

Everyday chores offer endless opportunities to cultivate presence and a sense of calm. Activities that we ordinarily do on autopilot, lost in planning, worrying, or remembering can be reclaimed through mindfulness practice. The Buddhist monk Suddhipanthaka was said to have achieved full enlightenment while sweeping, realizing that he should clean his mind of attachments as he cleaned his floor of dirt. This can also help folks struggling to make mindfulness a daily task.

Transcript

Hello,

I'm Dr.

Candice Creaseman and today's meditation is on bringing mindfulness to one of the many tasks of daily life,

Washing the dishes.

This practice is meant to be a reminder that we can bring the quality of mindfulness to any activity,

Cultivating concentration and peacefulness,

Using our awareness and willingness to be fully present for whatever is happening in the moment,

Even dirty dishes.

We will begin and end with a bell.

If you are already at your sink,

Take a moment to breathe deeply in through your nose and out through your mouth.

Again,

Breathing in and out.

Allow your body to relax around the breath.

Notice your body as it is right now,

Whether standing,

Leaning or sitting.

See if you can notice your breath flowing into your whole body,

Expanding and contracting.

Now start the water.

Notice the shape of the water and the sound of it.

As thoughts or other sensations arise,

Acknowledge them as you would clouds in the sky,

Letting them pass gently by and returning your attention to the water.

How does the water feel on your hands?

Pick up the first dish,

Noticing the weight of it in your hands,

Noticing its texture.

You may notice thoughts or judgments about how dirty it is or how difficult it will be to clean or even how silly it may feel to be washing the dishes mindfully.

Allow those thoughts to pop like bubbles and bring your full awareness to cleaning the dish.

Breathe in deeply.

How does the soap smell?

If it is pleasant,

Then enjoy it.

If it is strong or unpleasant,

Simply acknowledge it.

Continue to quietly notice the motions and sensations of cleaning for the next few moments in silence.

How does the soap smell?

Breathing in,

I notice my body washing the dishes.

Breathing out,

I release my thoughts.

What colors do you notice?

Can you experience color or other sensations without labeling them?

If words or other thoughts pop into your head quickly,

That's fine.

Just let them go and see if you can show up to your bare experience.

I am washing the dishes.

I am washing.

I am.

With each dish,

Cup or utensil that you wash,

Set an intention to cleanse your mind of thoughts just as you clean each dish.

Each moment I spend fully present for this task of washing dishes,

I cultivate peace.

Continue to wash the dishes in this way with your full attention until your task is done.

When you are finished,

Offer yourself some gratitude for taking this time to be skillful and intentionally present.

Reviews

Happiest dishwashing ever because I was also recognizing how much I value order.

Practical reminder to bring mindfulness into all that we do. Thank you.

Excellent way to get dishes done! Feel so peaceful now.