Basic awareness practice,
The difference between distraction and rumination.
Start by taking a moment to settle and relax before you begin.
Find a comfortable sitting position and listen to what the body needs.
Shifting position to be comfortable and balanced if necessary.
Begin by bringing attention to the body in relation to the space it's in,
Sensing the room,
The space it's in,
And the space it's in.
Begin by bringing attention to the body in relation to the space it's in,
Sensing the room and any objects around.
And now shift the attention to the entire body as it sits here.
And now move the attention to the breathing process in the whole body,
Breathing naturally and leaving the breath to find its own rhythm.
And now come back to the sensation of the entire body.
And bring to mind your reasons for doing this basic awareness practice on the difference between distraction and rumination.
What is motivating and inspiring you to engage with this process of inner development?
And finally,
Wish yourself success in this process.
This practice is to remind you of the difference between distraction and rumination during basic awareness practice.
It will also encourage you to question your life and open up to possibilities of change and fulfillment,
Helping you build a picture of what your potential might be,
What may be helping you develop your potential,
And what may be limiting you at the moment.
Distractions occur when focus on the chosen object is lost and the mind is distracted by objects such as a noise or an itch.
And this is detrimental to developing sustained and focused attention.
Ruminations are a form of distracted mind that are around self-preoccupation,
The sticky I,
Me or mine.
It is important to get a sense of the difference in order to start to understand the different factors that make up your experiences so that they no longer come in one package and you can start to deal with them both effectively.
You may like to take out your rumination rabbit hole picture as a reminder and have a piece of paper and a pen ready.
The metaphor of a rabbit and a rabbit hole is useful when describing the difference between distractions and ruminations.
So imagine you are trying to do something important such as revise for an exam,
Write a new song or simply get a piece of work done.
There are distractions all the time.
It's a bit like being in a big field with rabbits popping up everywhere.
Every now and then a rabbit pops its head up from a rabbit hole and distracts you.
Once you notice you're distracted,
You go back to whatever you were focusing on.
However,
Every now and then it's like a rabbit pops up that is so interesting that you have to follow it down the rabbit hole and it takes much longer to notice you have lost your focus to this rumination and bring your attention back.
During the following simple basic awareness practice,
You will use what your mind does as the material to create your own rabbit hole map.
So try to have some element of recalling what's going on as you follow the instructions.
So take some time to find a comfortable sitting position with the back straight and not too tense.
Letting the head tilt slightly forward and resting it comfortably at the top of the spine.
Keeping the eyes either open or closed depending on what feels right.
And if you have your eyes open,
Resting the gaze in front without focusing on anything in particular.
Relaxing the muscles around the eyes and the jaw and tucking the chin in slightly.
Adjusting to what the body needs and shifting that position to be comfortable.
And now taking some time to take three deep breaths.
Ask yourself why you are doing this practice,
The benefits of doing it and the disadvantages of not doing it.
And consider who might benefit from you doing this practice.
And now bring the attention to the natural breath in the body.
Focusing your attention on this natural breathing of the body as it breathes automatically without changing it in any way.
Holding your attention on the body as it breathes,
As it breathes in and as it breathes out.
And now take a deep breath in and out.
Simply observing the breath in the body and the sensations of the breath as it goes in and out of the body.
And now take a deep breath in and out.
And finally releasing your attention from the breath in the body and bringing your attention back to the room.
Now take a moment to recall the journey the mind made as you tried to focus on the breath in the body.
Note where it went and whether they were more superficial distractions,
The rabbits,
Or if they were self preoccupied ruminations,
The rabbit holes that you went down.
Noting them on a piece of paper or perhaps drawing the journey.
Maybe you were able to notice a distraction and return to the breath in the body.
Maybe a distraction led to a rumination.
Maybe you noticed going straight into a rumination.
And now finish charting your journey of the mind,
Including any times you noticed a distraction or rumination and were able to return to the focus of attention.
So how was this practice for you?
What did you notice?
Did you find yourself distracted and if you were,
Were you aware of the cause?
Did you find yourself ruminating and if you were,
Were you aware of the stickiness of the I,
Me,
Mine of the rumination?
And how easy or difficult was this process for you?
Do you think this will be helpful in daily life?
And remember,
We're using the image of the spiral to show how certain personal qualities build on and reinforce each other in an upward spiral towards positive potential.
A positive reinforcement spiral.
Likewise,
Certain personal qualities also build on and reinforce each other in a downward spiral.
A negative reinforcement spiral.
So using your learning from the previous practice on the difference between distraction and rumination,
Simply note whether this may be helping you develop towards the top of the spiral or if it may be limiting you towards the bottom.
And finally,
Taking a moment to reconnect with your posture,
Rebalancing,
Relaxing and gently releasing any tension if necessary.
And becoming aware of the body breathing.
And now take a moment to recall your motivation for doing this practice.
And now bring to mind what you have experienced and learnt in this practice.
Have you discovered anything about yourself?
Have you begun to cultivate any helpful qualities or overcome or let go of any unhelpful qualities?
How might this process be beneficial and meaningful and contribute to the welfare and wellbeing of yourself and others,
Your family,
Friends and those close to you,
Those who inspire and nurture your positive development and all living beings and the environment they rely on?
And as this practice ends,
Try to carry this with you wherever you go by recollecting it occasionally.
