Simple Meditation To Practice "Not Doing Something Else"

At its core, mindfulness is about being in the present moment and not doing something else—not multitasking, not thinking ahead to our next move, not getting caught up in the incessant chatter in our minds. We practice focusing our attention and "not doing something else" during meditation practice so we can bring that same attention to the moments and activities of our everyday lives. In this meditation, we practice noticing our breath and then the sounds in our environment. Each time we notice our minds have wandered to something else, we gently bring them back. Over time, this practice of not doing something else will help us be more present with our family and friends, at work, and in all the moments—both big and small—that make up our lives.

Transcript

Hello and welcome. This is Jen, And I'm so glad you're here. I recently heard mindfulness described as not doing something else. I love this description of it because it's so simple and it really gets to the heart of what mindfulness is all about. I remember I once saw a children's book about mindfulness and it had instructions for how to be mindful with some cute illustrations. And it just said, When you're eating, Just eat. When you're reading, Just read, You know, And on and on. And that really is all mindfulness is about, Right? It's just being with your present experience of what you're feeling or seeing or doing. And We rarely live this way. In today's society, You know, We're always encouraged to multitask and to do more. But the problem with that is that. Sometimes we lose the ability to really focus on one thing at a time. And this can lead to us really missing out on some of the more special moments in our lives, Or even just the simple joys of everyday life, Because often we're engaged in a certain activity, But our mind is elsewhere. So we can practice in our sitting meditation, Just not doing something else. And as we strengthen this muscle, We can apply that to our everyday lives. So let's practice. Beginning in a comfortable posture. Sitting upright, If that feels good for you today. Back straight and tall, But not too rigid. Maybe closing the eyes or softening the gaze. And just noticing what it's like to be sitting here. Feeling the weight of the body. On the chair or the floor. Points of contact. Between the body and the surface beneath us. Just staying with the feeling of what it's like. To be here. And then shifting our awareness to the breath. Trying our best to not do something else. But rather just stay with the breath. Noticing how it is. Deep or shallow. Fast or slow. Not trying to change it, But just noticing how it is. And when our mind begins to do something else. As it likely will do. Just gently bringing it back to this one thing. Noticing the breath. And now shifting to noticing what sounds are around us. What can you hear in this moment? Maybe it's the sound of your own breathing. Maybe the wind rustling the leaves outside. Other people or animals inside your space or outside. Sounds of traffic. Cars, Trains. Or maybe there's not much to be noticed. In your soundscape right now. And that's okay. Just trying our best to not do something else. Just received sounds. Not searching or grasping. Just noticing what's there. Just spending a few more minutes. Receiving the sounds of the present moment. When our mind starts to do something else. Just gently bringing it back. To the sounds around us each time. No need to give ourselves a hard time or judge ourselves. Just noticing when that happens, That tendency to do something else. Bringing it back to the sounds. As we come toward the close of this practice, Just remembering that the reason that we practice this in our sitting meditation is so that we can bring this same ability. Of not doing something else. Into the moments of our everyday life. So that we can listen to our friends or family members without doing something else. So that we can focus on a work task. Without our minds doing something else. You can imagine applying this to all different scenarios. Just being fully where you are. Focusing on one thing at a time, The present moment. In a moment, I will ring the bell three times. Just remembering that we can take this intention to not do something else into the rest of our day and the days that follow. Thank you for your practice. Thanks for watching! Bye!