Making The Most Of Mundane Moments

Every moment is an opportunity to practice. What if you turned moments of tedium, boredom, and repetition into meditation? This track is taken from my course, 'Discover Your Divine Purpose', available now via my profile.

Transcript

Hello, And welcome to the session. I invite you to take a seat or lay down and get yourself nice and comfortable. You can close down the eyes if you wish, And take three deep, Slow breaths in through the nose and out through the mouth, And I invite you to check in to the sounds that you can hear in your environment. Just listen, Without judgement, Without filter, Without prescribing meaning. Take the sounds that you hear, Like the drops of paint on a piece of abstract artwork, Just noting the bare signs, The sounds, The volume, The texture, Both of my voice and of any background noises you hear. What can you hear right now? Now I want you to turn your attention to the physical sensations of your body. Is there any tension in your head, Or your jaw, Or your neck, Or your back, Or your shoulders, Your belly, Your buttocks, Your groin, Your legs? If you discover any tension, Just observe it, Feel it, And invite it to share with you anything, Any emotions, Any memories, Any tensions, Any thoughts that that part of your body is holding onto. Release and accept whatever arises, And then gently invite that part of the body to relax. You've been heard, I accept you, Relax, Let go, And take another deep, Slow breath in through the nose and out through the mouth, And begin to open your mind up to the next question. We're going to approach this question with positivity, With an intent, With the desire to seek wisdom and knowledge from the deepest parts of ourselves, From God, From the universe, From the muse, From our ancestors, From whatever place, Inside or external to us, That we draw our wisdom and guidance from, Opening ourselves up to possibility, To potential, To flexibility, To an idea, That if we were to embrace it, Could revolutionize our life. In a moment, I'm going to ask you a question two times, Then we're going to sit in silence for a minute, And just welcoming any thoughts, Moods, Memories, Emotions, Ideas, Concepts, To wash over us. We're going to observe that mental state, In the same way we would observe cars going down a freeway, Not grasping, Not holding on, Just watching and observing the flow. What if you turn to the mundane, Into meditation? What if you turn to the mundane, Into meditation? When we step back and consider what life is, The big moments spring to life, The major events, The births, The deaths, The marriages, The big transitions, But if we were to take into account what life was, On a time-based perspective, Checking into what we're actually doing in the here and now, A lot of life is mundane. We get up, We wash, We clean, We cook, We eat, We drive, We transport, We work, We go through tasks, Day in and day out, And quite a few of those tasks would be considered mundane. Things that we have to do, That aren't really highlights, That aren't really worth committing to memory even, By percentage, The mundane moments significantly outweigh the exciting moments and the significant moments of life. This is to be expected, And it's almost desirable, Because were we to have significant event after significant event, The relative significance of those events would drop, Because our baseline would have risen, But beyond that, Most people couldn't function in such a turbulent and changing and intense environment, At least not for long, We would start to feel dysregulated, Start to feel like we don't have a place to call home, A place of safety and security. The mundane, These moments, Give us a sense of grounding, Particularly if we can approach them as a form of meditation. What if I was to do the dishes, Not as an act of drudgery, But rather as an act of deep gratitude or mindfulness on the moment. What if I was to approach mopping the floor, Not as just a chore to be done, But as a act of cleansing my environment. What if I was to convert the annoyance of having to get up, Take my children to school, Pick them up every day, As an opportunity for metta, For loving kindness, As a way to bond and connect. What if I was to approach cooking, Not just as something to be done, But an act of love, Both for myself and for my family. This food literally sustains us and becomes us. What if I was to impregnate every moment of mundanity with a focus and attention, Because that moment is just another moment in life, Just like those significant moments are, But because they happen so often, It would be a shame to just sleepwalk through them. The next time you wash the dishes, Take a moment to just feel the warmth of the water on your skin. Or the next time you're driving, Just check into the fact of the wonder that cars even exist, Or trains, Or the fact that you can walk. These things are so run-of-the-mill, So mundane, So obvious that we just take them for granted, But it borders on miraculous that we've managed to create such things, Such machines, And that we've come together in a society that is capable of hosting such machines, The roads, The infrastructure, The rules, The whole system. There's a marvelousness there that we just completely overlook, So I invite you the next time you're doing something that seems boring, Some task that is mundane, Is run-of-the-mill, Something that has to be done, That you would never even bother writing down in a journal because you do it every day, Because it's not important, Because it just is one of these aspects of life, I invite you to approach it as a meditation, As an opportunity to become present in the moment, To take your practice off the meditation cushion and into real life, And just have another moment to connect to your life, To the moment. What if you turn the mundane into meditation? Well done. This takes us to the end of the session. At the bottom of your screen, You'll see an option to view the classroom or to ask a question. Before moving on, I invite you to take a moment to click through and share your insights. To read answers from other students and to hear my replies. Remember to start your responses with Session 4, Or to restate the question, So we know which one you're referring to. This is an opportunity for deep learning, Further introspection and insight, So please do not miss out. I look forward to seeing you in the next session. This track was taken from the course, Discover Your Divine Purpose. It's out now on Insight Timer and available via my profile. I invite you to join in.

Reviews

A fascinating alternative perspective on life. This has helped me think differently about the “burden” of daily chores. Thank you 😊

Excellent perspective! I’ve been having difficulty with my gratitude journal lately. More the glass is half empty as opposed to half full. But this meditation gives me a new way to look at things from a different view. The task may be mundane but I should be grateful to have the task and the ability to do it. Thank you so much!