Practice is FULL-TIME!!

Coming home from a PT session and WF and Tamura’s shopping, I remembered to practice - to be aware of this moment; and also remembered that I’d just spent a lot of time not practicing!

Although I practiced on the nonverbal experience of pain during the “get rid of knots” time in my PT massage, I spent most of the time shopping in planning mode - “Where should I park? Let’s see...need to get shampoo..where is that? Well, Pi`ikoi doesn’t look too tied up...Guess I’ll take the Koko Head Rd. exit...Shall I splurge and get into the $30-ish wine territory or stay in the c. $25 zone? Etc., etc., on and on....

So the big realization as I drove through the gate, the big reminder was: Practice is FULL-TIME!!!

Practicing mindfulness - non-judgmental awareness of the present moment (which includes thoughts and emotions) - isn’t something to be done when I’m not “busy doing something else”!

It’s full-time! All the time! In fact, it’s a way of life! In fact, it IS life!!!

Not only does full-time mindfulness provide all the benefits touted by the mindfulness movement - better performance, better relating with people, less stress, etc. As the Zen contingent (currently reading Charlotte Joko Beck) proclaims, really being here, perceiving this moment nonverbally, non-judgmentally, is the way to intuit the truth of who we are, and what life really is; and the way to intuit our best course of action for whatever situation presents itself in the moment!!!

Now, thoughts will invariably appear, including planning-style thoughts like those above. The difference with full-time practice is that we are operating with the commitment to be aware of them, and to move on to the next moment’s happenings without being “hooked” by them.

And, invariably, we will get lost in thought and forgot about our commitment to full-time practice from time to time. When that happens, we become aware of it, be aware of any judgment that may appear over it, and come back to the practice!

Reminders can be very helpful here. Starting the day with a reminder to practice, full-time, is a great thing to do. Doing a little reading about practice (e.g., the Joko Beck stuff mentioned above) at the start of the day helps us really align with what we’re doing here.

Other reminders, like songs (that get “stuck in my head”), mini-mantras (“I vow to be here now”; “Drop your agendas and be here now!”; “Just this!”), photos (wallpapers / screensavers) can help us remember that practice is full-time, that it’s our life!!!

And, again, forgetting is ok - just come back!

Here’s to life - a life of full-time practice!!!