The day after my last post on this topic, I sat for 10 minutes as planned. The next day I had an early morning work meeting and lost traction. Then it was the weekend and I forgot. Then I remembered and decided I should wait until I read this book that was recommended to me “Wherever You Go, There You Are” by Jon Kabat-Zinn .
I downloaded the book to my Kindle and read it on the plane to and from my Thanksgiving holiday in Kentucky. It’s a good book. It is hard to stay awake when you are reading a book about mindfulness, but I did get through it and learned some neat stuff. One thing I learned is that I am a pretty mindful person already. I have some work to do, sure, but I am not your average Jane bopping around totally unaware. Jon Kabat-Zinn does think meditation can help me “be all I can be” which is what I am striving for, so I will stick with it. Here is a quote that makes me think this is so:
“…by investigating inwardly our own nature as beings and particularly, the nature of our own minds, through careful and systematic self-observation, we may be able to live lives of greater satisfaction, harmony, and wisdom” – Jon Kabat-Zinn
Sounds good right? I am not completely sure how the benefits of meditation and therapy are different, besides the fact that meditation is FREE! I will have to investigate the other differences. Jon Kabat-Zinn also recommends “meditating without advertising it.” He says instead of talking about it, just go do it. Excellent point.
But before I stop talking about it, I will tell you that I did sit the past two days for 10 minutes each and my mind did not stop for one second. (Boy, I wish I had coffee. Should I have left the light off? My apartment is so much quieter now that they built that building in front of my window. I am so uncomfortable. What should I get my mom for Christmas? It’s OK, just watch the thoughts float away in little bubbles. I wonder if it is OK to picture little bubbles?)
According to Jon Kabat-Zinn (I do love that name!), it could be years before I am able to really quiet my mind. That is a really long time! Clearly, I won’t be able to achieve this goal until I have a comfy meditation pillow.