Mindfulness: An Eight-Week Plan for Finding Peace in a Frantic World by Mark Williams, Danny Penman Page A
Authors: Mark Williams, Danny Penman
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one.
There will be times when you will miss out on one of the practice sessions; since life can be busy and often frantic, it’s not unusual for this to happen. If it does, there is no need to criticize yourself in any way. Likewise, you might be forced to miss out on a whole day. If you do, then don’t chastise yourself—instead, see if you can make up the time later in the week. If you only manage to carry out the meditations on three or four days, try and begin Week One again. If you really don’t want to repeat Week One, then move on to the next week.
You may wish to read the meditation through first. It’s very detailed and gives you many pointers on what to become aware of when you’re meditating. But see if it’s possible to focus on the
spirit
of the meditation, rather than becoming hung up on the specifics. Even after you’ve read it through, it is best to do the meditation following along with the guidance found at http://bit.ly/rodalemindfulness , so that you are taken through the meditation on a moment-by-moment basis, and don’t have to worry about when the time is up.
Hannah followed the instructions in the audio files at http://bit.ly/rodalemindfulness twice a day, every day, for a week. Given her reaction to the raisin, it did not surprise her that she found her mind-wandering during the practice almost unbearable: “On the first day, I sat for a few seconds, then found myself thinking:
I’ve got so much to do, this is just wasting time
. Then I argued with myself:
OK, I promised myself I would put this time aside. Fine. Sit. Breathe
. Then a few seconds later, I started to remember a report that I’d promised to get to a colleague by the next day. My stomach sank.
If I don’t get it to him, what will he think?
Then I thought,
This meditation is making me feel worse!
”
----
Mindfulness of the Body and Breath
This is a short body and breath meditation designed to settle and ground yourself in the present moment.
Start by finding a comfortable position. Either lie on a mat or a thick rug, or sit on a firm, straight-backed chair, a cushion or a meditation stool. If you’re sitting on a chair, allow your feet to be flat on the floor with your legs uncrossed and your spine straight, so that your posture supports your intention to be awake and aware. In this way, the posture is dignified but comfortable—not stiff or tensed up. If you are lying down, allow your legs to be uncrossed, with your feet falling away from each other, and your arms lying alongside and slightly away from your body.
Now allow your eyes to close, if that feels comfortable, or lower your gaze. Bring your awareness to the sensations where the body is in contact with whatever you are sitting or lying on. Spend a few moments exploring these sensations.
At a certain point, gather your attention and move it to focus on your feet, so that the “spotlight of attention” takes in the toes, the soles of the feet, the heels, the top of the feet and the ankles. Attend to any and all of the physical sensations you can be aware of in your feet and ankles, moment by moment.
Notice how sensations arise and dissolve in awareness. If there are no sensations, simply register a blank. This is perfectly fine—we are not trying to make sensations happen—we are simply registering what is already here when we attend.
Now expand your attention to take in the lower legs, the knees, then the rest of your legs. Hold both legs “center-stage” in awareness—notice whatever physical sensations there may be here in the legs.
Expand your attention up the body to the pelvis and hips, the lower back and the lower abdomen. Move up the torso to include the chest and the back—right up to the shoulders—noticing all the physical sensations in the torso.
Expand your attention again to include the left arm; then the right arm; then the neck and the face and head, until you are holding the
There will be times when you will miss out on one of the practice sessions; since life can be busy and often frantic, it’s not unusual for this to happen. If it does, there is no need to criticize yourself in any way. Likewise, you might be forced to miss out on a whole day. If you do, then don’t chastise yourself—instead, see if you can make up the time later in the week. If you only manage to carry out the meditations on three or four days, try and begin Week One again. If you really don’t want to repeat Week One, then move on to the next week.
You may wish to read the meditation through first. It’s very detailed and gives you many pointers on what to become aware of when you’re meditating. But see if it’s possible to focus on the
spirit
of the meditation, rather than becoming hung up on the specifics. Even after you’ve read it through, it is best to do the meditation following along with the guidance found at http://bit.ly/rodalemindfulness , so that you are taken through the meditation on a moment-by-moment basis, and don’t have to worry about when the time is up.
Hannah followed the instructions in the audio files at http://bit.ly/rodalemindfulness twice a day, every day, for a week. Given her reaction to the raisin, it did not surprise her that she found her mind-wandering during the practice almost unbearable: “On the first day, I sat for a few seconds, then found myself thinking:
I’ve got so much to do, this is just wasting time
. Then I argued with myself:
OK, I promised myself I would put this time aside. Fine. Sit. Breathe
. Then a few seconds later, I started to remember a report that I’d promised to get to a colleague by the next day. My stomach sank.
If I don’t get it to him, what will he think?
Then I thought,
This meditation is making me feel worse!
”
----
Mindfulness of the Body and Breath
This is a short body and breath meditation designed to settle and ground yourself in the present moment.
Start by finding a comfortable position. Either lie on a mat or a thick rug, or sit on a firm, straight-backed chair, a cushion or a meditation stool. If you’re sitting on a chair, allow your feet to be flat on the floor with your legs uncrossed and your spine straight, so that your posture supports your intention to be awake and aware. In this way, the posture is dignified but comfortable—not stiff or tensed up. If you are lying down, allow your legs to be uncrossed, with your feet falling away from each other, and your arms lying alongside and slightly away from your body.
Now allow your eyes to close, if that feels comfortable, or lower your gaze. Bring your awareness to the sensations where the body is in contact with whatever you are sitting or lying on. Spend a few moments exploring these sensations.
At a certain point, gather your attention and move it to focus on your feet, so that the “spotlight of attention” takes in the toes, the soles of the feet, the heels, the top of the feet and the ankles. Attend to any and all of the physical sensations you can be aware of in your feet and ankles, moment by moment.
Notice how sensations arise and dissolve in awareness. If there are no sensations, simply register a blank. This is perfectly fine—we are not trying to make sensations happen—we are simply registering what is already here when we attend.
Now expand your attention to take in the lower legs, the knees, then the rest of your legs. Hold both legs “center-stage” in awareness—notice whatever physical sensations there may be here in the legs.
Expand your attention up the body to the pelvis and hips, the lower back and the lower abdomen. Move up the torso to include the chest and the back—right up to the shoulders—noticing all the physical sensations in the torso.
Expand your attention again to include the left arm; then the right arm; then the neck and the face and head, until you are holding the
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