Weekly Soul. Week 14 - Mindful Walking
Today's meditation from Weekly Soul: Fifty-two Meditations on Meaningful, Joyful, and Peaceful Living by Dr. Frederic Craigie.
-14-
Throughout life, keep asking yourself, “What would I
do right now, in this situation, if I were guided by my life purpose? What
would I be doing differently at this moment?” The more mindful you are of your
life purpose, the greater its impact will be on your life
and the lives of those you care about.
Matthew McKay, John Forsyth, Georg Eifert
When I work with groups, I often begin with a mindful walking exercise.
I give them Thich Nhat Hanh’s instructions for walking meditation;
Take short steps
in complete relaxation; go slowly with a smile on your lips, with your heart
open to an experience of peace.
… and invite them to get
up from their seats, leave the room, and return to their seats in a spirit of
mindful walking.
The very first time I began a teaching session with a mindful walking
exercise, years ago, I gently invited participants to get up and “walk around
the room in a spirit of mindful walking.” Not a good idea. It looked like The
Night of the Living Dead, people walking stiffly in all different
directions, bumping into each other. Mindful Walking 2.0 has been much better.
I present this exercise to emphasize the importance of remembering
who you are, and to give people an experience of one practical approach to
doing this. I want teaching session participants to return to the room being
more fully grounded and present than they may otherwise have been, to be open
to a greater awareness of who they are and why they are there.
Even as we may cultivate a rich sense of who we are in our quieter and
more reflective moments, life has a way of leading… pulling…yanking… us off
course. Perusing the online listing of a book on happiness and well-being
recently (I try to keep up with these things), one of the customer comments was
along the lines of, “There are some great ideas about calming practices, but
this book assumes that I’m a free agent. I’d love to begin the day with a
meditative time outdoors in the back yard, but I’m a mom and a professional; I
need to get my kids who are not always cooperative ready for the day and I need
to get myself ready for the day while my husband is charging around in the same
spaces, getting himself ready for the day.”
Does this, perhaps, sound familiar? None of us are really “free
agents,” right? Amid the daily expectations we might hold about how life would
unfold, deals fall through. Traffic snarls. People are abrasive. Patients call
at 4:55 on a Friday afternoon asking for a narcotics refill. And, of course,
beyond the daily hassles that occur to a modestly comfortable, healthy white
male professional, there is real suffering out there, as well.
The question is how you are going to remember who you are… to be
faithful to the sacred and unique values and character that frame who you are…
along the ups and downs of the journey.
I like the mindful walking practice because most of us do at least
modest walking during the day and it is easy to make this, sometimes at least,
an occasion for emotionally and spiritually pausing and centering. In the years
of my busy practice and teaching, I didn’t have time to meditate for 45 minutes
during the day, but I did walk short distances, greeting people to speak with
in my office, walking to the office of the teaching program, going down the
hall to consult with a colleague, and heading (sometimes, I confess, with less
than great enthusiasm) to a meeting, and I often used these opportunities to
walk a little slower, to let go of the energy of whatever had just taken place,
and to open my heart to what would take place next.
Many times, I have heard of similar practices from my physician
colleagues. “Before I go into an exam room,” one commented, “I pause for ten
seconds, with my feet planted on the floor, and remind myself why I want to be
there for the patient I am about to see.”
Perhaps you have a similar practice, or perhaps you follow any of a
number of other regular practices to “remember who you are:”
- morning devotions of reading and reflection;
- pausing before meals;
- journaling;
- meditation;
- prayer;
- periodic retreats; and/or
- engaging someone else—a friend, a book group,
a support group—to provide accountability and caring along the journey.
May you find that your ongoing awareness of your purpose and unique
character makes a difference for “your life and the lives of those you care
about.”
Reflection
- What have you done in the past to “remember
who you are” that has been meaningful for you?
- Revisit a practice that has been part of your
routine in the past, or explore a new practice in the coming week. It
doesn’t need to be fancy or elaborate. Pause to set an intention for the
day. Choose an inspirational word or phrase and bring this to your
attention periodically. Walk mindfully a couple of times a day. Sit
quietly in a meditative spirit for five minutes. Go out in the back yard
(or outside wherever you happen to live) and briefly open your senses and
your heart to the experience of where you are.
Authors
Matthew McKay, Ph.D.,
John Forsyth, Ph.D., and Georg Eifert, Ph.D. are psychology professors who have long experience
working with values- and mindfulness-based approaches to healing and wellness. Collectively,
they have authored books on such subjects as happiness, self-esteem, and on
therapeutic and self-help approaches to stress, anxiety, troubled
relationships, anger and eating disorders. McKay is also the co-founder of New
Harbinger Publications, a leading publisher since 1973 of both comprehensive
resources for professionals and practical workbooks for the general public on
self-help, health and wellness, relationships and personal growth. The
quotation is from their 2010 book (New Harbinger, of course), Your Life on
Purpose: How to Find What Matters and Create the Life You Want.'
Book Description:
Keywords:
meditation; reflection; inspiration; miracles; aliveness; purpose; laughter; joy; presence; mindfulness; activism; acceptance; gratitude; forgiveness; creativity; civility; hope; affirmation; wholeness; well-being; mental health; personal growth; transformation; inner peace; personal reflection; joy; joyful living; inspirational quotes; inspirational commentary
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