One of the techniques in the book is a very short exercise called STOP. This is a technique we can use at any point in our day to help remind ourselves what we are doing. It’s a very simple and easy exercise to practice:

How to Practice STOP

• STOP what you’re doing.
• TAKE a few deep breaths, focusing on the sensations of your breathing. This helps reconnect you with the present moment and also creates a buffer between your thoughts and your actions.
• OBSERVE what is going on. Ask yourself:
• What am I thinking?
• What am I feeling?
• What am I doing?
• What are my intentions?
• PROCEED with your day with this new sense of mindful awareness (based on how you answered the questions above).

This small injection of mindfulness allows us to live more consciously no matter where we are or what it is we are doing. I like to consider it a form of mini-meditation. The best part about this exercise is that it doesn’t take up a lot of time (less than 30 seconds), and we can do it virtually anywhere:

• While at work.
• While at home.
• While at school or in class.
• While procrastinating.
• While eating.
• While exercising.
• While interacting with others.
• While pursuing others hobbies and interests.

As you can probably tell, the implications of this small exercise are huge and can be applied to a wide range of different activities in our lives. We can use this STOP technique to be more aware, more productive, and better decision-makers. We can also use this STOP technique when we find ourselves being distracted or overwhelmed. We then take a step back, make sure we are acting with the right priorities in mind, and continue our day with a clearer idea on what we want to accomplish.

I use the STOP technique at least 3-5 times a day. It’s an effective way for me to prevent myself from running around like a chicken without a head. Before I practiced STOP, I found myself frequently getting distracted by getting engaged in activities that I shouldn’t have been doing, because I had other more important stuff to do. STOP allows us to monitor ourselves better, and get back on our path when we may have tread off course.

It’s all-too-easy to keep refreshing your Facebook page, or checking your e-mails, when you know you’ve already done that a bunch of times within the past hour. We all have our common distractions. With mindfulness, it’s important to be aware when we get caught in these distractions, and then shift our attention back to what matters most at that moment in time.

I hope you will try to practice this STOP technique a couple times within the next few days. You will certainly find yourself exercising greater control over how you spend your time, fighting procrastination better, and living with greater consciousness. Come back and let me know your experiences with it.

A big theme of this blog is to take awareness that we have cultivated during meditation and apply it to different senses, different experiences, and different actions. In truth, you can take any sense and use it as an object of meditation. And this includes our sense of balance.

I was messing around in my backyard the other day and I discovered a brick and a plank of wood. I laid down the brick on its side and then put the wood on top of it. Then, I stood on top of my new apparatus and tried to maintain my balance.

I became really focused on how difficult it was for me to keep a still posture. And as I became more aware, I noticed the subtleties of my weight shifting across the board. From one side to the other, and back again. I noticed when my feet were closer together it was easier for me to keep my composure, but when they were further apart it became more difficult. I kept experimenting, exploring, and discovering new aspects of my body and muscle control.

It fascinates me how taking our awareness and applying it to something as simple as balance can reveal new complexities about our conscious experience. I usually take my balance for granted. I get up everyday, walk around, and hardly ever think about how my weight is distributed throughout my body or how my body and muscles work together to keep me upright. But this is hugely important for someone who practices yoga, gymnastics, likes to skateboard, or maybe someone who is getting older and more clumsy.

Being more aware of our balance and practicing balance can have health and fitness benefits like:

• Improving muscle control.
• Improving posture.
• Improving blood flow.

It can also strengthen our mind-body connection by:

• Increasing concentration.
• Increasing body awareness.

It’s a really simple and easy thing to practice. It’s not hard to just come up with some kind of “balancing apparatus” and begin playing with it. I personally find it really fun and a good exercise in self-awareness. I recommend giving it a go.

For some reason when I first started thinking about “balancing meditation” I didn’t make the connection that it was in fact a kind of yoga practice. Haha. Either way, this is something I want to keep practicing and integrating into my health routine. Being able to hold my body more still and calmly (and improving my muscle control) seems like a really desirable trait for long-run health and fitness. It also requires an interesting one-pointedness between both mind and body.

1. Make note of your distraction, and then just go back to concentrating on your object of meditation. It doesn’t matter how often you get distracted, just be persistent in going back to your focal point. When most people start out, they are going to get distracted a lot. It takes practice to build concentration, so don’t jump right into it expecting to be a zen master. This can often be the recommended course of action when you are doing concentrative meditation, and trying to build your attention.

2. Another thing you can do is just drop your object of meditation, and open your awareness to whatever presents itself in the moment. Just watch and accept whatever sensations, feelings, thoughts, emotions, memories, and imaginations arise into consciousness. Don’t try to cling to any of them, or avoid any of them. Just fully accept. This can often be the recommended course of action when you are doing mindfulness meditation, and trying to gain insight into the transient nature of reality.

However, it is important to keep in mind that mindfulness and concentration are not mutually exclusive. Mindfulness is a crucial component to building concentration, because part of concentration includes becoming aware of aspects of an object that you weren’t aware of previously. There is a super focus on the object of meditation, but also a peripheral awareness of what else may be going on that isn’t immediately brought to attention. So while practitioners often draw a distinction between Concentration and Mindfulness types of meditation, remember that they can be intricately interrelated.

For a good beginner’s exercise in concentration I recommend the 100 Breaths Meditation. However, for this post I want to elaborate more on objectless meditation, which describes a more “open awareness” of the present moment.

Objectless Meditation

Objectless meditation is when we acknowledge whatever rises into consciousness without trying to react to it. Sensations, thoughts, emotions, memories, and imaginations may arise, but we don’t cling to them or avoid them – we just let them be. Objectless meditation is a full acceptance of whatever the present moment has to offer, without any particular directing of attention.

There is no telling where your awareness may bring you, and every meditation is going to be different. At times, your mind will shift to the sensations in your body, perhaps an itch on your nose, a pain in your lower back, or the growling of an empty stomach. Other times, your mind may shift inwards and reflect on passing thoughts, such as “What am I going to eat for dinner?” or “I need to put out the garbage tonight.” Or, perhaps your awareness will shift toward a sound in the room, a smell, or a gust of wind against your skin.

When in this state of “open awareness,” it is likely that some things will enter into consciousness that we may want to ignore or suppress. Perhaps an unpleasant thought, emotion, or memory will arise that we want to avoid. The difficult task, however, is to accept these experiences without putting a judgmental label on them. When we feel anger, depression, grief, or frustration, we should accept those feelings for what they are worth, and experience them in the moment without trying to run away. As Positive Psychologist Tal Ben-Sahar once said, “We must give ourselves permission to experience the full range of human emotions.”

The goal of such a practice is to build equanimity, a deep awareness and acceptance of the present moment, and a conscious realization of reality’s transience. In other words, during objectless meditation we often find that even the most uncomfortable thoughts and feelings eventually change or pass us by. Our consciousness is always taking new forms, as one sensation leaves, a new one arises.

Similarly, we must treat positive experiences with the same sense of equanimity. It is all too easy to cling to pleasurable and blissful feelings. But they too are impermanent, and craving such experiences can lead to a source of displeasure and suffering, especially when those cravings cannot be satisfied.

Without craving positive experiences, or avoiding negative ones, we can cultivate a sense of inner peace that truly satisfies our well-being. Objectless meditation allows us to create this sense of peace from within. All we need to do is sit down and become aware of all that is happening around us, without having to judge whether it is “good” or “bad.” It just is. So enjoy the ride, with all its highs and lows, and everything in between.

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I found this application of technology really exciting because it is very similar to what I’ve been working on for my mindfulness coaching, which entails using Twitter or text messages to help monitor thoughts, emotions, and actions in the present moment. This technique can be great for overcoming bad habits because it helps us:

• Identify times of the day when we experience the strongest cravings.
• Identify the environments we are in where we experience the strongest cravings.
• Identify and acknowledge the sensations, thoughts, and feelings that contribute to our cravings.

A random tweet or text message can initiate a short buffer that helps breakdown and weaken impulsive decision-making. It reminds us throughout the day to reflect on our desires, instead of acting on them automatically and without conscious thought. Mindfulness gives us the power to put a halt to habits that have become second-nature, to become more patient with ourselves, and therefore exercise a greater sense of will-power and choice.

Urge surfing

In mindfulness-based psychotherapy there’s a technique called “urge surfing.” The assumption behind the technique is that an urge never lasts forever. Usually, no more than 30 minutes. Clients can therefore “ride out” these urges simply by being more aware of their transient nature.

While reflecting on an urge to smoke a cigarette or eat something unhealthy, we should make note of everything that makes up the craving experience, and how it affects our bodies and minds. For example, we can identify the physical sensations that accompany the urge, where these sensations are located in our bodies, as well as other physical qualities. We can also make note of the thoughts and mental images that may amplify our cravings in that moment. It is common (if not universal) that the experience will change over time as we watch it.

Sometimes while watching a feeling it can become more and more intense. This is often compared to the tides of an ocean crashing further and further onto the beach, as the craving builds and builds. However, the important thing to remember while “urge surfing” is that eventually the tide will fluctuate and go back to a lower sea level. Then the urge becomes weaker and inevitably dissipates.

Urges do go away, but they may be very strong for a short while, especially when you are first starting out. Knowing that they will weaken will help you to continue to surf the impulses without giving in.

If you want, you can accommodate your urge surfing with a helpful mantra such as “this too shall pass.”

Back to technology

As mentioned before, technology can serve as a helpful interruption throughout our day to facilitate more conscious living. If we catch ourselves about to act on a desire, we can apply a reflective technique such as “urge surfing” until the urge has passed. By periodically reporting (and self-monitoring) our cravings, I believe we can cultivate a greater awareness of some of the more “automatic” habits we act out throughout our day, actions we often fail to reconsider or give a second thought.

However, if something like urge surfing is inadequate (maybe we simply can’t find the will-power), we can still use mindfulness to become more aware of the “external triggers” that influence our behavior. If we notice we are only compelled to engage in a bad habit around certain people or in certain environments, we can use that new found information to adjust the types of people we hang out with or the environments we engage in. This can sometimes be necessary to correct bad habits that are heavily rooted in our surroundings.

Either way, mindfulness and technology can play an important role in becoming more attentive to these needs, and therefore it should be strongly considered by anyone who is trying to fix detrimental behaviors. The text messaging technique can be a worthy supplement to psychiatric drugs or professional therapy, including Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy, which already integrates mindfulness into some of its practice.

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I believe that mindfulness will be one of the most important skills to learn in the 21st century, especially as our personal lives, and society as a whole, becomes increasingly more complex.

Knowing that many subscribers of my newsletter want to be more mindful in their day-to-day lives, I decided to send out an e-mail and find out what troubles they are experiencing during their practice. Here was some of the most common concerns.

Trouble 1: I can’t get started!

“Trouble getting started is my biggest obstacle. I have read about the benefits of meditation and I have tried meditating; it’s just difficult to put into a regular practice. And the benefits don’t really come about until it becomes something that is done regularly. I read (I think it was on your site) about ‘micro’ ways to practice mindfulness, such as paying attention to the breath, and I’ve been trying to put those tips to use.” – Helen

It can often be difficult to start new habits and build new skills. Mindfulness is no different. It takes some will-power and motivation, like when you first get yourself up early to go to the gym. One of the great things about mindfulness, however, is that it can be practiced virtually anywhere. So long as you are conscious, you have all the tools you need to begin directing your attention in new ways and seeing the world through brighter eyes.

Because our awareness permeates everything we do (even reading this blog post), I have become – as you call it – an advocate of “micro” applications of mindfulness.

In your question, I assume you are referring to my “100 Breaths Meditation” – which literally takes no more than 10-15 minutes to practice. This makes it a really easy exercise to fit into your day. Maybe you can wake up 10-15 minutes earlier, or practice it on the train to work, or during your lunch break, or before bed. There are a lot of possibilities and it depends on your daily routine.

However, some people are so darn busy that they can’t even set aside 10-15 minutes a day (I know, it’s hard to believe). This has led me to try and come up with even “micro”-er ways of injecting mindfulness into our lives.

Another exercise I’ve put together is called “Action? Feeling? Thought?” – and it takes less than a minute. All you need to do is reflect into the moment and ask yourself, “What am I doing? What am I feeling? What am I thinking?” And answering these three simple questions (in a “matter-of-fact” tone) will leave you with a clearer understanding of how you are spending your time in the present moment, what your intentions are, and whether or not your actions are meeting these intentions. It lets you acknowledge your actions, thoughts, and feelings – even for just a second – and that is the start of a valuable mindfulness practice.

In addition to all of this, don’t beat yourself up if a day or week goes by and you don’t practice any kind of mindfulness. Just make note of your non-mindfulness, and continue where you left off. This is not a process that takes place overnight. Far from it. There is no end-point to a good practice, just gradual application over time. Start right now (yes, right now) and get the ball rolling.

Trouble 2: Some activities are too boring or tedious.

“Hi Steven, Thank you for asking. I am troubled because I have low tolerance of boredom and frustration. Confronted with maybe uninspiring but necessary duties, I frequently distract myself by looking at email, facebook, blog statistics. Just now, I am answering your question instead of doing things I should.” – Antonia

I think one consequence of our over-stimulated world is that we end up having a much lower tolerance for boredom and frustration. We are so used to short-term gratification, that if an activity doesn’t immediately yield a pleasurable reward, we find ourselves wanting to quit or we become easily distracted.

What pops into my mind is a fantastic documentary called “Into Great Silence,” which follows the daily lives of Carthusian monks. The film has no lighting or sound added, just a “raw” depiction of the chores and obligations of these dedicated monks. To an outside observer, the activities they take part in seem very tedious and un-fulfilling. They do little more than pray, clean, eat, pray, eat, sleep – and then they repeat themselves the very next day. There is no TV, no internet, no videogames, no iPods, or anything of the sort that many of us take for granted as entertainment.

From the outside, things seem boring and dry. But from the inside, these monks are richly engaged and satisfied by their duties. Every activity is a part of a greater whole.

I believe that if we can identify a larger purpose to the tedious activities we are often obligated to do, then it is much easier to facilitate our own sense of engagement. While before these activities may have been seen as chores or routines, now they are transformed into meaningful rituals. Here is a table I created awhile back identifying some of the key differences between a “routine” and a “ritual.”

It takes some practice and creativity, but it can be done. Any activity can be integrated into the “bigger picture” of your life, even brushing your teeth or cleaning your room. It is up to you to identify the long-term gratification of the actions you take part in. Clearly, if you didn’t brush your teeth everyday then your hygiene would deteriorate. And similarly, many of the mundane tasks you practice at work or at home are important cogs to a larger machine. If you can imagine this larger purpose, you will develop the intrinsic motivation to do these activities with greater focus.

If you find it too hard to be more “purpose-driven,” there are also smaller things you can do to increase motivation and help complete boring tasks. I am a big fan of blurring the line between work and play, by trying to find ways of making tedious activities more fun-oriented.

Trouble 3: Balancing short-term and long-term views.

“Hi Steven. The key limitation for me would be to stay fully focused, on the current
objective/project, while being aware of long term goals/priorities.” – Jacob

This to me sounds like an issue of “congruency.” It is very important that our daily actions are aligned with our long-term goals and values (similar to what I just discussed above). If there is a conflict, then you will probably only be going about your day halfheartedly (hence, it is hard to stay fully focused). Not to mention you will be working ineffectively toward long-term goals.

Long-term planning, in some sense, is an abstraction toward reaching our goals. All action takes place in the present moment, and it is only in the present moment that we can work toward these long-term plans and facilitate change. That’s not to say that all planning is ineffective, but if you are drawing a strict dichotomy between short-term and long-term, then it’ll be difficult to get the two to ever meet.

My solution is to identify short-term actions that eventually build up to meet long-term priorities, then focus on those actions on a day-to-day basis. Take the time every now and then to reflect on long-term values and whether or not you are working effectively to meet them. I recommend in my post “Re-visiting Your Goals and Aspirations” to reflect on long-term goals about once every 2-3 months. You may also be interested in “Keep Track of Your Values.”

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