For many people, one of the biggest problems with meditation is finding the time. Who has an extra 30 minutes a day to sit and desperately attempt to quiet the mind? It takes serious discipline to make that a practice, especially when piled on top of work and exercise and foraging for the next meal and relating with people and cleaning the house and everything else
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That's one of the reasons I love this book. You see, what you really don't have is an extra 30 minutes in a row. You do have driving time and eating time and pauses while you wait for your computer to catch up. Mark Thornton's Meditation in a New York Minute takes advantage of all those extra moments (way more than 30, by the way) and shows you how to use them to destress your life.
He has numerous exercises on how to do this, ranging from simple to advanced. For example, why not put an alarm on your PDA to remind you to take a deep breath? I have something like that on mine - and occassionally I'll change the alarm time or the message to help me see it in a new light.
My favorites activities are, of course, those that help you really develop an awareness of your body - when you're eating, walking, brushing your teeth, working in the garden. I often encourage my clients to do the same with their senses - anywhere, anytime - feel the experience of life in that moment. After all, the input is there. We're always smelling, tasting, hearing, touching, seeing. Simply allow yourself to notice.
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Thanks, Ephraim. My teacher suggested I let go of my attachment to meditation on the cushion and start enjoying mindfulness wherever it finds me. I found peace on the IRT. Seriously. Taking the subway from Brooklyn to Manhattan gave me a half hour each morning and afternoon to become aware of my breath and then to notice the "Buddha nature" in everyone around me. I looked at people's faces and tried to picture them feeling those same emotions as little children. When I saw in an angry homeless man the face of a frustrated and desperate 2-year-old who could not get his mother's attention to take care of him, how could I feel anything other than compassion toward him? I learned not to "take sides" against anyone. It changed my life. :)
That's exactly what I'm talking about Liz! Thank you for the insight. and so perfect...if you can find peace, love and compassion on the subway, I think there is hope for finding it anywhere.
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