The challenge I recently completed was one of the simplest and yet most profound ones I have completed to date. It is one thing to be mindful in the context of meditation or yoga. It is an entirely different ballgame bringing that mindful awareness into the unpleasant, the mundane, and the crazy moments of our lives. This is what my challenge attempted to accomplish and I believe did so with smashing success.

What I learned this past month:

• Every moment is pregnant with liberation – I heard this phrase used while listening to the Ten Percent Happier podcast this past month. It is a beautiful reminder that liberation is always possible, waiting for us to open up to it. Happiness can be quite elusive, especially on a moment-by-moment basis. The pursuit of happiness in the long-term is manageable, but we have access to liberation at any time.
• Deep breathing and willing hands are key – When I started this month’s challenge, I didn’t always know what it meant to completely embrace the present moment and live one-mindfully. I’m still not entirely sure, but 2 elements that are almost universally involved are deep, audible breathing and an open hand posture. Half-smile is also extremely effective. When I started utilizing these techniques regularly, flowing with the present became much more understandable and organic.
• Starting with mindfulness feels right – Prior to this month, I would generally begin my daily meditation practice with breathwork, followed by lovingkindness meditation, and ending with some type of mindfulness practice. This was to prevent me feeling overwhelmed with random thoughts and emotions at the beginning of the practice. However, by starting with just a couple minutes of mindfulness, I could get into deeper meditation more quickly, but also with the knowledge I could kick it over to some other modality if I needed to.
• Lack of weekend parameters = fail – One of the biggest strengths to my challenges is their precision: having extremely clear guidelines of expectations. I did not do that with regards to weekend mindfulness, with the predictable result of being incredibly lax in this regard. There is a time and a place for leaving things open-ended; challenges do not fit that bill.

What I will continue to do going forward:

• Choose 1 activity for the week – For the most part, I found my experiences living one-mindfully very nourishing and liberating. That being said, going forward, I think just picking 1 daily activity per week, that I proactively choose to practice as an active meditation, will be more meaningful and require less maintenance.
• Begin every yoga segment with intention – I generally do about five 10-minute yoga sessions scattered throughout each day. I want to begin each of these with a sense of mindful presence, even if just for 30 seconds. Most of the time, this will end up lasting much longer, but having a lower up-front commitment ensures I will consistently follow through.
• Increase meditation time to 10 minutes daily – I’ve been doing just 5 minutes daily, and then 7 this past month, with one 45-minute practice on Wednesdays. My practices have become increasingly standard and enjoyable, and I think it high time to extend them and insert a bit more variety. There is a 30-week meditation challenge that I am joining with my Secular Buddhist sangha that should supply some inspiration.
• Embrace one spontaneous event during the day – Being on the lookout for opportunities to maximize downtime, utilize mindfulness, or notice critical thinking patterns makes both the routine and not-so-pleasant experiences much more survivable and meaningful. I want to commit to one unplanned mindful connection each day. If I don’t remember it during the day, then I will complete it the first thing upon starting New Day protocol that evening.

I am definitely interested in infusing my philosophical appointed time (PAT) periods with some extra doses of mindfulness. However, I don’t want to mandate this so as to allow for spontaneity during this more unstructured space. What this means is that I am just extending the invitation to myself to embark on mindfulness adventures, even if that is something as simple as making tea, taking a slow walk, or enjoying a luxurious bath.

Namaste.