Walking the dog mindfully ???

[Metaphysical Me]

Am I the only newb on here who sometimes gets more confused as to what, exactly, mindfulness is the more I read this forum?

Could we perhaps have a sub-forum for the dunce element? But no slipper, please Sir.

Hi Nice Fish,

Sorry, maybe it's me that's adding to the confusion. The dog-walking question I had was not really a beginner's question, but I posted it here because I like the atmosphere of true curiosity and enquiry that comes with looking at these things with a fresh "beginner's mind".

If it's preferable to keep things a little less confusing in this section, I'm happy for a) this thread to be shifted to the "experienced" section and b) to post tricky questions like this there in future.

Sorry!!

But YES mindfulness IS confusing. VERY. Especially at first. But even later, you can still find yourself going down dead-end roads with it sometimes and then have to back-track, til you get back to a proper practice... The mind is tricky, the ego is tricky, life is tricky... And since all of these will arise in mindfulness (at least now and then), there's always going to be new challenges to deal with... But once you get it working, it's worth all the bother

[Cheesus]

A minute to learn, a lifetime to master.

[James123]

Apologies to all. None of you need to say sorry, I wasn't having a dig. Just expressing how something so simple is confusing me, personally.

I read this thread last week, again on Monday and again on Tuesday. A light bulb clicked on when reading what ODP said about what mindfulness isn't and actually is even though I'd read it quite a few times already. Also what Cheesus followed up with too.

It coincided with a paragraph (separate issue) I read that day in FPIAFW where Mark said about how when you experience a certain something relating to that chapter you get to see the potential mindfulness actually has. And I really do.

I'm only at the start of the journey (5 weeks in) but I can already see a flickering light at the end of the tunnel beckoning me in to a better life. Whoa that's some deep sheeyat!

It gives me hope for learning/practising about understanding what "turning towards" emotions, coming home to the body and BEing in the present moment actually are.

Thanks!

[Metaphysical Me]

A minute to learn, a lifetime to master.

Whoa that's some deep sheeyat!

Absolutely

[Metaphysical Me]

Just took the dog for our late-night walk and it was really cold outside (just below zero) and very misty.

One thing I've started being mindful of on my dog-walks is: "What would it be like to spend this night, with this weather, outdoors, if I was homeless?"

(Or: what is this night's weather like, for the people in my city, who are homeless...)

There was a suprisingly excellent show on TV here last week about homelessness and how it's increasing here. ("Surprisingly" good, cos so many TV shows are so paltry...) This TV show really got the issues "stuck in your brain" - they explained all the issues so well, also focusing on the specific + massive problems of homeless women and girls.

This has really made me be infinitely more aware of the weather while walking the dog. And made me so much more thankful for having a safe apartment, which I can return to.

And this mindfulness practice is also sort of making me feel in tune with my cave-woman, nomadic ancestors, who were all "homeless" in the sense that they didn't have an apartment or a "fixed address"... It makes me feel in tune with my millenia-old monkey-self, who had to look for a safe, comfortable and warm place to spend the night in the trees, the shrubbery, or some other suitable nook or cranny...

[larorra]

Walking my dog mindfully focusing on her was quite an experience as she was also aware of me Watching her and i think it amused her or maybe i havent noticed how she wags her tail the whole time shes Walking! It was interesting to observe her enjoyment of everything in her path, usually when she stops to sniff i would hurry her along to get home so she enjoyed doing her own thing for once! I will continue to avail of mindfulness for our walks and focus more on my dog.

[larorra]

"Close your eyes and listen to the sounds around you; this is mindfulness, nothing more."
It really is that simple. So simple that it's easy to miss. The mind loves complexity, loves trying to solve things, so it will always be looking for more, more, more.
There's just this. Moment to moment.
In the words of William Carlos Williams:
"So much depends upon a red wheelbarrow/glazed with rainwater/beside the white chickens."

summed up beautifully, it really is that simple!

[piedwagtail91]

"Close your eyes and listen to the sounds around you; this is mindfulness, nothing more."
It really is that simple. So simple that it's easy to miss. The mind loves complexity, loves trying to solve things, so it will always be looking for more, more, more.
There's just this. Moment to moment.
In the words of William Carlos Williams:
"So much depends upon a red wheelbarrow/glazed with rainwater/beside the white chickens."

summed up beautifully, it really is that simple!

have to agree beautifully put, can i nick your bit jon and have it as a signature?

[larorra]

confession time,, I have been walking my dog mindfully,, however last night I got distracted by a full moon and the sky was gorgeous and I was trying to get a good photo of it so my dog did not get walked very mindfully. Better luck today!

[piedwagtail91]

yeh, but you were still mindful by noticing the full moon and the beautiful sky. you could easily have missed that if you'd been on auto pilot