Everyday Mindfulness

Hello all,

I have been reading Eckhart Tolle's "The power of now" for a couple of months and my mindfulness practice tends to be based on living in the moment, as opposed to a formal sit down practice. I notice (over long periods of time) that I go through periods of worry/anxiety - which also crosses into weird OCD behaviour with twitching and sensations around my body - both tend to come and go over time.

I tried applying mindfulness to the physical sensations (obviously this is more about just letting the feeling be which I accept). But I seem to go around in circles between this and repetetive thoughts and worries about certain things. It's almost like I'm torn between feeling the sensations or thinking aout the worry (as in to shine some light on them or watch the thoughts) - or simply coming back to the present and putting the worries to the side (which I suppose is a long term mindfulness problem that I've had).

When I try to become the "now" I tend to be able to do this for short periods but I then switch back to "I don't think I'm doing this correctly" and leads me into deeper thinking about the issues (which I'm presuming is the problem itself).

If I "give up" and go back to normal everyday life then I tend to do this fine and the whole worries and OCD become a memory but I feel I'm abandoning dealing with the issue and also not being "mindful" of the problem.

Anyone got any advice on what to do or how to approach the whole topic? I've ready several people say there problems become more intensified if they apply mindfulness to it - but it seems the more I try to apply my practice - the more I worry and get distressed, whereas now I'm back in work today, concentrating on work, I almost feel that I don't have to actually address the issue because I'm back in my "normal, busy life".

Cheers

Hi Penguin,

Welcome to the forums.

If I understand you correctly, you have a hard time just letting things be as they are.
If I were you, I would certainly do formal practices every day. You cannot 'do it' with being in the moment sometimes, alone.
It is more the other way around, the formal practice is your base, and makes it easier to be really aware throughout the day.

Have you done the 8-week course?

Hi and thanks for reply, I keep seeing people talking about the 8 week practice, where is it?

I've read so many books and used apps and so on - I find it hard to do sit down practices as I fall asleep really easily, so that's why I've tried to do it from a daily activity angle instead. The Eckhard Tolle methods seems to summarise it as a "stoppage of thought" in some aspects, but also, promotes the watching of thoughts - which is where the conflict is arrising.

Cheers

Hi penguin,
Tolle isn't a mindfulness writer/teacher per se. For straight mindfulness teaching, the books of Jon Kabat-Zinn, Mark Williams, Danny Penman and Ed Halliwell are recommended.
If there are no teachers running courses in your area, you might want to follow the 8-week course by book. Finding Peace In A Frantic World by Williams & Penman is the one I usually recommend.
Let us know how you get along.
All good things,
Jon, Hove

A lot of people here have done the 8-week course following this book (and cd):
Mindfulness: An Eight Week Plan for Finding Peace in a Frantic World

I recommend that you give that a try. I don't think that Eckhard Tolle's book is a very good place to start, really.

I think the general consensus here is that you really HAVE to do formal practices. That's my experience for sure.
If you fall asleep, which is very normal, you can do it at a time when you aren't so sleepy or you do it sitting up (without back support), or you keep your eyes open.

EDIT: When I wrote this, Jons advice wasn't on the forums yet (so it might be redundant)

"I think the general consensus here is that you really HAVE to do formal practices."

The thing I've observed on 8-week courses, both as participant and facilitator is that it's not unusual for people to convince themselves they can "get" mindfulness without meditating regularly. Without formal meditation, it becomes a heap of concepts. The time on the cushion or bench is the practice. The rest of the day is the meditation. Without the practice, it becomes another thing that we need to remember to do, rather than something that is embodied in our daily life.
Not for nothing is mindfulness defined as a meditation-based practice.
As Kabat-Zinn says, you don't need to enjoy the meditation - you just need to do it.
Jon, Hove

I totally agree with Jon, and I really like the way he described it.

Thanks everyone I'll have a look at the 8 week course.

Cheers

For me at least, true integration into daily life only came after a good period of consistent meditation.

I didn't start my practice big either. I just started out at five minutes per day and added a minute whenever I felt ready, finally arriving at 30 minutes meditation per day, which is where I've been for the last three years. Most mindfulness courses don't do it this way; I don't know where I stand on the subject, really.