The present moment

[DJLSFC]

The more I think about it now, for my own personal progress, I`m starting to think mindful living should be the aim, and practicing that should be a priority over formal meditations. As you both mention though, I think its still important to keep on with daily sitting or lying practices, which I enjoy anyway, just maybe shift my focus towards informal. I`ll have think some more !

Cheers, Dave

[Matt Y]

A recent study suggests that mindfulness 'practice' is an important component for developing mindfulness in daily life: http://www.forbes.com/sites/alicegwalto ... 18216825cb

[DJLSFC]

Thanks Matt, do you have any thoughts or knowledge around the mechanism behind the brain measurements the article mentions? What particular area of the brain etc.

Its interesting and encouraging that one 18 minute practice can have an instant effect on the brain.

[Matt Y]

Hi Dave,

I'm heading to the airport in a few minutes and will be away on retreat for a week; so will get back to you upon my return.

[JonW]

"If the practitioner has not yet realise the precise nature of reality, living in the present moment is useless."

I appreciate that English may not be your first language. Would you care to elaborate on this grand, sweeping statement?
Thank you.
Jon

[Matt Y]

Hi Dave,

Here's that follow up to your question from Oct 6.
The short answer is no.
As far as I can tell, studies on mindfulness are pretty sketchy, despite all the hype around neuroscience. There are simply too many factors to account for, and too many regions of the brain that scientists only have a vague understanding of.
That 'science' can validate some of the effects of meditation is intriguing, but I figure most meditators know for themselves that there are benefits.

[DJLSFC]

Thanks Matt, hope you enjoyed the retreat.

[japa.guru]

Thanks Matt, it just seems to me now that there is more to being present than just breathing.

Could it, maybe, be the end result of why you practice formal meditations? If you get to a point where this becomes second nature to you in daily life, do we need to carry on with formal practices. I'm not trying to say I`m anywhere close to having this is second nature, I`m just curious if its a direction one could follow.

Dave.

For me, I felt quite 'liberated' I supposed is a good word when I realised that every moment in life is an opportunity for present moment awareness. Since, it has been a steady progression - increasing my awareness on a daily basis and the benefits are great.

But as pointed out above - sitting is still very important. I find that my awareness suffers when my usual practice is disrupted.

[DJLSFC]

Yes japa.guru, have been away from the forum for a while but in that time I have been able to greatly increase the amount of time during the day that I remain in awareness and I still practice sitting of course. I found that even when I was sitting for quite long practices it still didn't bring awareness to my daily life but I set a timer on my laptop to chime every 10 minutes to start with and I flagged certain daily activities as informal practices, and this has worked really well.

You are right it is liberating !!

Cheers, Dave.