What do you think of mindfulness without meditation?

[tessari]

I love to read/listen to all sort of sources about mindfulness and stumbled on a recent podcast interview with Dr. Ellen Langer, a social psychologist at Harvard who has done a lot of work on mindfulness for 40 years now, known as the "mother of mindfulness." Here is a link to the podcast. http://www.onbeing.org/program/ellen-la ... lness/6332
Here is also a link to her explanation on the accessibility of mindfulness without meditation: http://www.ellenlanger.com/blog/171/the ... or-success
Personally, I don't have a problem with meditating and I have found that it helps me but I am almost never alone and struggle to find time to be alone in a quiet space (I have two toddlers and a husband). The idea of pulling myself into the present moment and cultivating mindfulness through non-meditative practice is very appealing to me.
I would love to hear opinions from others on mindfulness without meditation...

[FeeHutch]

I think right now I am cultivating my practice with little formal sitting practice right now. A combination of illness and circumstances have meant sitting comfortably for any length of time and not falling asleep is a challenge. I find being in the moment many times during the day just as relevant to my practice as when I do manage longer regular time on the mat.
If the essence of mindfulness is being present in the moment then that is true regardless of where that moment is taking place

[JonW]

"I would love to hear opinions from others on mindfulness without meditation…"

Only my opinion but mindfulness without meditation would reduce mindfulness to a mere bundle of concepts. Mindfulness is a meditation-based practice. I can't see there's any getting around that. Remove the meditation and there is no basis.
Like Fee, I find being in the moment many times during the day just as relevant to my practice as when I do manage longer regular time on the mat. But time on the mat (or, in my case, the bench) IS the practice, whether I manage 15 minutes a day or 45.
Whenever I meet people through my meet-up group etc. and they tell me that they used to be fairly mindful but no longer, almost every time the reason is because they have stopped meditating. When they stop meditating, they stop practicing and, to their amazement, they revert to spending much of their time on auto-pilot.
I note that there's an increasing number of books being published that claim to be mindfulness books but barely mention meditation - I've read some that don't mention meditation at all. In my view, they're more like self-help books than mindfulness books. And, as we know, mindfulness has nothing to do with "self-help" as it's popularly known.
Mindfulness without meditation is a little like convincing yourself you're swimming when you're stretched out on an ironing board in your kitchen, moving your arms up and down. It looks a little like swimming but moving about on a wooden board doesn't prepare you for for the experience of swimming in water. In meditation, we're returning to where we already are. We're slowing down awareness enough to notice where we are. Meditation is the sharpening of that awareness. It's the means AND the end.
That's only my opinion. I'd love to hear what others think about this.
Cheers,
Jon

[Gareth]

Only my opinion but mindfulness without meditation would reduce mindfulness to a mere bundle of concepts.

Totally with Jon on that one.

[Candour]

For me the essence of mindfulness is being present and cultivating the skill of coming back to the present moment.
A person can go through the day informally practicing mindfulness, constantly coming back to the present moment and what they are doing in the here and now and that would be mindfulness.
The thing is mindfulness is a slippery concept that can be hard to grasp, meditation is a great way to come to an understanding what it is.
Meditation is like mindfulness bootcamp it really gets the ball rolling and gives the practitioner an anchor of mindfulness, without it a new practitioner could easily fumble around in default mode without really being present and think they are being mindful.

[JonW]

"Meditation is like mindfulness bootcamp it really gets the ball rolling and gives the practitioner an anchor of mindfulness."

That's very well put.
Meditation is the ballast. Remove it and you have a rudderless boat.
Jon

[techformindfulness]

This is a great discussion, since to me it points out how “mindfulness” means different things to different people. On http://www.technologyformindfulness.com we are hosting a series of postings on “What Mindfulness Means to Me,” which readers of this forum might find interesting. In this series, different people are describing their own personal view of mindfulness from a wide range of perspectives.

I think there are many paths to mindfulness other than, or in addition to, meditation. My own personal experience is with studying Japanese martial arts for several decades. These arts are heavily influenced by Zen Buddhism and, if taught by the right teacher and received properly, can help to cultivate mindfulness. Martial arts practice shares many of the components of meditation practice, such as being present in the moment with your direct experience, learning to respond rather than to react, and being aware of the current state of your mind, body, and spirit without judgment.

At the higher levels (again, if taught by the right teacher and received properly), martial arts practice can help one to learn how to harmonize with others. Although from the outside it might look like martial arts practice teaches violence, and it might be true that at the beginner and intermediate levels a martial arts practitioner’s tools primarily involve the use of physical force, at higher levels it all comes full circle and the practice focuses on harmonizing with others, no longer seeing them as an “opponent,” resolving conflicts without violence, and even helping the “opponent” to move forward on the path to enlightenment.

I think martial arts practice often is not recognized in this way because it is often taught as a sport or a set of combat techniques, and is often received this way even if it is taught for higher purposes. This is unfortunate. I think it is also often misunderstood because certain martial arts traditions teach mindfulness from the outside in, by primarily training the body first and then focusing inward. One of my teachers likes to say, “The mind follows the body.” Again, this is just one path, but it is one that I have found very useful for myself. It is quite different from the meditation approach, as I understand it, on which the path travels primarily from the inside out.

One excellent reference on the complex relationship between Buddhism and martial arts is, “When Buddhists Attack: The Curious Relationship Between Zen and the Martial Arts,” by Jeffrey K. Mann.

If anyone would like to contribute to the blog series we have on "What Mindfulness Means to Me" feel free to get in touch

[JonW]

Fascinating post, techformindfulness. Thank you. I will check those links out.
Cheers,
Jon

[Tilleulais]

The concept of not having the time to meditate is the antithesis of the Mindful State. I also find on certain days that I don't have time, and I substitute little pieces of the day in mindfulness as some small compensation. At the end of these days, I am less well than if I had taken the time to meditate. We seem to be able to find the time to anaesthetise ourselves with TV, food or alcohol, and it is more a matter of priority than actual time. Mindfulness should be our number one priority, because from it springs the means to deal with everything else in a better way, including the quality of time we spend with our loved ones. It is better to meditate for 20 minutes than not at all, but we deserve better in each day.

[Gareth]

Mindfulness should be our number one priority, because from it springs the means to deal with everything else in a better way, including the quality of time we spend with our loved ones.

Amen.