Walking

[shackman]

I'm on a five week course run for the local health authority. This week (2) we're practising walking mindfulness.
If, as I walk, my mind wanders to, say, a beautiful bird in flight, or a river running etc, is that a "permissible" thought - in other words, while I know it is neither right nor wrong, must I recentre myself to continue meditation properly?

[GianKarlo]

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[FeeHutch]

I really don't buy into the idea of 'permissible' thoughts at all.

If you are noticing that beautiful bird in flight you are in the moment. Noticing this sort of thing is exactly what mindfulness gifted to me

[Gareth]

I think Fee has it spot on here. Don't get hung up on which thoughts are allowed and which are not. To a large extent, your thinking is beyond your control.

As Fee says, watching a bird fly by is being mindful.

Mindfulness is about recognising when our mind is not in the present moment and escorting it back without judgement when it suits us.

[rara]

Depends what you're training for.

If a bird flies over your head and you get distracted then fall in the pond, then maybe you should be more careful.

But mind-wandering can also be a gift if used to contemplate and maybe the scenery is so beautiful it puts you in a good mood!

[Steve]

To me it depends on what your intention is. If your intention is to use the bodily sensations of walking as the focus of your meditation then, if your mind goes off somewhere else, eg noticing birdsong, you gently bring it back to the walking.

You can also use sounds (all sounds or something more specific such as birdsong) as the focus of your meditation. I like this one as birdsong is one of my favourite things to be aware of in the present moment.

But you can also choose to open your awareness to whatever you encounter in nature, the wind, the birdsong, the temperature clouds, trees, grasses etc etc. This is also great.

The challenge I find is choosing what is to be my focus and then sticking to it and not flitting from one to the other (so it turns into an open awareness one), especially as the latter can be very enjoyable.

For me, I prefer to do most of my 'formal' practice in sitting meditation and more informal practice when outside (eg walking) but variety is also the spice of life.

Steve

[JonW]

"If a bird flies over your head and you get distracted then fall in the pond, then maybe you should be more careful."
Then again, falling into a pond could be a beautiful moment. One of the best nights of my life ended with me falling into a pond. But that's another story.

[FeeHutch]

And one that I want to hear Jon!

Steve, I agree with finding formal sitting practice and outside more informal practice the combination that works best for me too.