A couple of questions

[tmdjad]

Hi all,

I'm just about to complete "Mindfulness: A practical guide to finding peace in a frantic world" for the second time in a year.

I seem to struggle after the 8 weeks with what to do next. I'm looking for a practise I can do every day that incorporates everything I've learned in the course - but the guidance seems to simply suggest interchanging the different practices (I don't really want to do that, I'd prefer to do the same practice every day)

Any suggestions?

My other question relates to posture. Does it really matter that I sit up correctly when meditation, or can it be done on any chair?

Thanks!

[JonW]

Hi tmdjad,
Welcome to the forum.
Regards posture, I wouldn't give it too much thought. Sitting in a chair is perfectly fine. Feet flat on floor, back straight but not stiff, head comfortably balanced on neck.
As for the question about which meditations to do after the 8 week course, that's a difficult question to answer as it largely depends on the individual.
The one that probably best fits your bill is choiceness awareness meditation which, if memory serves, features in one of the later weeks of FPIAFW.
Cheers,
Jon

[tmdjad]

Thanks Jon!

I'll look into that - not come across choiceness awareness in the course but I'm sure I can find it on an App or something.

Out of curiosity, what does your daily practise look like?

[JonW]

Hi tmdjad,
Here's a pretty good 'choiceness awareness' meditation from YouTube. Quite a few on that site.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0JTQYeRh9qI
On reflection, I think it's Jon Kabat-Zinn rather than Williams/Penman who introduce choiceness awareness to their course book.
My daily sit is a 20 minute choiceness awareness meditation (unguided). Throughout the week I will also chuck in a few body scans, a little mindful movement, quite a bit of walking meditation. I'll also meditate to ambient music from time to time. I also attend group sittings.
I find it useful to keep myself plugged in in other ways. I do a great deal of reading about meditation and other satellite subjects. I run a meet-up group. I teach. So, pretty much everything I do these days is tied up one way or another with mindfulness.
That seems to work just fine for me.
All best wishes,
Jon

[tmdjad]

Thanks again Jon.

I tried this out last night - it's very different from what I've been learning. Made me question whether I really get mindfulness meditation. I get that Mindfulness is about being present, in the moment but these seems more like mind-wandering practice, which is something I'm trying to get away from (as someone who suffers from compulsive, intrusive thoughts).

Maybe I'm mis-understanding the Choiceless Awareness practice? What does it garner? Will it still help me to keep my attention and concentration?

Thanks!

[JonW]

Hi tmdjad,
In the choiceless awareness meditation, we are invited to let go of the idea of directing attention to one particular anchor such as breath, body or sound. Instead, attention becomes more open and expansive, effectively going wherever it is drawn. Meanwhile, we maintain our awareness in the present moment. We are invited to simply attend to whatever arises in the sphere of our experience as it arises and passes away, comes and goes, appears and disappears - without holding to anything.
If we get lost, we simply return to a familiar object of awareness, such as the breath, to bring us back to the present moment.
I hope this helps.
All best,
Jon