While preparing the readings for the self-organised silent retreat in which I participated last week, I came across a lecture by Maitreyabandhu on Mindfulness of Reality (link to video on YouTube). I found it a very open and inspiring talk about bringing mindfulness beyond our meditations in the busyness of an everyday context.
Personally, I’ve been looking for ways to be more aware of my experiences throughout the day. During the retreat, I already experimented a bit with a particular form of meditation that emphasizes our visual field and found its effects quite encouraging.
However, before I left, I also (somewhat impulsively I must admit) ordered Maitreyabandhu’s book: Life With Full Attention.
The book promises an 8-week course to further cultivate your awareness of everyday life. Building up gradually the breadth of attentive objects, the book contains assignments, reflections and tips that each help you to remember to be mindful—and track your progress in the ability of doing so.
Often, at least in the realm of meditation, the focus is primarily on observing our inner world. And while I definitely think this is a worthwhile endeavor, I feel that the real fulfillment comes from what we experience through our place in the outside world.
As such, I decided to give the course a shot.
Part of the exercises and reflections will involve journaling and meditation. Since I have been doing both on-and-off, I hope the course will help me further integrate them in my daily routine. Luckily, apart from these two elements, the course doesn’t have any ‘extra’ demands in terms of time. It is all about doing what you do, but with increased awareness.
My aims for full attention
In the introduction of the course, the author asks you to set three commitments or aims for the 8-week programme. They should be somewhat measurable, as they will be re-evaluated when the course is completed (or terminated for that matter). My three aims are the following:
- Complete the course by reading the book in its entirety. Never skipping exercises or journal reflections for two or more days in a row.
- Improve my overall score on the Mindful Attention Awareness Scale (MAAS) by 1.5 points. This entails ending at 4.9 points (now, it is 2.9).
- I will share a weekly reflection on my (lack of) progress each week as a bit in my bits & pieces blog.
For those that want to hop along the awareness-wagon: after each bit of reflection I will share, in a nutshell, the aspirations for the upcoming week. Feel free to join and share your weekly thoughts and reflection in response!
