The Little Book of Mindfulness 1

The Little Book
of Mindfulness
By Matt Valentine
Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION
PART 1: WHAT IS MINDFULNESS?
THE ORIGINS OF MINDFULNESS

MINDFULNESS IS
MINDFULNESS ISNT
FINDING PEACE WITHIN
AWAKENING TO YOUR TRUE NATURE
PART 2: PRACTICING MINDFULNESS
9
14
24
33
43
50
MINDFUL SITTING
MINDFUL WALKING
MINDFUL BREATHING
MINDFUL LIVING
51
59
63
69
PART 3: DEVELOPING MINDFULNESS
77
OVERCOMING OLD HABITS

TIPS AND TRICKS FOR BEGINNING WITH MINDFULNESS
TOOLS OF MINDFULNESS
START YOUR ADVENTURE
78
81
92
105
GLOSSARY OF FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
107
THANK YOU
116
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
118
MORE FROM MATT VALENTINE

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Wakefulness is the way to life.

The fool sleeps
As if he were already dead,
But the master is awake
And he lives forever.
He watches.
He is clear.
How happy he is!
For he sees that wakefulness is life.
How happy he is,
Following the path of the awakened.
The Buddha
The Little Book of Mindfulness
Introduction
Its difficult to fully capture the essence of mindfulness in
words. On one end, you could describe it as a specific type of
paying attention to the present moment. Sounds simple enough,
but that definition doesnt describe the whole of what mindfulness
is. On the other end, you could say mindfulness is like having an
aura of light which emanates from you. A light which peels back
the layers of your perception and allows you to experience reality
in its true form, filled with absolute peace, joy, and true freedom.
That one does a good job of describing the purpose of mindfulness,
but even it doesnt fully capture the essence mindfulness
completely. And if that second one sounded a bit deep, thats
because it was. Mindfulness, along with its partner concentration,
is the very act of looking and living deeply. Mindfulness is itself
the very energy of life itself.
To be mindful is in fact to be truly alive. By truly alive, I mean
a state in which youre completely and absolutely awake to this
very moment of your life. Without mindfulness, we float through
life only half awake, not fully aware of whats happening around
or inside of us. This starves us of much of the joy in life. But I dont
just mean that if youre walking down the street you wont notice
the flowers in someones garden as you pass by. I mean that even
if you see a flower you wont really be able to see the true flower.
The true flower is itself a flower. You can see, smell, and touch it.
You know its there and you know its a flower. But at the same
time the true flower isnt a flower at all. To see the true flower
means to see that the flower is made up of all non-flower elements.
The sun, the rain, the soil, the various elements in the soil, and the
gardener who watered the flower. If you were to return even one
of these elements to their source the flower would cease to exist.
And the same can be said of you.
To see the true flower, and to know that youre intrinsically
connected to it and everything else around you, is to experience a
deep sense of peace and joy. This is what it means to live deeply
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with mindfulness. By living deeply with mindfulness we can touch

the ground of our being. But this isnt some esoteric philosophical
concept. Theres no intellectual explanations, no theories, and no
guesswork with mindfulness. Mindfulness isnt about beliefs. Its
about what is. Its about discovering your true nature. By living
deeply in this moment you can touch the ground of your being and
experience true peace and happiness.
I was first introduced to mindfulness through a book. It was
a beautiful book and I learned so much about mindfulness from it
that still to this day I come back to learn from it. But it never
provided an adequate enough explanation of what mindfulness
was. In fact, nothing really captured the full extent of the power
and practice of mindfulness. Its because of this that I wasted a lot
of time in the beginning stages of my own mindfulness practice. I
absorbed as much information as possible, practiced to the best of
my ability, and still didnt seem to get things right. It took some
time before I really understood what mindfulness was and how to
practice it correctly. Its because of both the incredible impact that
mindfulness has had on my own life and because of what I went
through to properly learn mindfulness that I felt compelled to
write about what I had learned and provide a resource that others
could use that would make learning about and adopting the
practice of mindfulness clear and straightforward.
The Little Book of Mindfulness is about teaching you what
mindfulness is, why mindfulness is important, how to practice
mindfulness, and how to develop mindfulness as a habit in simple
and clear language. Mindfulness has been practiced for some
2,500 years by the Buddha and his long lineage of disciples, as well
as many other spiritual traditions (whether they call it
mindfulness or not). It isnt the only key to spiritual awakening or
even just a healthy personal practice. But it is one of, if not the,
most important pieces of a nourishing and healing spiritual
practice which leads to true peace and happiness. I hope to present
this great gift, a gift which was given to me in much the same
manner, in the best way possible. To receive the gift of
mindfulness is to receive the key which can change your entire life.
I hope youll accept this gift. In reality, its not mine to give. Its
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already yours. Youve had it all your life and you just didnt know
it. Realize the incredible gift that this moment is.
How to Use The Little Book of

Mindfulness
My primary goal in writing The Little Book of Mindfulness
was to provide a convenient resource which broke down
mindfulness in a way that made it crystal clear to understand,
super easy to learn, and straightforward to apply as a new positive
habit for anyone whether that person had prior knowledge or
experience with mindfulness or not. The Little Book of
Mindfulness is separated based on the three major aspects of
adopting mindfulness as a daily practice: learning what
mindfulness is, learning how to practice mindfulness, and
learning how to bring mindfulness into your everyday life as a
daily practice which nourishes your mind and body.
Part 1 is titled What is Mindfulness? It covers, you guessed
it, what mindfulness is along with a thorough explanation of its
inner workings and the major benefits or reasons why someone
should make mindfulness a part of their lives. Part 2 is titled
Practicing Mindfulness and it covers the major mindfulness
practices such as mindful sitting, mindful walking, mindful
breathing, as well as a chapter on a number of common areas
where the average person can practice mindfulness. Part 3 is titled
Developing Mindfulness and its all about developing mindfulness
as a daily practice. This section is very important. Without Part 3
it would be easy to finish the book and then throw it to the
wayside. The purpose of this book isnt to provide a bunch of
information and then let you loose without any direction or
guidance. If you follow the suggestions in Part 3 youll have a
whole array of techniques which you can use to immediately begin
applying mindfulness as a part of your daily life.
And so its for this reason that I felt a simple introduction
wouldnt suffice. This short section is about how to make the most
of The Little Book of Mindfulness. So theres a few key points that
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Id like to cover. Below is a small list of points you should keep in

mind when reading. By keeping these points in mind youll
enhance your reading experience and make the most of the
information provided. Dont just read this book and think youll
know how to practice mindfulness all of a sudden. It takes actual
practice and some patience. But by following the tips that follow
youll ensure you cultivate an environment conducive to
developing mindfulness.
1. Read with mindfulness

I want you to strive to read as much of this book in
mindfulness as possible. Let this book be not just a book, but a
place to begin developing your practice of mindfulness. Let it also
be a lesson that you can practice mindfulness anywhere and at any
time. That is, if you remember, which can be difficult with how
much the average person keeps on their plate. But Im getting
ahead of myself, well have a chapter for tackling that later. Now,
you might be thinking, But I dont know how to practice
mindfulness, how am I supposed to read this book in
mindfulness? Dont worry, well go over that in the next chapter.
So for now, youll have to wait. Keep these tips in mind though: In
order to read this book in mindfulness, particularly if youre just
beginning your practice, youll want to minimize distractions
before you read. This includes distractions from within. Empty
your mind (as much as possible) before reading. If theres
something youre worried about or are having a hard time getting
out of your head, imagine yourself gently placing it aside and tell
yourself its OK to bring it back once youre done reading. Put
100% of your focus onto reading the book. Read the book with all
of your being. During this time, as with anytime you practice
mindfulness, nothing else matters more than what youre doing in
that moment. In this case, nothing matters more than the act of
reading. Be fully present for every single word. If your thoughts
stray, acknowledge the thought and come back to the book. By
reading the book in this way you open your mind fully to the
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information in this book. This can do a number of beautiful things,

such as improve your ability to absorb the content and make
reading more enjoyable. Not to mention, you begin practicing
mindfulness for yourself. Dont worry about knowing everything
about mindfulness right now, whats important is that you make
the effort.
2. Take your time

Take your time and really enjoy every page with all of your
being. This book isnt meant to be raced through. To increase your
chances of absorbing the information and really using it to apply
positive change to your life you need to take your time and let
certain pieces of information sit in your consciousness so to
speak. After reading the chapter on Awakening to Your True
Nature, for instance, you might want to take a day off and
contemplate on the material. At this point, youll have been
introduced to mindfulness and know what its all about so you
should be able to also start practicing mindfulness in your
everyday life in between reading sessions.
And if youre thinking it might take a while to read this entire
book in mindfulness, erase such thoughts right now. Reading is a
chance to learn something new which can positively affect your
life, dont pass up that chance by trying to rush through the book
just for the satisfaction of being able to tell yourself I read a new
book! Really take your time and absorb the information
presented. Mindfulness can completely change your life. Dont
pass up the opportunity.
3. Take action
If you want to really take everything you can from reading
The Little Book of Mindfulness, you cant just read the book.
Reading the book itself in mindfulness is a great start, but you also
need to put whats talked about throughout the book into practice
in your daily life. You need to take action.
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Mindfulness works like anything else in life. That is, its an

action which has a certain amount of energy associated with it.
This energy is all around us and in everything. And it pulls us in
the direction were accustomed to moving in unless we make it a
point to redirect this energy. Ill explain this energy in more detail
later, for now just know that it takes work to develop mindfulness
as a regular part of your life. But its infinitely worthwhile to do so,
as Ill explain in Part 1. Be patient and dont expect to get it right
from the start. Make it a point to be nonjudgmental about your
practice. That is, be aware of how youre behaving and whats
occurring within your practice. But, dont judge yourself
negatively no matter what happens. Go an entire day and forget to
practice? Thats OK, I had many days like that at the beginning.
Youll get through it. Dont judge yourself or get discouraged, just
keep moving forward one step at a time. I didnt have anyone to
talk to on a daily basis or anyone teaching me personally in a
monastery. I had to develop the habit essentially on my own. In
Part 3 Ill show you the techniques which I used to establish the
practice of mindfulness in my daily life.
Youre now ready to venture into the world of mindfulness

and discover what it means to be truly alive. I wanted to end by
taking a second to say thanks for reading. I put my all into writing
The Little Book of Mindfulness, so its filled to the brim with
valuable information. I originally planned for this book to be
somewhere around fifty pages. But the little book of mindfulness
turned out to be a bit larger than I originally thought (nearly triple
that, as youll see). Its filled with valuable information, the same
information that transformed my life in so many ways. If it in
some way brings some sort of positive change to your own life then
Id love to hear from you (well connect again at the end of the
book, where Ill show you how).
Peace,
Matt
Part 1: What is
Mindfulness?
The Origins of Mindfulness
~~~
The Buddha, also sometimes referred to as Shakyamuni or
Guatama Buddha, was born Siddhrtha Gautama. Siddhrtha was
born and lived some 2,400-2,600 years ago, likely between 500
and 400 BCE, in either what is now modern day India or Nepal.
At the age of 29, Siddhrtha set out on a spiritual journey. He
wanted to find a way to alleviate his suffering as well as the
suffering of others. And ultimately, to find the true path to peace
and happiness. Six years later, at the age of 35, Siddhrtha is said
to have sat at the foot of the now famous Bodhi tree and achieved
complete awakening (or enlightenment, in many English
translations). For forty five years after his great awakening,
Siddhrtha Gautama, now the Buddha, travelled around ancient
India and Nepal spreading his teachings. And among those
teachings was mindfulness.
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When the Buddha was asked, "Sir, what do you and your
monks practice?" he responded with, "We sit, we walk, and we
eat." The man then asked, "But sir, everyone sits, walks, and eats."
The Buddha replied, "When we sit, we know we are sitting. When
we walk, we know we are walking. When we eat, we know we are
eating." This was the Buddha's practice. But what exactly did he
mean? The Buddha was referring to living fully in the present
moment with mindfulness. Living in a way that were fully awake
to the present moment. To the Buddha, mindfulness was a matter
of life or death. But not life or death in a literal sense. Rather, to
do something in mindfulness is to become truly alive in that
moment. The Buddha didnt discover mindfulness, he simply
showed us how to use it to its full potential. Like a great lighthouse
which illuminates the dark ocean, the Buddha showed us how to
shine mindfulness like a light on ourselves and the world around
us in order to unveil and break down the many roadblocks
between us and true peace and happiness.
Mindfulness is often described in the West as, having
origins in ancient meditative practices or something to that
degree, and that a non-secular version of mindfulness has been
adapted for professional use. Theres nothing necessarily wrong
with saying the origins of mindfulness are in ancient meditative or
spiritual practices. This is a true statement. But by not fully
recognizing or understanding where mindfulness came from it
will be very difficult, if not impossible, to realize its full potential.
Also, mindfulness is often misunderstood by some in the
West as having an updated or modernized version of itself. But
nothing, nor anyone, has ever changed what mindfulness is or how
it functions. This misunderstanding likely stems from the Wests
general misunderstanding of the dharmic traditions as a whole. By
dharmic I mean all those spiritual traditions which arose in and
around ancient India- Buddhism, Hinduism, Yoga, and the lesser
known Jainism. Mindfulness isnt inherently eastern, western,
Buddhist, religious, or anything else. Mindfulness has no labels.
Even mindfulness is just the word we use to describe it, it isnt
mindfulness at all. Mindfulness is beyond language. Its a
powerful and unchanging ability which we all possess the
potential to express. Understanding this is important. But its
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equally important to understand the origins of mindfulness in our

world. When was it first used? Why was it used? How has that
evolved?
Mindfulness is the English translation of the Sanskrit word
smrti (sati in Pali) which translates literally as memory.
Brahmans of the Vedic faith in ancient India are thought to have
used this complete presence of mind to recall huge bodies of text
due to the fact that nothing was written down at the time. The
Vedic faith, a precursor to modern Hinduism, is believed to have
existed from 1750 to 500 B.C.E., which places its end point (500
B.C.E.) somewhere in or around the Buddhas life. But that wasnt
all the Buddha adopted from the ancient Brahman tradition. The
four immeasurable minds of love, compassion, equanimity, and
joy are considered by many to be one of the highest teachings of
Buddhism, which the Buddha adopted from the Vedic spiritual
tradition. The Buddha was something of a scientist. Through
diligent practice he saw the glimmers of truth that existed in each
spiritual tradition of his time and sifted those truths out to form
what would later be called Buddhism. This was based strictly on
direct experience, as opposed to mere belief or superstition. Its
probably for this very reason that the Buddha is said to have been
able to speak skillfully to people from the language of their own
tradition.
The Buddha adopted mindfulness in his own practice and
teaching, and used it to refer to both memory as well as
presence of mind. This was the birth of the mindfulness we know
today. All of Buddhist scripture refers to mindfulness in this way.
Like a great lighthouse which illuminates the dark
ocean, the Buddha showed us how to shine mindfulness
like a light on ourselves and the world around us in
order to unveil and break down the many roadblocks
between us and true peace and happiness.
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West Meets East

Fast-forward some 2,500 years and you arrive at the modern
mindfulness movement in the West. Mindfulness began
spreading throughout the United States about a quarter century
ago, but it wasnt until the last decade that it really started picking
up steam. And now, as of writing this, its exploded in popularity
all across the United States. Mindfulness has now expanded to
Wall Street, Silicon Valley, major medical centers, hospitals,
countless companies, and even many classrooms throughout the
United States. Entire magazines, blogs, and of course, books,
devoted to mindfulness have arisen from this as well. And it
continues to spread by the day. If you had to pinpoint what caused
mindfulness to spread throughout the West in recent decades, it
would be because of Thich Nhat Hanh, Jon Kabat-Zinn, and the
scientific research on mindfulness.
It all started with a Vietnamese Zen master, writer, and
peace activist by the name of Thich Nhat Hanh.
Thich Nhat Hanh has traveled the world, including the US, for
decades spreading Buddhist wisdom, such as mindfulness, and
advocating peace. After many years of experience with
mindfulness and meditation as well as participating in retreats led
by Thich Nhat Hanh, Jon Kabat-Zinn, an American doctor,
created the Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction program
(MBSR), an eight-week course meant to treat a wide range
of conditions (particularly stress) through the use of mindfulness.
That was in 1979, and since then the MBSR program has spread
throughout the United States and made mindfulness the target
of literally hundreds of scientific studies.
But its the exceptional results of these scientific studies that
are what have really convinced so many professional
institutions to adopt the practice of mindfulness. In the modern
world, when science gets behind something, people take notice.
And thats just what happened. After the first few studies were
released mindfulness began spreading like wildfire. The only
criticism thats been given of this movement is in the fact that
many are adopting mindfulness as a way to become more
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productive and efficient at their jobs as opposed to the original

purpose of mindfulness as a tool for discovering ones true nature
and becoming happy and at peace. This is undoubtedly misguided,
but something I see us becoming conscious, or mindful, of in the
near future. This is only the beginning of a more conscious
existence for the world at large. Theres no telling just how far and
wide mindfulness and the realization of the importance of living
more consciously will spread. The reason its being adopted by
certain people and institutions may not be completely pure. But
one thing is for certain: by living with mindfulness well be guided
towards a happier, more peaceful, and overall better existence for
ourselves and for those around us. It just might take us a while to
realize that this is really what were searching for.
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Mindfulness is
What exactly is mindfulness? In a nutshell, mindfulness can
be defined as the complete and nonjudgmental awareness
of the present moment. Its also been defined as the moment
to moment awareness of present events. In fact, its been defined
dozens, if not hundreds, of times and most of those definitions
suffice. Theres no one agreed upon way of defining mindfulness.
This is because mindfulness is a state of being beyond words or
concepts. One must practice mindfulness in order to truly
understand what mindfulness is. As I mentioned in the last
chapter, the origin of the word mindfulness is in the Pali word
sati, and its Sanskrit counterpart smrti, which both literally
mean memory. But perhaps more precisely they represent
presence of mind or attentiveness to the present. This is what
the Buddha was referring to when he said, "When we sit, we know
we are sitting. When we walk, we know we are walking. When we
eat, we know we are eating." He meant that when he and his
disciples sat, walked, or ate they were fully present for the act of
sitting, walking, or eating.
Even when becoming lost in thought, while practicing
mindfulness the practitioner is fully aware that they just became
lost in a particular thought and are mindful of the thought itself.
This is because mindfulness isnt just mindfulness of an object in
the present moment such as ones breath, steps, or food. Its also
mindfulness of anything which might arise in the present moment
while concentrating on an object. In a way, mindfulness is the
observer of change. While concentrating on the object of
meditation, such as ones breath or steps, we become distracted by
thoughts, feelings, and other sensations. These are changes in
the field of mindfulness, the area which mindfulness observes. In
this way think of mindfulness as a motion detector. If nothing
moves, if nothing changes, then nothing is detected. Mindfulness
is still there observing, just as the motion detector which detects
no motion is still there observing its area of detection, but until a
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thought, feeling, or some other sensation arises the practitioner

just continues to concentrate on the object of meditation. When
this happens is when the real work begins.
Mindfulness is the complete and nonjudgmental
awareness of the present moment.
Think of mindfulness as a field of attention with a point of
concentration in the center acting as an anchor to the present,
rather than just a pointed concentration on something while
pushing away everything else around you. Imagine a dream
catcher. The idea behind a dream catcher is its supposed to
catch your bad dreams as youre sleeping. Just as a dream
catcher catches your bad dreams, imagine each thought, feeling,
and sensation being caught by your field of mindfulness. Except
in this case, you dont label any thought, feeling, or sensation
either good or bad. While in mindfulness, each thought, feeling,
and sensation that arises automatically enters into this field of
mindfulness and, this is the important part, is gently
acknowledged and accepted as it is. By as it is I mean without
judging it in any way. If this is hard to imagine, dont worry. For
the most part this nonjudgmental awareness happens naturally
when you practice mindfulness correctly. The important thing to
remember for now is that mindfulness is not a rejection of
anything.
Mindfulness is an open acceptance of everything that comes
into your awareness. If youre practicing mindful breathing, dont
reject thoughts that come into your mind just because they
interrupt your mindful breathing. Observing these thoughts,
which are typically unnoticed but always dispersing our awareness
and coloring our perception, is a major part of practicing
mindfulness. So this is perfectly fine. Simply acknowledge the
thought in mindfulness, just as you were doing with your breath,
and then let the thought pass. Then bring your focus back to your
breath. As time goes on your ability to concentrate on one point
for a period of time as well as your ability to detect things with
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your mindfulness will improve. And with it, the quality of your
mindfulness practice will improve as well.
Mindfulness has a number of different qualities. If you
break mindfulness down based on these qualities it becomes much
easier to understand it as a whole. Weve covered the basic
workings of mindfulness so far, but in order to gain a deeper
understanding of mindfulness lets break it down and look at each
quality individually. Theres 6 key aspects of mindfulness which
Ill cover below.
Mindfulness is
1. Mindfulness of something
Mindfulness is always mindfulness of something. Its not
just a conscious directing of your awareness to the present
moment, its a conscious directing of your awareness to something
which is occurring or existing in the present moment. Common
centers of focus are your breath, steps, or some other area or areas
of the body. Concentration, or samadhi in Sanskrit, is a force
which works in tandem with mindfulness. Concentration is
single-pointedness of mind and its just that- the act of focusing
on a single point.
While practicing mindfulness you will be developing your
power of concentration as well as your mindfulness. There is no
separating mindfulness and concentration. Theyre partners on
the path to attaining a tranquil and clear mind. Think of
concentration as the hard force and mindfulness as the soft.
Concentration is exactly what it sounds like, its the forceful act of
focusing on a single point. Imagine your field of mindfulness
enveloping everything within your perception in a soft glow. Next,
imagine a thin line piercing out from your mindfulness directly to
an object. This is your concentration. Mindfulness, on the other
hand, is a sort of soft awareness. Remember the dream catcher?
Mindfulness is the field of awareness which then sees everything
that arises while concentrating on an object. Mindfulness is what
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notices when your concentration lapses and your thoughts stray.

Think of mindfulness as the ultimate, voiceless, and
nonjudgmental observer. It judges nothing. It makes no
distinctions. It simply observes everything that comes into its field
of awareness. Your concentration, the force anchoring your
mindfulness to some object in the present moment (the object of
meditation), is the instrument of mindfulness. Mindfulness
decides where the point of concentration will be. It observes the
anchor point (the point of your concentration), notices when
concentration strays, and where it strays to. This might be difficult
to imagine at first, but for now just know that the act of practicing
mindfulness will feel much like concentrating on an object, such
as your breathing, and then doing your best to notice or
acknowledge when your thoughts stray.
Just being able to acknowledge when your thoughts stray
will take some time. In the beginning, your practice will look and
feel like this: 1) concentrate on your breath, 2) lose concentration,
sometimes aware of the thought or feeling you strayed to, most of
the time not, 3) back to concentrating on your breathing. Thats it.
But after a while youll begin to notice these thoughts and feelings
more often, more clearly, and that will allow you to acknowledge
them with your mindfulness.
2. Mindfulness of something in the

present moment
Moving on from the last point, mindfulness is always
mindfulness of something in the present moment. But it doesnt
have to be something existing in the physical world. As we spoke
about earlier, that can be mindfulness of a thought that arises in
the present moment while concentrating on your breath, body, or
some other object. What mindfulness isnt is reflecting on the past
or thinking about the future. When reflecting on the past or
thinking about the future youre consciously directing your
attention to the past, future, or some altogether imagined place.
Therefore its not something which exists in the present moment.
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Mindfulness is always the observing of what is occurring in the

present moment.
As we go about our daily lives, we often dont notice how our
perception, or mental filters, such as bias affect how we see the
world around us. And we think that what were thinking and
seeing with our eyes are two different things. But they arent. What
we see with our eyes passes through our perception before we even
realize we see the object. Its like we have an internal check point
which weve built up from our life experiences. And this check
point has, over the years, gotten filled with both good and bad
things which color our perception and affect our experiences. In
this way, you and your mindfulness are like the house cleaners
come to clean up this internal check point and empty it of all those
things keeping you from experiencing reality in its true form.
Imagine someone offers you a piece of food which youve
never tried before. This food somewhat resembles, say, Brussels
sprouts (bleh!). As soon as you lay eyes on it you have a negative
sensation. Maybe you get a bad taste in your mouth, your body
cringes a little, and a bad memory of eating Brussels sprouts
flashes into your mind. This new food item could be amazing. You
have no idea if it is or isnt. Youve never actually tried it. But your
perception has already completely colored your experience to the
point where it can even affect how it will taste.
This is an example of how our perception colors everything
around us. Everything you perceive is your mind. You might think
youre observing your breath, a Brussels sprout, or a flower. But
what youre really observing is your perception of those things.
Mindfulness is about observing what is occurring in the present
moment so that you can pierce through your wrong perceptions to
witness reality as it is without any mental filters getting in the way.
This is why mindfulness is mindfulness of something in the
present moment. The point of mindfulness is to experience reality
as it is, allowing you to touch the true peace and joy of each
moment.
3. A conscious decision
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Mindfulness is a purposeful directing of your consciousness

to the present, it doesnt happen on accident. To be fully awake to
the present moment you have to decide I am fully awake to this
moment by directing your consciousness to an object in the
present moment. You decide to be mindful in any given moment.
It doesnt happen by accident.
I mentioned earlier how the point of your concentration, or
object of meditation, works as your anchor point to the present
moment. The starting point for the anchor and the eventual
anchor point is this conscious decision. Think of mindfulness as a
ship and youre the captain. You make the conscious decision to
place the anchor down and where to place it. You then throw the
anchor, your concentration, off the ship. The anchor then hits the
intended anchor point, or object of meditation, where it will rest.
Of course at first this anchor wont be very strong. It will be made
of, say, plastic. Not a very good anchor. But with time it will
develop into a heavy and resilient anchor.
4. Nonjudgmental awareness
All spiritual practice in an overall sense is about finding true
peace and happiness through accomplishing total liberation (or
freedom) from the various factors that hold us back. And so we
become liberated by discovering the truth. That is, by uncovering
all those things which cloud our vision. This is the ultimate
purpose of mindfulness. Its this nonjudgmental awareness that
makes mindfulness so important in finding true peace and
happiness.
Mindfulness accepts everything as it is. As I mentioned
earlier it makes no distinctions, holds no bias, and is completely
separated from all mental filters which distort your perception of
reality. Mindfulness allows you to experience true reality. This is
liberation. And as I also mentioned earlier, if youre not sure how
to do this at first then dont worry. Mindfulness is itself
nonjudgmental. Its helpful to keep this point in mind at times, but
youll find this will happen somewhat naturally. If you sense bias
or get the feeling that youre somehow coloring your perception of
19
something while practicing then this is a good thing. Simply by

noticing this it means youre becoming mindful of your various
mental filters. If this happens, know that youre on the right path.
As always, simply acknowledge it and bring yourself back to your
object of meditation. Its not wrong that you lose your
concentration. Whats wrong is not observing the distraction with
mindfulness.
5. Developed like a muscle

Mindfulness works like a muscle. At the beginning your
energy of mindfulness will be very weak. But over time your
mindfulness will strengthen and youll notice a significant
difference both in your ability to concentrate and in your ability to
see with mindfulness. This is important to know at the beginning
because its at the very beginning stages where things are most
difficult. While trying to establish the practice of mindfulness as a
part of your life youll be constantly fighting old habits. In
Buddhism, this is sometimes called habit energy. Imagine
everything you do carries with it a certain energy. The more you
do something the more energy it develops, and with it, the more
pull it has.
You can develop energy anywhere in your life, in both
positive and negative places. So when starting out dont become
discouraged when youre having a hard time sticking to your
mindfulness practice, such as when you forget to practice for an
entire day altogether. I went through this constantly at first and
its just going to be a battle. Theres no two ways about it. Part 3 is
all about helping you develop mindfulness in your daily life and it
includes some great tips and tricks, all of which Ive used to
develop my own mindfulness practice.
6. Like turning on the HD switch to your life

Most of the time, without us even knowing it, our
consciousness is split in many directions. Its split between
various sensations in the present moment and various thoughts in
20
our mind. When sitting at your computer at work, for instance,

you could be typing up an email, but really, youre typing up the
email while semi-listening to two people talk a few feet away from
you, noticing how cold you are, thinking about that episode of Lost
you watched last night, and thinking about the fact that you feel
like youre gaining some weight. Thats really what the present
moment looks and feels like for most of us: our consciousness,
bouncing constantly from one place to another. As you begin
practicing mindfulness, youll start to observe this very behavior
for yourself. This bouncing around makes us live in a way to where
were only half-awake to anything that occurs around us. Lets call
this life in standard-definition. More on this in a bit.
The last point Id like to cover in this chapter is that its
important for you to know what mindfulness feels like. I can put
as many words as Id like on a page describing how it works, how
to do it, the benefits of doing it, and you could read it all, but if I
dont clearly explain how youll feel while truly being mindful then
you wont have much more than a guess at whether or not youre
really practicing mindfulness properly or not. So what does
mindfulness feel like? In a few wordsit feels like turning on the
HD (High-Definition) switch to your life. By that I mean that the
moment you make the conscious decision Im now fully aware of
what Im doing and whats happening to me in the present
moment you should feel as though youve come alive. As though,
before you made that conscious decision and activated your
mindfulness, you were half-asleep. Youll notice things you never
noticed before and everything around you will be magnified.
Dont expect the feeling to be that intense at first though.
When you first start practicing the feeling will be subtle, which is
all the more reason why one of the first mindfulness practices you
adopt should be mindful sitting (traditionally just called sitting
meditation, which well cover in Part 2). While sitting quietly in
mindfulness youll make the greatest progress towards improving
your concentration and developing your mindfulness, as opposed
to doing a more difficult activity before youve really developed
your skill level. This is because youll have fewer distractions and
will be able to hone in on the feeling I described in the last
chapter better. Once youve developed your mindfulness though it
21
will be highly beneficial to practice mindfulness of more difficult

tasks in order to develop your skill.
One last note. Even if youre just beginning with
mindfulness, while you might not be able to tell exactly what
thoughts arise in your mind, you should still begin noticing these
distractions as they arise. Simply noticing that some sort of
distraction just arose in your mind is the second feeling you should
look out for, even if at first you dont know what the thoughts or
feelings are exactly. Take these two feelings described together
and youll have a much clearer picture of what mindfulness should
feel like. Use the information I described in this point to guide
your practice in the beginning.
Breaking down mindfulness into parts helps us understand
how it works. But we need to make sure not to make the mistake
of actually thinking of mindfulness as a bunch of separate things.
Mindfulness is one thing: a complete and nonjudgmental
awareness of the present moment. Its the conscious act of
bringing ones complete awareness into the present reality, which
allows us to see the world in a way weve never seen it beforebeyond our wrong perceptions (and perception itself),
preconceived notions, deep-seated emotions, and beyond the ego.
Seeing reality in its purest state, filled with a limitless peace, joy,
and freedom.
The moment you make the conscious decision I am

going to be fully aware of what Im doing here and
whats happening to me in the present moment you
should feel as though youve come alive. As though,
before you made that conscious decision and activated
your mindfulness, you were half-asleep.
22
FAQ 1: Whats the difference between

mindfulness and meditation?
_______________
At this point you might be wondering: what exactly is the
difference between mindfulness and meditation? Mindfulness
is itself a form of meditation. One of various forms of
meditation. Which is why, as you might have noticed, the word
meditation has been used in place of, or alongside, mindfulness at
various points in the book thus far. Theres just certain more
traditional ways of referring to different types of mindfulness
practices which can often make things confusing for a beginner.
Mindful sitting is traditionally called sitting meditation,
simply meditation, or more recently mindfulness meditation.
Mindful walking is traditionally called walking meditation, not
mindful walking. Things like this can make it confusing for
someone just starting out, especially someone whos learning on
their own without the guidance of a formal teacher, which is
common in the age of the internet.
So, if mindfulness is a form of meditation, what exactly is
meditation? Meditation covers a pretty broad spectrum of
techniques. But there is a central theme. All meditation has to do
with developing the mind. In a nutshell, meditation is a mental
technique used to develop or maintain the mind. Like
mindfulness, meditation can be defined in a number of ways.
Whats important is just that you get the general idea. Your true
understanding of meditation will come when you actually begin to
meditate.
23
Mindfulness isnt
We live in an age where communication is instantaneous,
whether across the globe or right next door, and just about anyone
with an internet connection can access a limitless amount of
information on any subject thats ever existed. Its a beautiful and
interesting time to be alive. We have the ability to do so many
positive things with this new connected world. But its also
because of this, combined with mindfulness quick adoption in the
West, that quite a few misconceptions about what mindfulness is
have cropped up. People have begun jumping on mindfulness like
a bandwagon, using it as a tool for nothing more than increased
productivity and a little stress reduction. This is greatly limiting
its full capability. On top of this, or perhaps because of this, many
incorrect or dubious explanations of how to practice mindfulness
have cropped up as well.
But theres more to it than just that. Mindfulness itself can
be confusing if not explained clearly and thoroughly (and
ultimately, experienced personally). To the beginner it can sound
like a simple paying attention to something in the present
moment. And that is, in large part, what mindfulness is. But
theres more to it. And if what it is and how to practice it isnt
clearly explained then you can end up wasting an inordinate
amount of time in the beginning. Visual examples, like the ship,
the ships captain and the anchor example in the previous chapter,
can really help one get a basic understanding. But actual practice
also needs to be stressed. Mindfulness isnt a blog post, its an
activity.
In this chapter, I hope to clear up a few important
misconceptions about mindfulness as a whole in order to save you
time and improve the quality of your mindfulness practice right
from the get-go. Here Ill be covering more than just things that
have to do with exact functions of mindfulness, as opposed to the
last chapter, Ill also be covering common misconceptions about
mindfulness as I mentioned above.
24
Mindfulness isnt
1. A tool for productivity
This is a major mistake of the Wests adoption of
mindfulness. There isnt anything necessarily wrong with using
mindfulness in order to be more effective or productive. But the
purpose of the Wests mass adoption of mindfulness has been
almost exclusively as a tool for increased productivity and
effectiveness. This isnt good. Its being used towards our
obsession over productivity, which itself is misguided. Sure, if
everyone starts becoming mindful all day long in order to be more
productive its not the worst thing in the world. But adopting
mindfulness to serve our obsession with productivity would be a
grave misuse of this powerful tool which can completely change
ones life. Mindfulness is to be used to improve your well-being,
not feed your ego. It can calm and quiet the restless mind, help
one obtain complete rest, uncover deep-seated negative emotions
and limiting beliefs and help heal them, erase wrong perceptions
in order to bring a greater sense of peace and happiness to
ourselves and those around us, and ultimately, to take us beyond
all perception to experience our true nature. In the West we need
to discover the practice of right mindfulness. If we can do this,
we can make great use of the growing exposure of this amazing
spiritual tool.
2. Only a form of sitting meditation

In the West, mindfulness is often misunderstood by some as
simply a form of sitting meditation and nothing else. When
someone says they practice mindfulness they likely only practice
it for 15-20 minutes in the morning once a day in the form of
mindful sitting (also called sitting meditation). This is great.
Better than not doing any meditation at all. But mindfulness is far
more than just a form of sitting meditation. Its a meditation
25
technique which can and should be used throughout the day. You
should strive to live each waking moment in mindfulness.
As I spoke about earlier, mindfulness is like life in HD. You
know that feeling when you look at a standard definition television
and then immediately look over at a high definition one?
Mindfulness is like that. You see a whole slew of things throughout
your day that you never noticed before. I dont necessarily mean
you notice beautiful scenery more often though, although this
does happen, I mean that when you turn your mindfulness
switch on you immediately feel different. You feel
completely.alive. Theres really no other way to describe it. Dont
starve your spiritual or personal practice by simply using
mindfulness as a form of sitting meditation. Discover the true
power and beauty of mindfulness by using it during your everyday
life.
3. Simply paying close attention or

strongly focusing
Its difficult at first to fully grasp what mindfulness is. At first
it will probably be difficult to understand just how it differs from
simple paying close attention to or strongly focusing on
something. This is a natural misunderstanding. Remember,
mindfulness is like a soft focus. Its the quiet observer which sits
atop ones concentration observing everything. Concentration is
what creates the vantage point for mindfulness. Without it, there
is no point with which to reliably observe reality.
4. Difficult
By this I mean two things: mindfulness isnt difficult to learn
and mindfulness isnt difficult to practice. First, the act of being
mindful shouldnt feel like youre straining your eyeballs. You
shouldnt feel like youre going to give yourself a headache. The
soft focus example doesnt just serve to explain the function of
mindfulness, it also explains the feeling of being mindful.
26
Mindfulness feels like a soft focus as opposed to a hard one that

hurts your head. You should feel absolutely no strain in your head,
cringing in your face, or tension in your mind. Mindfulness should
feel effortless and be enjoyable. You should look forward to
practicing mindfulness because you know youll feel truly alive
when doing so.
Secondly, its not difficult to learn mindfulness. Theres just
a lot of bad explanations on how to practice it (whether intentional
or not). And to some extent, you just have to get out there and
practice in order to learn. Nowadays, if you type mindfulness
into Google youll get literally millions of results. Everyones
talking about it and, you guessed it, everyone thinks they know
what it is and how to teach it with little experience. Again, it
doesnt take an expert to be able to understand and explain
mindfulness clearly. But many people are just trying to use the
popularity of mindfulness to attract readers or viewers and in
reality know very little about it. Use careful scrutiny in deciding
who to listen to for advice on developing your mindfulness
practice. Youll hear me say this a few times. Thats because its so
important.
5. Religious
Ive seen a lot of particularly academic sources explaining
mindfulness in a way that it was once a technique attached to a
religion or a system of philosophy (Buddhism), but that scientists
have now adapted a non-secular version of it. Dont let this
confuse you. Mindfulness is mindfulness. No one can make it
religious or non-religious or anything else. And anyone who
describes mindfulness in this way has a very limited
understanding of its purpose as well as its origin.
Buddhism in and of itself is about discovering the truth of
this world, including yourself, through your own direct
experience. The Buddha taught his disciples not to follow his
teachings on blind faith. He insisted they closely examine and
scrutinize everything, even his own teachings, in order to discover
their validity. And with it, the truth. And to that end mindfulness
27
is ones master tool. It allows the practitioner to shine a light so

to speak on their lives in order to discover the true nature of
themselves and the world around them. Its like a scientist using a
magnifying glass to view a sample. The scientist views that sample
in order to find something which hasnt yet been noticed and to
ultimately gain a better understanding of whats being viewed and
eventually contribute to improving life in some way with this
knowledge. Mindfulness is your magnifying glass. It allows you to
see things you wouldnt otherwise be able to see without it and
ultimately gain a better understanding of everything around you.
Specifically, from the vantage point of yourself. The wise,
including the Buddha, long ago learned that if you work to
understand the self you inadvertently gain a deeper
understanding of the world around you. Buddhists practice
mindfulness. But Buddhism is simply the practice of discovering
and living true peace and happiness. And mindfulness itself is
simply the practice of being truly alive. Understand that when you
practice mindfulness, you practice the art of living deeply as a
living being. Nothing more is necessary. This can be called
Buddhism and it can be called striving to live life fully in the peace
of the present moment. Theyre one in the same.
6. Only for certain people

Mindfulness isnt something that works for some people and
doesnt for others. Dont look at mindfulness as an activity like
dancing, sports, drawing, or the like. Think of it as a fundamental
activity used to nourish the mind and body like eating, drinking,
exercising, and sleeping. Mindfulness is a universal technique that
anyone and everyone can use to improve the quality of their lives.
Dont limit yourself by holding on to the wrong view that spiritual
practice, in this case mindfulness, is only for certain people. It
doesnt matter whether you really love practicing mindful walking,
mindful drawing, or rather do something else in mindfulness
altogether, the practice of mindfulness is for everyone. Children
and adults, doctors and lawyers, teachers and business men or
women, fathers and mothers, and everyone in between.
28
I bring this up because Ive seen this reason used many times
as an excuse for not pushing through the initial difficulty of
learning to do something, including mindfulness. We often give
up too soon after trying something new and convince ourselves
either that were just not good at it or that it isnt for us. You
wouldnt say that sleeping isnt for you, right? Think of
mindfulness and meditation in the same way. Think of it as a
necessary component for nourishing the mind and body thats
available to everyone.
7. Something you do sometimes

Mindfulness isnt something you do sometimes. It isnt
something you do only when youre feeling particularly stressed or
anxious. Theres a growing misconception that mindfulness is
simply a tool for reducing stress. Stress is a real problem in todays
world. Mindfulness ability to not just reduce but completely
remove stress altogether is of great benefit to a lot of people
especially in fast-paced professional environments. This is really
amazing. But to use mindfulness solely as a tool thats to be used
sometimes when youre feeling stressed is another great misuse of
this incredible tool.
At first, it will be extremely difficult to do more than
meditate once or twice a day and maybe practice some mindful
breathing every few hours for a minute or two. But after a while
though, with the right energy put into your practice, youll develop
the ability to be mindful far more often. During basic activities like
walking to and from your car at work, sweeping the floor, doing
the dishes, and even driving. Its possible to be mindful every
waking hour, and this is exactly what you should strive for.
And dont think you have to do things slower while in
mindfulness. This is another common misconception. Once
youve developed your ability you dont have to do things any
slower than you usually would without mindfulness, so with
practice its very possible to be mindful all day long and get the
same amount done (but in reality, youll be more productive). If
29
you strive to be mindful throughout each day youll obtain the

greatest benefits by far.
When you practice mindfulness, you practice the art of
living deeply as a living being.
FAQ 2: How exactly is slowing down and taking

time to do something completely unrelated to
my work supposed to make me more
productive?
_______________
While productivity isnt the point of mindfulness or life
in general, and before anything this should be realized, as I
mentioned earlier in the chapter theres nothing necessarily
wrong with wanting to be more productive. You just need to
understand that there are times and ways that productivity is
helpful (positive productivity) and other times and ways that its
harmful (negative productivity). If you figure out how you can get
your work done in a third of the time that it used to take you and
that allows you to get home to your kids faster each day, thats
positive productivity. If you decide to start taking your work home
and instead of playing with your son you work at the kitchen table
all night while your son sits and plays by himself, this is negative
productivity.
Another example would be that if you decided to stop
taking your lunch break in order to get an extra half-hour or hour
of work in each day, and consequently never even slightly rest your
mind during your average work day, this would be negative
productivity because it will actually hinder your performance
more than that half-hour or hour of extra work could ever make
up for. But worst of all, by doing so you hurt your overall mental
30
well-being. On the other hand, if you were to decide to take part of

your half-hour or hour lunch each day and practice mindful sitting
for 15-20 minutes, this would be positive productivity. By doing so
youd be giving your mind the best rest it could get in the middle
of a work day by completely taking your mind away from work for
an extended period of time. This will greatly improve your
performance. But best of all, it increases your overall mental wellbeing.
Positive productivity improves the well-being of
yourself and those around you. This can include things that dont
have anything to do with your work but instead make you more
efficient. By taking a break to do something which will make you
sharper, more alert, more optimistic, and/or more energetic you
increase your effectiveness, and therefore productivity, in any
given task tenfold. Negative productivity harms the well-being of
yourself and those around you. Negative productivity often just
makes us feel more productive and either doesnt make us more
productive at all or actually hurts our productivity. If you use these
as your guiding principles towards productivity youre sure to
become maximally productive while simultaneously improving
instead of harming your well-being.
I completely understand the productivity junkie
mentality because I was that guy too. I didnt understand the point
of doing something completely unrelated to my work or how that
could actually make me more productive. I was the epitome of a
productivity junkie. Everything I did that I felt wasnt naturally
productive towards my work I tried to do at the same time as
something that was. When I did work I tried to be as quick as
possible and was constantly looking for ways to squeeze more time
out of each day to get more work done.
It turns out none of those things make you all that more
productive. In fact, they can make you far less productive. But
when you allow your mind to step away for a period of time from
something thats been sitting in your mind and truly rest, youll
notice yourself as being far more creative, effective, and therefore
productive when coming back to it. Its just the way the mind
works, theres nothing more to it. We need rest. Its completely
unhealthy for us to stay on any task for an extended period of time
31
with no rest. A great guiding principle would be to use your

mindfulness itself to keep tabs on the condition of your mind while
working. If youre trying out things that can make you more
productive, but feel your mind becoming stressed as a result of
these things, its probably a good idea to stop doing them.
32
Finding Peace Within

So, now you have a general understanding of what
mindfulness is. But why practice mindfulness? Whats so
important about being mindful? Knowing how mindfulness works
is only part of what constitutes a complete understanding of
mindfulness. In the last few chapters, I covered briefly some of the
reasons why you should practice mindfulness. In this chapter, Ill
expand on what I mentioned there and show you why mindfulness
is the key to finding true peace and happiness.
All spiritual practice can be broken down into obtaining and
maintaining two states: 1) a calm mind, and 2) a clear mind. In
Buddhism, these two states are generally referred to by their
Pali/Sanskrit terms depending on the Buddhist lineage. The first
state, samatha, is a state of tranquility or calmness of mind. And
the second, vipassana, is a state of awakening or clarity of mind.
The first state, samatha, is typically translated as stopping
(referring to the mind). Samatha is the process of stopping,
calming, fully resting, and healing the mind. The growing
popularity of mindfulness as a way to manage ones emotions
and reduce stress comes from the samatha side of the equation.
Samatha, which moving forward Ill refer to as tranquility or
calmness of mind, is the necessary basis for the second stage,
vipassana, which refers to seeing deeply or with clarity. The
English equivalent of vipassana is insight, and its the word
typically associated with vipassana. Insight is wisdom gained
through direct experience, and insight into the true nature of
reality is what vipassana is all about (moving forward Ill refer to
vipassana as insight or clarity of mind). Youre likely familiar with
the concept of learning from experience. You know, the idea
that, say, reading something in a book and knowing it is different
from experiencing it yourself. You might have read ten books on
true love and think you know all about it, but until you actually
experience true love for yourself you dont really know true love.
Thats insight. In the case of spiritual practice though this direct
33
experience is typically a direct experience of the ultimate reality.

This ultimate reality goes by many names: the ultimate or absolute
dimension, the ground of being, or even God, depending on your
interpretation. But well get more into that in the next chapter.
Likewise, the benefits, or purpose, of mindfulness can be
separated based on these two states as well. Which brings us to the
topic of this chapter: the first power of mindfulness. The first
power of mindfulness is the ability to help one obtain a
tranquil, or calm, mind (samatha).
A tranquil mind is the very foundation of spiritual practice.
Without it, we wouldnt be able to obtain awakening, the state of
complete liberation and true happiness. How does mindfulness
help us attain a tranquil mind? The process can be broken down
into four components: stopping, calming, fully resting, and
healing.
Stopping
Obtaining a tranquil mind, the practice of samatha, is
ultimately about stopping. We need to learn how to stop. At first
this might seem silly, Im sitting while Im reading this book. Im
stopping! But its not so simple. By stopping I mean we need to
stop both body and mind. A mind at rest is a peaceful mind. So we
need to learn how to fully stop and let our minds calm. By doing
so we bring us back to ourselves. This is called the practice of
going home, and its the practice of going home to ourselves by
reuniting mind and body. The practice of mindful breathing does
just that- it allows us to reunite mind and body as theyre truly
meant to be. This is important because the way we typically live
our lives, both mind and body are almost always separated.
Mindfulness is in opposition to the way we usually live our
lives. That is, halfway in our heads, bouncing around in an endless
stream of thoughts, and halfway in the present moment, only
partially awake to what were doing. This state of semiconsciousness, or mind dispersion, is a state where were unable
to attain complete rest and our minds are perpetually clouded.
34
This semi-conscious state, or mind dispersion, is what the

Buddha often referred to as our monkey mind. Our monkey
mind is constantly bouncing from one thought to another. Were
doing one thing (body) but thinking about another (mind). Were
driving home from work while were thinking about work, and
then bills, and then dinner, and then that dinner date with your
old friend coming up, and then your daughters school project, and
then whatever happened to your favorite band because they
seemed to drop off the map, and then When was that TV special
again?, and then work, oh and then that sounds good for dinner,
and then you look in your overhead mirror and think I look tired
today, and then a Sit-And-Sleep commercial for some reason
pops into your head and so you start thinking about how you really
should get a new mattress soon, and then you think about home
again and how the day is passing so quickly, and then, and then,
and thenit never ends. That is, unless you work to calm the
mind.
Mindfulness delicately brings the mind to rest and reunites
body and mind as one force. When you walk to work youre
walking to work and youre enjoying the walk with all of your
being. Youre not thinking about whats for dinner or what youll
say to your boss about that project when you get into the office
while walking. Your body is walking and your mind is walking.
When you drive home you know youre driving. Youre not letting
yourself be distracted by the passing billboard advertisements or
thinking about your overdue bills. Youre truly enjoying the drive
home in peace and quiet. When youre sitting down to play with
your children youre fully present for them, giving them your
complete and undivided attention. When you live with
mindfulness youre able to truly appreciate the presence of your
loved ones.
This state of mind dispersion does more than just make us
stressed and take us away from our loved ones. On top of
heightening stress and anxiety it decreases our productivity,
restrains our creativity, disconnects us from the world around us,
and overall makes us less happy. Instead of being at peace, our
minds are in chaos. And as long as our attention is dispersed this
monkey will rear its mischievous little head. The only way to stop
35
our monkey mind is with mindfulness. Mindfulness gives us the

ability to stop our monkey minds. Once we learn how to do this,
the process of calming the mind, obtaining complete rest, and
healing comes naturally. This is because, in reality, theres no
separating the four components of a tranquil mind (samatha) as
youll see in the next few sections.
Calming
By living in the present moment with mindfulness were able
to bring our mind into a state of deep calm. A natural byproduct
of learning how to stop the mind and body and simply be fully
present, such as for the act of following ones breath, is a calm
mind. Indeed, the opposite of our monkey mind is a calm mind.
Calming the mind is a process though. It doesnt happen all
at once. We build up a lot of stress and tension in our everyday
lives and it takes some time to fully calm the mind, especially
assuming your current life doesnt just stop when you begin
practicing mindfulness (which it doesnt!). Youll still have the
same headaches and stressors as before and so youll need to calm
the mind despite these things constantly getting in the way. Of
course, this is a two sided problem. You might need to reevaluate
why you do certain things which are causing you stress. But your
focus should always be on your practice of mindfulness. By
making the act of stopping a priority and seeking to live your life
fully in the present moment, cherishing every moment of life,
youll naturally begin to calm the mind.
Resting
Nowadays, were so productivity focused we even map out
our vacations. A checklist for a vacation? Yeah, weve lost our way.
We live off checklists and to-do lists at work and at home. We
think the more things we check off our list the better well feel. We
dont even notice it but what were chasing is peace. Were hoping
for just a little slice of it here and there, even if its temporary. But
36
we dont have to settle for these temporary states of peace, we can

have the whole pie. Indeed, if we could only learn how to truly
come in touch with it wed see that this pie is limitless.
We need to learn how to attain complete rest. By complete
rest Im referring to a fully rested mind and body. A state which
most of us rarely if ever feel. And a full nights sleep doesnt
provide this for us either. Were tossing, turning, and bending our
bodies in uncomfortable positions which lead to aches and pains.
To add to that were dreaming constantly. And the more your
mind is racing when you go to bed, the more it will be racing in
your dreams when you go to sleep. Worst of all though, our sleep
can be interrupted (especially if you have kids!). That really sets
us off. Then theres the fact that sleep primarily rests the body and
does very little for our monkey minds. The second we wake up,
were right back in the jungle.
Mindfulness, particularly sitting meditation, allows us to
attain this state of complete rest. It gives our minds the rest it
needs. My favorite example is the image of a pebble slowly falling
to the ocean floor. Imagine your mind is the pebble. The longer
you meditate, the deeper the pebble sinks. And the deeper the
pebble sinks, the more calm and peaceful your mind becomes.
Meditate until you feel your mind reach the ocean floor. Imagine
your body slowly sinking just like the pebble. Then simply sit there
for however long youd like. Be fully present for this state of
absolute calm. This is what tranquility feels like. This is true rest.
If we can learn how to rest in this way we give ourselves the
ability to overcome so much. Without a doubt, one of the major
reasons we experience so much stress and anxiety in modern life
is because we dont know how to attain complete rest.
Healing
This last section is about learning how to utilize the bodys
natural healing ability. In order to attain a tranquil mind, its not
enough to stop, calm, and completely rest the body. These are key
aspects of achieving a tranquil mind. But if we dont know how to
37
heal our mind and body then well have no chance of attaining a
calm mind.
Our mind and body comes equipped with a natural healing
ability. Weve all but forgotten about it, living in an age of
advanced medicine, thousands of both over-the-counter and
subscription medicines, and a whole roster of mental and physical
professionals all ready to help us heal our mental and physical
wounds. Its because of this that we now grossly underestimate
our own ability to heal.
Weve forgotten that the only thing necessary in order to heal
is to be with that which needs to be healed. My favorite example
of this is from Zen master Thich Nhat Hanh. He often speaks of
how, when injured, an animals natural instinct is to find
somewhere safe and quiet to lie and rest. This is what it means to
be with an illness, whether mental or physical. By stopping all
activity the animal conserves every ounce of energy. This puts all
of their being into the process of healing. You can do this yourself
to heal both mental and physical illness.
What is a mental illness? In the case of the mind, this could
be a deep-seated negative emotion or limiting belief. Maybe you
hold a deep sense of resentment, and maybe even anger, towards
your spouse. Years ago, when you first started dating, things were
great. You were both young and you had the entire world at your
fingertips. You had fun and generally lived life with wild abandon.
But years later you become married, have children, and gain
multiple responsibilities. Now you feel as if the entire world has
closed in around you. You feel like all the opportunity and
possibilities that were once at your fingertips are all but gone,
never to return. Because of this, you now resent your spouse. You
see them as the very source of your suffering. They didnt
necessarily do anything wrong, but you created these mental
formations of resentment and anger and labelled them the cause.
This is an example of a very deep-seated emotion which needs to
be overcome in order to achieve tranquility.
In order to heal this and any other form of deep-seated
emotion you need to sit in meditation and simply be with the
emotion. When mindful, you awaken and see through all illusions.
Your limiting beliefs rise to the surface. This allows your body and
38
minds natural healing process to take effect. You simply need to

care for the emotion. Tend to it. Accept it fully with compassion.
Much of our suffering comes from our tendency to bottle up
emotions and ignore them, thinking that if we do theyll go away.
But this never happens. Neglect wont heal your wounds. You need
to face these emotions with your mindfulness and selfcompassion. Know that youre human and everyone has emotions
such as these. Accept it fully with your mindfulness and it will
subside. This is our natural healing ability and anyone can utilize
this with practice.
As you can see, theres really no separating these four areas
from each other. Stopping and calming essentially always happen
simultaneously to some extent, resting involves stopping,
calming, healing can really be considered a form of resting (or vice
versa), and all four can be a part of one single mindfulness
practice.
Finding Peace in the Age of Distraction

Distraction is a force which takes our already dispersed
attention and splits it into a million different strings. It brings our
monkey mind to a whole new level. This was already touched on
in the section on Stopping, but our modern world warrants extra
focus on this particular point. If it wasnt enough that our minds
are already naturally inclined to this semi-conscious and stress
induced state, the modern era has brought us many of the worst
sources for distraction all within a matter of decades.
These distractions, which are the substance of our monkey
mind, are always within arms reach in our modern world.
Smartphones are in our pockets, desktops are at our place of work,
and TVs are in our homes. Its so easy to distract ourselves from
reality. But if we can bring our attention back to the present
moment with mindfulness we have the ability to attain both a
tranquil mind and clear vision.
This is the reason mindfulness is so attractive to us. Our
modern world is plugged in 24/7 and its difficult to get away from
these distractions even if you make an effort. More than ever its
39
so easy to live in a mindless and disconnected state of being. Most

of us are rarely fully present. We live in a state of perpetual
distraction. We live the majority of our lives in one place while
thinking of another. Were at work but were thinking about what
to make for dinner tonight at home. Were at home thinking about
that project we have to finish at work. Were enjoying eating out
with our family but were really inside of our heads, stressing
about the bills we have to pay next month. We all think this is
normal. That its OK. But its not. This mind dispersion is the cause
of much of our suffering and discontent.
After a tough day, one where youve been rushing around
constantly and inevitably forgotten to take time for yourself, your
mind will naturally be more active. If you sit down to meditate
during this time youll see that your mind is literally like a
firecracker. It will be very difficult to keep the mind in one place
for more than a few seconds. In this situation the mind will often
be distracted over nothing special. Its still racing because its
conditioned to you racing around, not because theres anything
particular going on in your consciousness. Mindfulness of these
distractions wont lead to any great liberation. This is simply a sign
that you need to slow things down. If your life continues as is, it
will be very difficult to attain complete rest and fully quiet the
mind. And if you cant calm the mind you certainly wont be able
to get to the point where you can start gaining clarity of mind. Of
course, thats part of the point of mindfulness. In the beginning,
in order for you to practice mindfulness of anything youll have to
do it very slowly. If youre constantly rushing around, your
mindfulness practice wont be authentic. Youll be telling yourself
that youre practicing mindfulness but you wont actually be
mindful.
Computers, smartphones, and TVs arent the enemy. But you
do need to be careful not to go overboard. By shining the light of
mindfulness on your life youll be able to see clearly the effect
these things have on your mind and body and be able to make the
right decision for your well-being and the well-being of your loved
ones.
Its important to establish mindfulness as a way of life as
opposed to simply something you do sometimes. By making
40
mindfulness a way of life youll begin to notice how these things

distract you and pull you away from the real beauty of life. Youll
naturally begin to distance yourself from these devices a bit. A
busy mind is only natural and the modern age has made our minds
more chaotic than ever. But by developing the practice of
mindfulness in your daily life you have the ability to stop, calm,
fully rest, and heal the mind and body which will provide a
renewable source of peace and joy in your everyday life. In Part 3
Ill cover all the tips and tricks Ive personally used to establish
mindfulness as a way of life.
FAQ 3: How long can I expect to practice before

seeing results?
_______________
I wouldnt bother worrying about when youre going to see
results or not. You shouldnt be so focused on getting results
when it comes to your spiritual practice or even just mindfulness
in itself. Of course, it would be wrong to say that you started your
practice for no reason. That just doesnt make any sense. You
started because you wanted something, and this could be called a
result. But what I really mean by that is you should be more
focused on the practice itself. Know why you began your
mindfulness practice, find confirmation of your practice in that
and then let go of it. Practice without any expectations. Only once
you let go will you obtain the greatest results. If you keep
hanging onto ideas of I do this because I want to get this in
return then youll never find true peace or happiness.
OK, but just like you said Im still going into this because
Im interested in gaining something, you say. Im sure you, like
most others including myself, began or want to begin practicing
mindfulness in order to calm your mind and feel more peaceful
and happy. If thats the case then youll feel concrete effects of your
practice almost immediately. When I say you can find true peace
41
and happiness in this moment, I mean it. Of course, youll need to

develop your ability to experience the greatest results.
In all likelihood your first couple of weeks will be tough.
Youll experience your monkey mind at its greatest intensity.
Ultimately it all depends on how quiet (or loud) your mind is going
into practice. Either way, dont judge yourself. It doesnt matter
how quiet or loud your mind is, just that you practice diligently.
For the most part, the rewards exist in the very moment of
practicing and not in some far-off goal. This is an important
lesson to learn. With mindfulness youll learn to appreciate the
present moment as it is in all its beauty
For me in my own practice, in the beginning seeing my mind
gradually quiet and feeling the increasing sense of peace within
myself as my practice developed was more than enough
confirmation and encouragement for me to keep practicing. That
started happening after just a few weeks and was rather
significant.
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Awakening to Your True Nature

As we discussed in the last chapter, mindfulness can allow us
to obtain a tranquil mind and thereby bring a wellspring of peace
and joy into our lives. But mindfulness has another important
role. Its the energy which allows us to discover the truth.
Specifically, the true nature of things including ourselves. So the
second power of mindfulness is the ability to help one obtain
perfect clarity and awaken to ones true nature
(vipassana). By true nature Im referring to our true way or
our natural existence. By seeking to live in this way we can move
beyond wrong perceptions and discover our true selves.
To discover ones true self is something so many people
strive for. Some strive to discover this elusive state most of their
lives. But so many of us have no idea what exactly this entails.
Where do we start? The very question of who am I? is as
confusing as it is open ended. For the most part, this question is
difficult to answer because there are so many hidden forces at
work in our lives: the negative emotions which keep us locked in a
perpetual mental prison, the ego which strives to protect our
self-worth at all costs, the ever-present pressure from society to
conform to often unrealistic or misguided ideas, other false views
which distort our perception, and worst of all: fear. Fear of
everything. Fear of what people think of us, fear of losing those
close to us, and fear of losing our position in life, among other
things. These forces alter our perception of reality. We think that
these things are us, so the question of who am I? becomes a
seemingly impossible and often painful question to answer. But
these things arent really u s. By living with mindfulness we can see
beyond these wrong perceptions to our true nature.
What is our true nature? Its beyond all perception, beyond
all mental formations, beyond the physical body we inhabit, and
beyond the sense organs we use to experience the world around
us. And its beyond consciousness. Youre not your thoughts,
emotions, or sensations. Sure, you are a separate body, a separate
43
brain, and you exist in a very real way separate from those around
you. But at the same time youre not a separate self, disconnected
from everything and everyone around you. Youre limitless. Youre
in the trees, the flowers, and the clouds. And these things are in
you. To confine ourselves to a limited identity such as I am this
old, this nationality, this sex, good at this, bad at this, I work here,
and Ive accomplished this. is to confine ourselves inside of a
small box. Our true nature is boundless. Were intrinsically
connected to all living and nonliving things. We and everything
around us is impermanent, and yet, we exist beyond life and death
itself in an endless continuation of energy. Our true existence is
within the very ground of being, the plane of existence beyond
words in which all things exist as one.
The essence of discovering our true nature is to come in
contact with the ultimate. What is that? It goes by many namesthe ultimate reality, the ultimate dimension, the ground of being,
Buddha mind, nirvana, and even God. The ground of being is the
ultimate level of reality. It cant be completely described in words
because its beyond the concept of language. It can only be
experienced. It exists in some form in just about every religion and
spiritual tradition on Earth. I dont want to speak too much about
it, but know that the ultimate purpose of all spiritual practice is to
touch the ground of being. By living deeply in this world, the
historical reality, we can touch the ground of being or ultimate
reality. To touch the historical reality deeply is a very meaningful
and fulfilling practice. You dont need anything else. In that
moment, everything is perfect. And you realize what true
happiness is. To discover our true nature is in fact to discover our
true selves and our true potential.
Building a resting place

Its important to become aware of the ideas in this chapter,
but if youre just starting out dont bother with awakening or any
of this ultimate reality stuff. Just focus on calming the mind. Work
on stopping, calming, fully resting, and healing as we spoke about
in the last chapter. Develop your mindfulness practice by sitting,
44
walking, breathing, and doing as many basic tasks throughout

your day with mindfulness. Do this for at least a few months. Let
your practice progress naturally.
As we spoke about in the last chapter, with time youll
develop a great feeling of calm, experience a strong sense of peace
and joy in everyday life, obtain complete rest, and heal the mind.
These are all very important. But it also takes time to develop
mindfulness as an ability and as a habit, so dont try to rush
through this part. You wont get anywhere if you rush and will just
end up wasting a lot of time and effort. The practice of calming the
mind never ends, it will be something you practice for the rest of
your life and its equally important to gaining clarity of mind.
Dont think you can bypass this and b ecome truly at peace without
it. Theres no separating the two states of samatha and vipassana,
in reality theyre two sides of the same coin.
Remember when I said that calming the mind was the
foundation for obtaining a clear mind? Tranquility and clarity are
natural extensions of one another. When we calm our mind, its
like weve built a nest for our mind. This nest nurtures and heals
the mind naturally. This is our resting place. But this resting place
is also fertile ground for receiving insight. Take the time to build
this resting place and youll have a strong foundation which will
allow you to begin touching reality deeply.
Theres no separating the two states of samatha and

vipassana, in reality theyre two sides of the same coin.
Shining the Light of Mindfulness

So how does mindfulness help us discover our true nature?
Mindfulness is the very vehicle which helps us see reality in its true
state. By learning to live with mindfulness we can develop great
clarity in order to see the world as it is. By as it is, Im referring
to seeing into the true nature of all things. This is reality in its true
45
form, free from our wrong views. And the act of obtaining this
great mental clarity is traditionally called awakening (or
enlightenment in many English translations of ancient Buddhist
text). Why is all this important? Because its through this process
of awakening that we discover our true nature and experience the
ground of being. And its only until we learn to touch the ground
of being that we discover the ultimate level of inner peace.
Imagine an orange. Your whole life youve seen this orange
and you think the way that you see it is the way that it is. But, as
we spoke about earlier, our wrong views color the lens (our
perception) with which we perceive reality through. This wrong
view of reality, which can be caused by a combination of mental
formations such as fear, anger, and ignorance among many other
things, is the ultimate source of all our suffering. By suffering Im
referring to a sort of mental ill-being. Think of it as the opposite of
inner peace. With mindfulness the true nature of the orange will
gradually reveal itself. Youll see the orange peel back its skin and
reveal something completely different from what you had
perceived before. This is the process of awakening to the true
nature of things.
Just as with calming the mind, gaining clarity of mind is a
process. Dont expect some sudden enlightenment to happen one
day while practicing mindfulness. Moments of clarity can happen.
These are moments of insight. But awakening is the slow process
of peeling yourself and everything else in the world back one piece
at a time to unveil the truth. Youve lived your whole life
collecting these false views (remember the internal check
point?).
Imagine if you could wear ten pairs of sunglasses at once.
Ten lenses, one in front of the other, in a row. Each of these lenses
is a different color- green, pink, red, black- and each represents a
wrong perception or mental formation which blocks you from
experiencing reality in its true state. Your job is to remove each
lens, one by one, until all ten pairs of sunglasses are gone. Each
lens is blocking you from experiencing the full magnificence of the
light. But with each pair of glasses you remove the more clearly
you can see the light. It will take time to free yourself from all the
things coloring your perception. But this is the ultimate liberation.
46
This is true freedom. To be free from all false views, to no longer

be tortured by deep-seated issues or controlled by the ego, and to
realize our limitless potential. I give this example to show that
clarity is a gradual process. But as you work to wipe away your
false views youll develop a great sense of peace and liberation. It
doesnt just come at the end of removing the last pair of
sunglasses. You experience greater peace and joy each time you
remove a lens. Every moment of mindfulness is an opportunity to
touch the ground of our being. This is the magic of living deeply.
To live deeply is ultimately what a spiritual practice is about.
This is because to live deeply is to touch the ground of being and
eventually be liberated of all afflictions. Living deeply means
nothing is trivial. Every single action, no matter how minor, holds
great significance. Living in such a way, you appreciate every little
thing in your life. You appreciate the water you have to drink, the
food on your plate, the clothes on your back, for having healthy
eyes with which to see, and you appreciate the absence of all those
things which you really rather not have. Living deeply, in a way
that cultivates a deep appreciation for the world around you, is a
very fulfilling practice. By letting our mindfulness guide us, that
is, being fully present for every action and placing our entire being
into everything we do, we can realize our true nature.
Mindfulness is itself our true vision. Remember the field of
mindfulness example I gave earlier? Mindfulness is the quiet
observer of everything. It judges nothing, so it sees with absolute
clarity. It sees the outside world, the mind in mind (observing ones
thoughts), and it sees the mind in things, that is, our perception
of the things we experience in the outside world. So mindfulness
is itself awakening. When youre practicing mindfulness you are
awakened. It will take time though to identify and realize your
true nature. But know that there is nothing to be gained, nothing
you need to accomplish. Youre perfect just as you are in this
moment. So to live deeply with mindfulness is to strive to live true
to our nature and touch the seed of awakening in us.
How do we live deeply with mindfulness? This will be a
natural progression of your mindfulness practice. Once youve
become fully rested your mind will be able to rest in mind. Youll
now be able to experience mindfulness of the mind in the mind
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and the mind in things. Previously, we discussed the fact that

everything we see, everything we experience, passes through our
perception before we experience it. Because of this, the mind itself
is part of what were experiencing. This is mindfulness of the mind
in the mind. In simple terms, theres no escaping the mind because
the mind is us. So when we observe the behavior of the mind with
mindfulness thats mindfulness of the mind while in the mind. We
think were looking at a book, but in reality were looking at our
perception of the book. This is because, in reality, there is no
separating subject and object. You can never separate mind from
that which the mind is perceiving. What you think of the bookwhether you like the book or not, think the cover looks funny or
cool, or if the book conjures some sort of old memories good or
bad- arises from the mind and becomes your perception of the
book. So to be mindful of the book is also to be mindful of the mind
in the book.
Furthermore, this means that what we perceive isnt
necessarily the real world at all. The book that we see is first and
foremost an object of our consciousness. When you and I look at
the book, we see two different books. I might have a bad memory
of the book which distorts my perception of it. On the other hand,
you might have a good memory of the book with positively distorts
your perception of it. Neither is correct, theyre both distorted
perceptions of the book. Its when we can see the true book that
we experience our own true nature.
Mindfulness is our master tool in the study of the self. By
developing the power of mindfulness to the point where we can
experience the mind in mind and the mind in things we begin to
see that everything is mind. If the book we see (not the real book)
is really an object of our consciousness, and the process of gaining
clarity of mind is really about extinguishing all false views such as
these, then mindfulness role is the tool which allows us to see
deeply into ourselves and identify these false views. The light of
mindfulness, the great observer, is also a great healer. Remember
the animal that simply sits and rests in peace and quiet in order to
heal its wounds? Mindfulness is the healing energy which allows
us to gradually erode all false views and concepts in order to touch
the ground of our being. To realize our true nature is the only way
48
to experience true inner peace. It will be difficult at first, but if you

let mindfulness be your guide it will lead you to an existence filled
with peace and joy.
49
Part 2:
Practicing
Mindfulness
50
Mindful Sitting
In Zen, the practice of sitting meditation is called zazen,
which literally means sitting or seated meditation in Japanese.
Zen monks practice zazen for long hours each day, even
occasionally having meditation marathons where practitioners
meditate for two-thirds to half of an entire day for multiple days
straight. Why do Zen Buddhists put so much of their focus on
sitting meditation? Because sitting meditation is the very
foundation of meditative practice.
Think of a professional athlete. Despite being the best in the
world at what they do, nearly every single day they practice the
most fundamental aspects of their practice. Not only that, they do
it for long hours. A professional and even championship winning
NBA basketball player will continue to practice lay ups, jump
shots, running up and down the court, passing the ball, running
basic plays, as well as free throws constantly. This is the very
essence of someone who has committed themselves to being the
best at what they do, the essence of the greatest performers in the
world in all callings. Its the very drilling of these fundamental
principles that is what makes them so great.
To lose sight of the core or fundamental practices which
constitute your endeavor is to lose sight of your practice. Likewise,
by practicing mindful sitting every day you make it easier to call
upon your mindfulness during the rest of your day. If youd like to
establish a solid foundation in your mindfulness practice then
setting up a daily practice of sitting meditation, either in the
morning, night, or both, is very important. Mindful sitting is the
foundation of the rest of your mindfulness practice. You dont
have to meditate for long hours though. You can start off by
meditating for as little as 5 minutes a day and work your way up.
Zazen, or sitting meditation, is where I first started my own
mindfulness practice. At first, without anyone there to coach or
teach me, I thought the amount of activity in my head while
meditating was abnormal. I was surprised with how chaotic my
51
mind was and couldnt believe that I had been living like that,
without ever giving my mind a rest. Little did I know at the time
that what was going on in my head was perfectly normal. I was
merely experiencing the typical monkey mind, which everyone
experiences. But it didnt take long to get my mind to a relatively
calm state. And as this happened, something began to develop
inside of me. Id feel it strongest during and right after my
meditation session, but it started extending throughout the rest of
my day gradually. Its one of the greatest feelings Ive ever
experienced in my life, but its hard to explain. Simply peaceful
is probably the best word to use. You need nothing during those
moments of meditation. Everything is perfectly peaceful and you
feel as if you could sit forever.
Not every meditation session will be like this. Even after
working to calm the mind for some time youll occasionally
experience a tough day or a tough week and struggle during
meditation. If this happens you just need to stick with it. Turn up
the volume on your practice even, meditate for longer or do an
extra session on that day or during that tough week in order to
handle the pressure. If you persist, youll overcome it and arrive at
a point where you can keep your mind in a calm state even despite
tough times. Establish a strong foundation of mindful sitting in
your mindfulness practice and youll be rewarded with a stability
that nothing can shake. Like a tree that stands tall in a strong
wind, nothing will be able to knock you down.
How to practice mindful sitting

The below instructions are separated into three sections:
sitting, breathing, and finally meditating. The first section Sit
goes over adopting the optimal posture and positioning. The
second section Breathe covers how to properly follow and count
your breath during meditation. Lastly, the third section Be
Mindful goes over how to use your mindfulness while sitting.
Keep in mind that while there may be ten (simple) steps,
ultimately the practice of mindful sitting is as simple as one, two,
and three: 1) sit down, 2) follow your breath, and 3) acknowledge
52
anything and everything that steps into your field of mindfulness

(or in other words, anything that diverts your concentration).
Sit
1. Find a quiet place: First, find a quiet place where you
wont be interrupted.
2. Find the optimal sitting position: Find the sitting
position thats most comfortable for you. Here are the most
common:
2a. Full lotus: If possible, sit on the floor in the full or
half lotus position. The full lotus position makes your body into a
tripod, making it by far the most stable or sitting positions. To sit
in the full lotus position, sit down in a typical cross-legged
position. Now, take your left leg and place it on top of your right
thigh (closer to your waist than your knee). Next, take your right
leg and place it on top of you left thigh. This second leg will be
much more difficult than the first. While moving the left leg make
sure that the right leg does not slip from its position. While
keeping your body in place, slide your bottom back a little to
straighten your back.
2b. Half-lotus: The full lotus can be a difficult
position to sit in, especially at first. In that case, you might feel
more comfortable starting with the half lotus. In order to sit in the
half lotus position, just place your left leg over your right thigh (or
right leg over your left thigh). You should alternate regularly with
the right leg on the left thigh as well. Eventually, with practice, it
will become comfortable.
2c. Sit in a chair: If neither of these is possible you
can also sit in a chair. Make sure to plant your feet on the ground
and sit with your back straight. You can place a pillow or a zafu
between your lower back and and the back of the chair to keep
your back straight.
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2d. Use a cushion (if possible): Whether you sit in

the full lotus, half, lotus, a simple cross-legged position, or choose
to use a chair Id suggest using a firm pillow or a zafu (a Zen
meditation pillow). A zafu pillow really improves stability,
posture, and overall comfort during sitting meditation. Just sit on
the last third or so of the zafu or firm pillow in order to help
straighten your back (you can fold a typical bed pillow in half and
sit on that if you dont have either). If youre sitting in the full or
half lotus this will also help bring both knees to the floor, creating
the tripod I spoke about in the full lotus section. Unless you do this
one knee will stick up slightly while youre in the full or half lotus
position, sacrificing some stability and comfort. A cushion isnt
necessary, it just makes meditation more comfortable and
therefore allows you to focus more on whats important: your
meditation.
3. Loosen up: Now that youre in your optimal seated
position, relax and take a few deep breaths. Stretch your back,
neck, shoulders, and arms a bit. Loosen the muscles in your face
by forming a half-smile. Feel all of the tension roll off your body.
Relaxing your body will make it easier to focus during your
meditation.
4. Form the proper posture: This is very important in
meditation (actually its always important). Improper posture can
cause you back pain, obstruct your breathing and even affect your
concentration, so make sure to take the time to perfect the proper
sitting meditation posture. Your back and neck should be straight
with the top of your head pointed towards the sky. Let your
stomach relax. If you tilt your chin just slightly you will gain
greater stability as well. Also, if youre on a zafu or firm pillow you
can rock back and forth as well as left and right in order to find the
most stable position for your body. If your posture is solid but
youre leaning a bit on your pillow your muscles will stay tensed
trying to balance you on the pillow. By rocking you can find the
most stable position and remove that potential distraction during
meditation.
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5. Form the cosmic mudr: Mudr is a Sanskrit word

meaning seal, mark, or gesture. A mudr is essentially a
placement of the body which is supposed to symbolize some
greater principle and remind the practitioner of that principle,
although I believe the original purpose of mudras was also to
improve the flow of oxygen to the body by adopting optimal
positioning of the hands and arms. Because my background is in
Zen Buddhist meditation, I form the cosmic mudr while
meditating. In order to form the cosmic mudr, place your hands
in your lap with palms facing up. Place one hand on top of the
other, the dominant hands finger joints on top of the other hands
finger joints so that your dominant hands fingers overlap the
other hands. Thumbs touching at the tips creating an oval shape
inside of your hands. The purpose of the cosmic mudr is to place
your focus on the hara, or spiritual center of the body, which is
located about 2 inches below your naval. Placing the hara as your
point of attention brings mind, body and breath together as one
and assists you in following your breath.
6. Eyes half-closed: Look down a couple of feet in front of
you and then let your eyelids drop naturally. They should end up
about halfway shut. The reason you keep your eyes partially open
is so as to not invite lethargy and doze off. You look down because
it helps your eyelids lower naturally which also keeps you from
blinking as often.
Breathe
7. Be mindful of your in breath and out breath: Close
your mouth and breathe in and out through your nose. If a cold or
some other condition makes this uncomfortable then its OK to
breathe through your mouth, although deeper and more effortless
breathing can be done through the nostrils. Breathe in, breathe
out. Put complete focus on your breath. Your breath is your
singular focus during this meditation. Dont attempt to control
your breath, simply observe it silently. Your silent observation will
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slowly begin to calm your breathing naturally. Feel your breath

gradually go in and out. In order to keep your concentration on
your breath youll need to follow each complete in breath and out
breath from start to finish. This will also make it easier to notice
when youve lost your concentration and give you a clear path to
regain it. You should be attempting to be mindful of your breath
100% of the time youre sitting.
8. Count each inhalation and exhalation: Inhaleone.
Exhale.two. Count the number at the end each inhale and
exhale. Count to 10 like this. If a thought distracts you, start the 10
count over from 1. When you get to 10, start over and attempt to
count to 10 again. Do this for as many weeks or months as it
takes until you can count to 10 repeatedly with little effort. Then
count each inhale + exhale as one. Then, when that becomes easy,
stop counting and simply follow your breath. Dont rush this step,
progress naturally. This step is incredibly important in the
beginning stages because this is how youll develop your power of
concentration.
Be Mindful
9. Gently acknowledge any thoughts and
feelings: Thoughts will come, dont push them away. Noticing
this is a good thing, it means your mindfulness is developing.
Remember that these thoughts, feelings, and sensations are
natural. Meditation is acceptance, not avoidance. You want those
things to rise to the surface during meditation because that is
when the real healing will begin. Fear, anger, stress, and so many
other things can and will rise to the surface so that you can let
them run their course and dissipate. Each one of these afflictions
you heal will bring you greater peace and happiness.
10. Immediately recapture focus on your breath: Let
go of the thought and return to your breath. This will be difficult
at first, youll lose focus constantly. Dont become frustrated when
your mind drifts, know that its a normal part of the process. Stay
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focused, after a while your mind will begin to grow quieter and
youll start gaining better control over your mind. This may take a
few weeks or even months.
Once youre done meditating, dont rush off. Sit for another
few seconds or so and slowly release your legs so that they can
stretch if you were sitting in one of the lotus positions. At first the
full lotus might make one of your legs fall asleep. Youll just have
to get used to this sitting position. The nice thing is, you wont feel
it until you undo your legs at the end of your session. But its a
wonderful feeling (joke)! And lastly, take a few seconds to relish
this moment of peace and feel the difference in your mind and
body before getting up and continuing on with your day.
In the b eginning, youll want to meditate for 5-10 minutes at
a time once or twice a day. Increase your sessions by about 5
minutes at a time whenever you feel comfortable. You should feel
gradually able to sit down for longer and longer periods. Work
your way up to whatever timetable is best for you, but if youd like
a recommendation Id say somewhere around two 30-45 minute
sessions per day. Remember though, that its up to you. Meditate
for however long you want, just remember that the longer you
meditate the more beneficial it will be.
FAQ 4: Cant I just sit down however I want

when I meditate? Do I have to sit in the fulllotus in order to get the greatest benefit from
sitting meditation?
_______________
No, you dont have to sit in any particular position. The
purpose of the full lotus is simply that its the most stable sitting
position available to us. When you sit in the full lotus while being
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supported by a proper cushion youll see what I mean. In the full

lotus you feel extremely stable. Even more stable than sitting in a
chair.
You can meditate in whatever sitting position youd like. But
be careful, a stable sitting position and proper posture are very
important in a regular meditation practice. The full lotus is the
most stable position by far and, once you get used to it, a very
comfortable position to meditate in. Because of the stability of the
full lotus it also removes potential bodily distractions from sitting
meditation. Youre free to let your mind and body vanish and
simply sit with your breath.
You should strive to eventually sit in the full lotus. This is a
difficult position to sit in even with practice for some which is why
I mentioned earlier in the chapter that you can sit in the half lotus
or even sit cross-legged or on a chair if neither of those are
comfortable for you. In no way is any specific sitting position a
requirement. Dont let anyone tell you so. Sit in whatever position
you can and meditate diligently.
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Mindful Walking
We walk to our cars, to work, to home, stores, and sometimes
just for fun. Wherever you are and whenever you walk you almost
always have the opportunity to make it a mindful walk. Theres so
many great opportunities to practice mindful walking in the
average persons day that it can be adopted by anyone with little
effort and create a major impact on ones sense of inner peace.
Mindful walking is generally considered one of the core
meditative practices. But traditionally, mindful walking is called
walking meditation. Dont get confused though, when I say
walking meditation Im simply talking about mindful walking.
Walking meditation has been practiced by people of various
spiritual traditions for possibly as long as sitting meditation. This
is probably because of how natural, simple, and nourishing the
practice of walking meditation is. While practicing walking
meditation your object of concentration is your steps. First,
concentrate on the foot rising and being placed down onto the
ground. Once the foot has been placed down you shift your
concentration to the second foot doing the same motion. At first,
youll have to practice walking meditation very slowly to get the
hang of it. But after a while, as with anything else in mindfulness,
youll be able to walk mindfully at a normal speed while staying
mindful. The act of placing your foot down on the ground can be
done in a very deep way. By acknowledging the earths presence
below your foot each time you place your foot down you can
experience a deep sense of peace and joy in the simple act of
walking.
How to Practice Mindful Walking

Decide
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1. Decide where youre walking to: Fix your sights on a

location in front of you such as your car, your house, a building,
the end of a room, a street, or a tree. Wherever it is, decide
consciously that this is where youre walking to before you begin
walking mindfully.
Walk
2. Match your steps with your breath: Breathe
naturally, see how many slow steps you take for each natural
inhale and exhale. This step can be difficult at first because youll
want to control your breathing or your steps. Dont attempt to
control either. Resist trying to control both your breathing and
your steps and let them flow naturally.
3. Be mindful of your steps: As I mentioned earlier, the
object of your concentration in this meditation will be your steps.
Put 100% of your concentration into your steps. Youll want to put
great care into each step you take, so walk slowly. Feel one foot
rise and then come down. As soon as that foot is placed down be
mindful of your other foot rising up and then coming down as well.
Then back to the first foot, and the next, and the next. Move slowly
and shift your concentration back and forth from one foot to the
other. In order to keep your concentration on your steps youll
need to follow each complete step from start to finish. This will
also make it easier to notice when youve lost your concentration
and give you a clear path to regain it.
4. Count each step: Just as you count your breaths in
sitting meditation, you can say in for each step on inhale and
out for each step on exhale. So in, in, in on each inhale if you
take 3 steps and out, out, out on each exhale for 3 more in order
to improve your ability to notice when you lose your
concentration. You can also say a phrase that calms you if you
prefer. In that case, just match the number of steps youre taking
with syllables. So 3 steps per inhale/exhale could be be-at-peace.
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Be Mindful
Take this moment in for everything that it is. There is no past
and no future. Know that peace exists in this moment as you walk
across the earth in mindfulness. Feel the earth beneath your feet.
Whether youre walking on grass, sand, pavement, or dirt, know
that youre touching mother earth deeply with each step. The same
mother earth that every one of your ancestors walked on before
you. Walking meditation is a special practice which should be
treated with great care. As little as 15 minutes of mindful walking
can completely transform the stress of your day into pure peace.
Walk mindfully everywhere you go. Anytime you can, take a
second to walk in mindfulness. Take a second to look around and
appreciate your surroundings. Take a mindful breath of fresh air.
Then go back to your steps. In this moment, youre truly awake
and touching the depths of your being.
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FAQ 5: The same thought keeps coming into my

mind while meditating, what does it mean?
_______________
Dont worry, this is normal. Because everything is an
object of your consciousness, mindfulness is really about
becoming fully aware of your own complete body and mind. Your
thoughts and emotions being a part of that. If the same thought
keeps creeping into your mind during meditation, then, as you do
with any thought, simply acknowledge it each time it comes to the
surface and then bring your focus back to your breath. Do this as
many times as necessary. Youre letting the emotion run its course.
Whether its a specific fear, anger, or some limiting belief, this is a
good thing because its a clear sign that your mindfulness is
improving.
If you stick to your practice you will slowly and gently
unfold your mind, watching all your fear, anger and stress
dissipate. This is why its important to practice mindfulness in
your everyday life. Even if you meditate every single day it wont
be enough. You need to work on being mindful during your
everyday life in order to uncover all the various afflictions blocking
you from experiencing true peace and happiness.
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Mindful Breathing
Mindful sitting is essentially mindful breathing, but theres
a distinct difference between sitting in a quiet room and pooling
all of your concentration towards meditation vs. stopping at
various points in your busy day to come back to yourself through
mindful breathing. Both are mindful breathing, but this chapter
will show you how to explore the latter. Mindful breathing is the
practice of going home. By going home I mean coming back to
yourself and uniting body and mind. This is a very important
practice.
Many people today are rushing around so much that they
dont stop all day to rest until its time for bed. I know the feeling.
You want to be as productive as possible, and you convince
yourself that youll be fine no matter how hard you push yourself.
But you arent, and you wont be. Youre making yourself stressed,
anxious, unhappy, easy to anger, easy to distract, less effective,
less productive, and muffling your creativity by pushing yourself
so hard. And it will only get worse. You need to learn the art of
stopping and breathing. This is the practice of mindful breathing.
Mindful breathing can be a very nourishing practice if you work
on developing it. It can work like an anchor in your life, keeping
you grounded no matter what is going on around you. It can also
work as an emergency button of sorts for when you encounter
high stress situations.
Daily Breathing
The first way mindful breathing can be useful is as a constant
companion during your daily life. Were often moving so quickly
that we stop noticing whats going on around and inside of us. In
a way, were muffling our entire lives. This is dangerous, because
something can be happening right under our noses and wed never
notice it. For instance, we could be developing a deep anger
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towards someone over something that happened recently and,

because were moving constantly throughout our day without
mindfulness, we never notice it until its a real problem. This can
be very damaging to our well-being. By stopping regularly to
practice mindful breathing we shine a sort of spotlight on our lives
and give ourselves the ability to not only detect these wounds but
also give ourselves a way to heal them.
I practice mindful breathing nearly every hour of every day
for 1-2 minutes. Ive found this to be my most comfortable routine.
No matter what Im doing, I stop everything to practice my
mindful breathing. The first couple of days will be easy, but after
a while youll likely find yourself ignoring your reminder to
practice or trying to give yourself the excuse that what youre
doing right now is too important and that youll practice as soon
as youre done. Dont listen to these voices. Trust me, if you start
listening to them your practice will suffer and youll notice it. Id
say its actually healthy for this to happen a few times at first. It
will lead you to a greater appreciation of your practice because
youll see the difference in how you feel. But make sure to get right
back on course and use the learning experience as an opportunity
to strengthen your practice.
To practice mindful breathing, youll do essentially the same
as in the mindful sitting chapter, with just a few changes:
Stop
1. Stop: Stop everything. If youre at work you might prefer
to find a more private place. In my experience though if you just
stop and breathe where youre at it will just look like youre
standing or sitting in your normal way. No one will notice. You can
stare at your computer screen or desk if youre sitting for instance.
Youll typically only stop to breathe for a minute or so anyway so
it will be pretty quick.
Breathe
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2. Be mindful of your in breath and out breath: Close

your mouth and breathe in and out through your nose. If a cold or
some other condition makes this uncomfortable then its OK to
breathe through your mouth, although deeper and more effortless
breathing can be done through the nostrils. Breathe in, breathe
out. Put complete focus on your breath. Your breath is your
singular focus during this meditation. Dont attempt to control
your breath, simply observe it silently. Your silent observation will
slowly begin to calm your breathing naturally. Feel your breath
gradually go in and out. In order to keep your concentration on
your breath youll need to follow each complete in breath and out
breath from start to finish. This will also make it easier to notice
when youve lost your concentration and give you a clear path to
regain it. You should be attempting to be mindful of your breath
100% of the time youre sitting.
3. Count each inhalation and exhalation: Inhaleone.
Exhale.two. Count the number at the end of each inhale and
exhale. Count to 10 like this. If a thought distracts you, start the 10
count over from 1. When you get to 10, start over and attempt to
count to 10 again. Do this for as many weeks or months as it
takes until you can count to 10 repeatedly with little effort. Then
count each inhale + exhale as one. Then, when that becomes easy,
stop counting and simply follow your breath. Dont rush this step,
progress naturally. This step is incredibly important in the
beginning stages because this is how youll develop your power of
concentration.
Be Mindful
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Do this for about sixty seconds. You dont have to time

yourself though unless you prefer to. Just breathe mindfully for
what feels like about a minute. Its easy to set a quick timer with
your phone though if youd rather be exact. Id test both out and
see what works better. The main reason you might end up
preferring to not set a timer is because its generally best to
practice your short mindful breathing session for as long as it
takes you to get to a semi-deep state of meditation. This could take
thirty seconds, one minute, sometimes two. Personally, I go
without a timer. If it takes me two minutes to bring relative calm
to myself it usually means Im a little busier than normal. In which
case, Id prefer to breathe a little bit longer.
Emergency Button
Another way to use mindful breathing is as a sort of emergency
button. What I mean by that is if you encounter a high stress
situation, such as when receiving some bad news, you can use
mindful breathing to stop and calm your mind in order to take hold
of yourself during this difficult situation. Our breath is a powerful
force. It can be used to control our very emotions. When youre
feeling an intense anxiety, fear, anger, or sadness you can use
mindful breathing to calm the feeling and literally take back control
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of the situation. Dont underestimate the power of your breathing.

Your breath is one of your greatest tools in controlling your mood,
use it often and wisely.
Remember when I mentioned the importance of breathing
mindfully until you feel a relative calm come over you as opposed to
sticking to a set timer? The only difference between practicing
mindful breathing throughout your day and mindful breathing in
emergency situations is that youll always want to breathe until the
point in which you feel the emotion start to subside. It doesnt have
to go away completely, just enough to where you can take back
control of your mind (although honestly, if you have time to go sit
down and breathe mindfully it will help the situation even more).
However long that takes, just keep breathing. Our breath is the
pathway that reunites body and mind and brings harmony to the
whole. Use this amazing tool whenever you need it. The great thing
is, its always available to you. No matter where you are, no matter
what youre doing, and no matter whats going on, your breath is
always there to help.
FAQ 6: Everywhere I read Im being told to

acknowledge the thought and then let it go. What
does that even mean?
_______________
Whats important is that you acknowledge the thought with
mindfulness. Acknowledging the thought with mindfulness is itself a
nonjudgmental action. You aren't judging the thought or yourself for
having the thought. By "let it go" the teacher is probably often
referring to the nonjudgmental aspect of mindfulness, whether they
realize it or not. It's not a bad description, I like it myself because it
reminds one of the nonjudgmental aspect of mindfulness, but more
detail needs to be given of the action instead of just "let it go".
The only action that will precede acknowledging the thought
with mindfulness will be you bringing your concentration back to the
object of mindfulness, be it your breath, steps, or the act of sweeping,
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washing dishes, eating food, or whatever else you're being mindful

of. Essentially, because mindfulness is itself by nature
nonjudgmental, there will be no letting go. There will simply be no
clinging. Mindfulness is what observes the thought, but mindfulness
does not grab hold of anything in the first place. So there is nothing
to let go of.
More often than not the same thought will reappear
constantly. Instead of trying to kindly get the elephant out the door,
only to find him resisting, imagine yourself talking to a giraffe and
the elephant walks up and interrupts you. Bringing your
concentration back to your object of mindfulness isn't letting the
thought go, it's simply turning away from the elephant and
continuing your conversation with the giraffe. Yes, the elephant will
continue to try and interrupt. But simply being with these
interruptions in order to heal them is the very nature of meditative
practice. It will take some time to heal. Just keep sitting and be with
the elephant. Don't make him leave, just sit with him and eventually
he'll calm down and stop interrupting you. When this happens, the
thought or emotion (the elephant) will have subsided.
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Mindful Living
Mindful sitting, mindful walking, and mindful breathing are
the most basic meditative practices. Going back to the example of
the professional athlete, these are your fundamentals. But in order
to develop a healthy practice which leads to true peace and
happiness one should strive to live each waking moment in
mindfulness. This will be difficult, but no matter what stage youre
at the more you work at it the more rewarding your practice will
be.
So, where do you start? Youve got your regular morning
and/or evening practice of mindful sitting, you practice your
breathing every hour and you use it when youre faced with any
difficult situation, and you practice mindful walking whenever
possible. But when you work, sit down to eat, go out to have fun
with friends or family, clean the house, or do anything else you can
and should also be mindful. Every moment of every day is an
opportunity to shine the healing light of mindfulness as well as to
feel the peace and joy of living fully in the present moment.
Mindful eating
With multiple opportunities to practice mindful eating each
day, learning to eat with mindfulness can become a very
nourishing practice. Eating is already typically enjoyable, but
eating with mindfulness can turn breakfast, lunch, or dinner into
a deeply spiritual and joy filled experience. And anything which is
naturally enjoyable can easily be done with mindfulness. This is
because joy and excitement naturally pull our attention to the
thing were enjoying or are excited about and away from any
potential distractions.
To practice mindful eating you simply need to direct your
mindfulness to the act of chewing your food. The anchor point of
mindfulness (what your concentration latches onto) is always an
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action executed by you. This could be breathing, walking, chewing,

or a million other actions. Whatever it is, in order to be mindful
you need only drop your anchor onto whatever youre doing in the
present moment in order to be mindful of the entire moment.
Youre being mindful of both the act of placing the food into your
mouth, and when it hits your mouth, the act of chewing the food
itself. Thats where your concentration should rest. Be fully
present for the act of consuming your meal with mindfulness and
everything that arises from that including the sensations of eating
the food itself.
Take your time with each bite. Dont eat another bite until
youre done with the bite in your mouth. If you go to take or
prepare another bite before finishing the bite in your mouth then
youre not eating with mindfulness. When you practice mindful
eating youre being fully present for the food thats in front of you,
dont try to rush through the meal in order to get to something
else. This is just your conditioned mind trying to move you in the
direction of your old habit energies. While youre eating with
mindfulness there is nothing else. There is only the meal in front
of you.
To deepen your practice, take a moment to see the food in its
true state. If youre eating a salad, see the lettuce leaf as the true
lettuce leaf. See the water in the lettuce, the sunlight which helped
the lettuce grow, the soil which provided nutrients, and the farmer
who farmed the lettuce. If you took even one of these elements
away the lettuce would not exist. By looking deeply into the lettuce
and touching its true nature, feelings of gratitude and appreciation
will naturally arise in you. This is using your mindfulness to look
deeply into your meal. By eating in this way you can further
deepen the practice of mindful eating and make it a very
spiritually nourishing practice.
Mindful working
Many people around the world spend a third or more of their
lives at work. This is an enormous amount of time. By practicing
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mindfulness at work you can find a lot joy in what you do, even in
the simplest of tasks.
To practice mindful working you simply need to be fully
present for the work at hand. Whether youre walking from one
location to another, eating lunch, typing an email on your
computer, or having a conversation with someone, do so with
mindfulness. The next time you step into the office, dont worry
about actually being mindful, simply take the day to notice
opportunities to practice mindfulness. Remember every moment
is an opportunity to practice mindfulness, but what youre doing
here is looking for clear and easy opportunities to practice. You
might work at an office, on a construction site, in a factory, or at
home taking care of your children. Youll need to examine your
own days to find the best times to begin introducing the practice
of mindfulness into your work day and the rest of your daily life.
Most workplaces have a tendency to be busy and filled with
constant distractions. So to practice mindfulness at work can also
mean you need to be mindful of any unexpected occurrences that
arise. Surprises are commonplace in many workplaces, so you
need to know how to respond to these surprises with mindfulness.
Imagine these surprises as thoughts arising while sitting in
meditation. You dont push these thoughts away, you acknowledge
them with your mindfulness just as you acknowledge your breath.
Take care of the interruption, but always bring your focus back to
the main task at hand just as when bringing your focus back to
your breath. Dont let yourself be led away by distractions. This
can help make you more productive as well as lend to your
mindfulness practice.
Mindful experiencing
The very essence of mindfulness is to fully experience whats
occurring in the present moment. When you go out with friends
or spend a day with family you can practice mindful experiencing
and not only continue your mindfulness practice but really take
the most from the experience. Mindful experiencing is really just
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practicing mindfulness in general, but its with the greater goal of

making the most of time with friends and family.
During a mindful experience you could be mindful of the
feeling of the breeze on your face and in your hair when driving to
your destination, of how your childs smile makes you feel when
doing something they enjoy, you could practice deep listening and
loving speech (mindfulness of speaking and listening in
conversation) while conversing with friends and family on the
outing, or select a specific sense organ, such as your ears at one
point and eyes on another, and simply focus on everything coming
into that sense organ during those moments. If youre practicing
mindfulness of hearing while taking a tram ride you can block
everything out and just be mindful of every sound that enters your
ears. Be fully present for every sound. If youre on a roller coaster
or some amusement park ride you can practice mindfulness of
body and fully take in all the twists, turns, and drops. And you
dont have to do something fast paced, you could simply walk
through a park with a loved one or draw with your child in
mindfulness. Theres a limitless number of ways you can practice
mindfulness when enjoying time with friends and family. The
point is that youre fully awake to whatever is happening in the
present moment.
I visited Disneyland recently. I grew up near this particular
Disneyland so Ive been to it on a number of occasions growing up.
Im always interested to see the way people act when going out to
have fun at places like amusement parks. Especially families going
as a group, but not excluding anyone else. I was in line at what I
believe was the Star Wars ride when my awareness was piqued by
a conversation that a mother was having with her two children in
front of us in line. It went something like this:
Child: I want to go on the X ride!
Mother: Alright. Your brother likes this ride so were going
to get this over with and then well run over to X and get that over
with so we have them out of the way. That way, we dont have to
deal with them for the rest of the day.
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It might have seemed to some like the mother was physically

at Disneyland, but in reality she was still working. Ready to tackle
her to-do list for the day, maximize her productivity, and keep her
house or office in order. Theres nothing inherently wrong with a
to-do list. But so many of us get into the trap of letting a
productivity mindset control our lives. Were so used to rushing
around all the time thinking that if we get more done well be
happier. But it doesnt work that way. Take your time, dont rush
through these experiences just to try and get the most things done
in a day. Youll only end up dead tired by the end of it and feeling
like you just worked an overtime shift at work. This isnt relaxation
at all. Dont forget why you go out to do things with family and
friends- to enjoy yourself and each others company. Let your
mindfulness guide you towards a more enjoyable experience. It
doesnt matter if you went on two rides all day, or if all you did was
sit down to draw with your daughter at home. If you did it with
mindfulness then it was worth more than an entire day at
Disneyland.
Mindful cleaning
One of the beautiful things about mindfulness is that it can
take typically boring and mundane activities and make them
meaningful and deeply enjoyable. This is probably best
exemplified with cleaning in mindfulness. Cleaning with
mindfulness can be a very deep practice. Indeed, practices which
you wouldnt typically consider deep or meaningful at all can be
some of the deepest and most meaningful because of their simple
nature.
What does mindful cleaning look like? It could be sweeping
in mindfulness. Focusing on your body creating each stroke of the
brooms brush, handling the broom and the task of sweeping with
great care and reverence as if sweeping this floor was the most
important thing in the universe. It could be washing dishes in
mindfulness. Take the time to wash each dish with all of your
being, concentrating on the act of washing the dish with your
hands. If could also be mindfulness of watering the garden,
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cleaning the windows or tabletops, or mopping the floor.

Whatever it is, while cleaning treat that particular task as the most
important thing in the world at that very moment. And as usual, if
you become distracted, simply acknowledge the distraction with
your mindfulness and bring your concentration back to the task at
hand.
Mindful living
In this chapter weve looked at mindful eating, mindful
working, mindful experiencing, and mindful cleaning. Combined
with mindful sitting, mindful walking, and mindful breathing
weve covered huge ground. But it doesnt stop there. As I
mentioned before, you can practice mindfulness of anything and
everything. You should strive to be mindful 24/7. All day, every
day.
The instructions we covered throughout this section can be
applied towards anything. Pick your object of mindfulness,
preferably some part of you in action because to concentrate on
something stationary is much more difficult than something
which is constantly changing or moving in some fashion (think
in/out breath, steps, sensations, chewing and tasting, sweeping,
etc.), and then simply be mindful. It might take a while to bring
mindfulness into your entire life, but if you practice the
fundamentals daily, keep learning, and let the light of mindfulness
spread into the other areas of your life then youll develop a
practice which nurtures a deep sense of peace and happiness
within you.
FAQ 7: How do I know when Im practicing

mindfulness?
_______________
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At first, youre going to be confused as to whether or

not youre really practicing mindfulness. So, youre supposed to
read some words on a page and then just.hope youre doing it
right? Thats where faith comes in. I dont mean faith in a higher
power, but I am talking about belief and confidence in something.
In this case, that means confidence in the teaching or instruction
of this book. Trust the instruction in this book and just practice.
Keep practicing and, with time, youll get the hang of it.
There are some good ways to identify that youre
practicing correctly. The best place to start is with what I
mentioned on point 6 in the Mindfulness is chapter, but theres
also a few questions you can ask yourself to further ensure youre
practicing correctly. Ask yourself these questions once youve been
practicing for a few weeks (the answer to each of these is likely to
be yes if youre practicing correctly):
Q1: Do I feel happier and more at peace than I did
before I started practicing mindfulness?
Q2: Do I feel less stress and mental exhaustion than
before?
Q3: Am I feeling less angry and more patient than I did
before?
Q4: While being mindful, am I sensing the
interruptions that arise in my mind and body, even if I dont yet
know exactly what those interruptions are?
Q5: When I become mindful, do I feel like I just turned
the light switch on to my life? Do I feel more aware of whats going
on within myself?
Q1-Q3 are clear indicators that youre not only
practicing mindfulness but that youre practice is working.
If you answered no to Q4, you might be concentrating
too hard. That is, forcing your concentration to the point where
youll give yourself a headache. Softly direct your concentration to
the object of mindfulness and softly redirect it when your
concentration lapses. If youre concentrating too hard then youre
not giving your mindfulness the chance to come out and play.
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And in regards to Q5, remember that mindfulness is a

conscious decision. The moment you decide to become mindful is
a conscious decision, and an act, committed by you. You should
feel an immediate change in your awareness when making this
conscious decision.
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Part 3:
Developing
Mindfulness
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Overcoming Old Habits

Mindfulness is like anything else, it takes work to develop it
into a daily practice. Youll work and work to establish a daily
practice and things will just keep getting in the way. Youll make
strides but youll also falter at times. But it will all be worth it. And
with mindfulness theres no waiting for your reward, every
moment in mindfulness is healing and revitalizing. In Part 3 well
discuss the most important components to developing
mindfulness as a way of life. Keep in mind that the set of tools Ill
cover in this section isnt exhaustive. Its simply everything that I
myself have used to develop mindfulness into a daily practice.
Everyones situation is different. You might be able to think of
your own tools which will help you develop mindfulness.
What would it be like to be mindful from the time you wake
up until the time you lay your head down to rest? With a daily
practice of mindful sitting, mindful breathing, mindful walking,
and a daily practice of showing reverence for every little moment
in your daily life youd live constantly aware of the precious nature
of each moment of life, appreciative of everything you have (and
dont have), calm as a gentle stream of water, with a clear vision to
witness your mind unfold to the true nature of yourself and the
world around you. This is the ultimate goal of all spiritual practice
and ultimately what we all want. To be truly happy and at peace.
Thats the point.
So then what keeps us from accomplishing this? Even if
youre just starting out and simply striving to meditate for 20
minutes a day, to make mindfulness a daily practice takes work.
Whether your daily practice is all day, every chance you get, just
sometimes, or for simply 5 minutes every day, youll need some
tools to help you develop it into a daily habit or practice. When it
comes to developing mindfulness, or anything else for that matter,
as a daily practice, our habit energy is the major force standing in
our way. Sure, outside circumstances affect us, but without our old
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habit energy in the way nothing significant would hold us back

from changing nearly every part of our life in an instant.
Fortunately for us, the very thing were attempting to make
a daily practice can be the most powerful force in helping us
overcome old habit energies. In working to develop mindfulness
as a daily practice its important to be mindful of when your old
habit energies are trying to pull you away. Simply by observing
your old habit energy with mindfulness you reduce the pull it has
on you. And the more you observe it the weaker it gets. Observe
the old habit energy long enough without giving in and youll
transform it into something positive. When we dont fully know or
fully realize what were doing is bad for us then we keep doing it.
This is the position so many people are in. But when we fully
realize what were doing and why its bad for us then we stop doing
that thing and almost always replace it with something positive.
Mindfulness will help you delve deeply into your old habit
energies and find out why youre being pulled in their direction.
Im tired, I dont have the energy to do that, and Ill do it
later. These are things we tell ourselves constantly in our
subconscious mind without ever noticing. The longer and more
often were mindful the more well begin to actually witness us
making these comments to ourselves. Then well put the power
back into our own hands and be able say no to these many
excuses. Thats one of the great things about mindfulness. A lot of
times all thats needed is to notice what were really doing because
we never fully see ourselves as we go about our daily lives. By
seeing ourselves clearly, even without taking any particular action
other than being mindful, we can rewrite these old habit energies.
But that doesnt mean that everything will be smooth sailing.
No matter what you do youll still have a lot of tough days.
Sometimes tough weeks. Youll try to practice and something will
get in the way, youll listen to your own excuses and fall off for a
moment, or a number of other things that can happen will happen.
No matter what you do youll encounter adversity. So in the next
two chapters of Part 3 Ill cover all of my best tips and tricks for
beginning with mindfulness and establishing it as a daily practice.
These are the various tools Ive used to overcome my own old habit
energies as well as the pull of outside circumstance to establish
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mindfulness as a daily practice. Each of these various tools works

towards the same purpose: overcoming old habit energy and
outside circumstances in order to develop mindfulness as a daily
practice which nourishes your mind and body and helps you
realize true peace and happiness.
FAQ 8: I often go days without remembering

to practice mindfulness. I feel like its just not
working for me. What am I supposed to do?
_______________
Tackling that very good question is the very purpose of Part
3. This is something youll undoubtedly encounter when
beginning to develop mindfulness as a daily practice. The chapter
Tools of Mindfulness is about just that- overcoming our natural
ability to forget to practice, mostly because of outside
circumstances pulling us away. Most of us are pretty busy, so it
can be really easy to let an entire day go by and forget to practice
mindfulness altogether. Especially when were used to rushing
around from the time we wake up until the time we lay our heads
down to rest. If you use one or more of the techniques I outline in
Tools of Mindfulness chapter then eventually your practice will
grow and youll be practicing on a daily basis.
You might begin to notice yourself slowing during this time.
I mean that you begin to move more slowly throughout your day
than you did previously. And yet, youll be getting more done. This
is one of the beautiful benefits of mindfulness. Mindfulness will
help you realize that all that rushing around never made you more
productive. And now you have a better way.
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Tips and Tricks for Beginning with

Mindfulness
When I first started practicing mindfulness I had a lot of
tough days. Sometimes a tough string of days. Id often go the
entire day and forget to practice mindfulness altogether. I knew
how important it was to me and yet Id find myself completely
forgetting to be mindful all day long. It was frustrating to say the
least.
By now you know why mindfulness is important, what it can
do, and how to practice it. But when you actually take this
information and attempt to apply it in real life youre going to see
that it wont be all rainbows and cupcakes (if thats even a good
thing). As with a lot of things, developing mindfulness into a
regular part of your life can be difficult. Likelihood is youve
already started dabbling in the techniques I spoke about in the last
chapter. But in order to really develop mindfulness as a daily
practice and to make it a consistent part of your life so that you
reap the full benefits you need to do more than just read this book
and occasionally be mindful when you remember to do so.
As we talked about earlier, modern life is filled with
distractions. Not only that, were taught to move fast, get things
done quickly, and multitask whenever possible. But not only are
none of these things necessarily more productive, which is the
entire point, theyre not generally good for our well-being and a
bad environment to begin developing mindfulness in. So youre
going to need some tools. At least at first, before the habit is
developed. In this chapter Im going to cover the various tools I
myself used in order to develop mindfulness as a daily practice.
So, where do you start? It can be difficult to know where to
begin ones practice of mindfulness. Many resources discuss
mindfulness only as a form of sitting meditation. This greatly
limits your practice. In order to obtain a clear mind you cant just
practice mindfulness during sitting meditation. You also need to
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be mindful while going about your everyday life. After all, what
good is anything which isnt actually useful to you in your everyday
life?
One of the great things about mindfulness is that it's
available to you in every moment. You can practice mindfulness
right now this very second and touch seeds of peace and joy within
yourself. You can directly and immediately create a positive effect
in your daily life and in a number of ways. This has to be taken
advantage of in order to gain the full benefit from practicing
mindfulness. Sitting meditation is powerful, and in fact its the
cornerstone of meditative practice of any kind. But in order to
both calm the mind and see with clarity, the two major goals of all
meditation and spiritual practice, you need to also seek to be
mindful during your daily routine. Not just in the morning or at
night when you sit down to meditate. If you miss this you could
end up with a rather unsuccessful practice and wonder what
youre doing wrong.
And still others explain mindfulness in confusing jargon that
only certain spiritual or religious groups can understand. Using
these words can be OK. But if the author doesnt explain the
meaning of the words and the purpose of mentioning them then it
wont help you as the reader to understand mindfulness. It will
only hurt you and turn you off to the subject. They might mean
well, and the information might truly be life-changing, but if the
language isnt simple and straightforward then youre just not
going to bother.
But worst of all, with mindfulness rise in popularity in the
West its easy to stumble across an incorrect explanation of how
to practice mindfulness and just end up confused and
unmotivated. This is the result of the age of the internet. It doesnt
take an expert (whatever that is) to talk about mindfulness. But
one thing is for certain- you shouldnt listen to anyone talk about
mindfulness who hasnt made the practice of mindfulness a way
of life for themselves. Unfortunately, there are a lot of people out
there who seek to comment on mindfulness and profit from it due
to its rise in popularity. So as you move forward be careful, and
whenever possible use this book, when deciding who to listen to
for advice on improving your mindfulness practice.
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In order to start you off on the right foot Ive organized a list
of my best tips and tricks for beginning with mindfulness. These
are all the things that I myself have found to be important, or made
the mistake of not doing (or both), at the beginning of my own
practice. Some of these have to do with adopting a particular
mindset, some have to do with the way you actually practice
mindfulness, and some have to do with various techniques in
themselves. Following even one of these points can greatly
improve your practice if youre just starting out. Id suggest
following each point closely.
Tips and tricks for beginning with

mindfulness:
1. Focus on developing concentration
Weve spoken about the relationship between mindfulness
and concentration already, but a very important point to keep in
mind is that at the beginning your mind will literally be all over
the place. Youll seem to have a new thought or some other
distraction every few seconds. This is perfectly normal. I went
through the same thing at first. It took time to quiet my own mind,
but it was well worth it. Simply quieting the mind can bring you a
great sense of peace and happiness. And without calming the mind
you wont be able to get into the more advanced levels of
mindfulness practice. So its important, at least at first, to focus on
developing concentration. Once your concentration improves
youll be able to put more focus into exercising mindfulness. Youll
start noticing why your mind strays (was it a thought or feeling?
What was the thought?), as opposed to simply noticing your mind
stray and refocusing on your object of meditation.
2. Pick simple objects

In the beginning youre going to want to pick an easy object
of meditation. Then, once your skill improves, you can pick more
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difficult objects. At first, Id suggest practicing mindful breathing

for a couple of weeks. Whether youre at your desk, at a stoplight,
in between places, or sitting down for an extended meditation
session. Just stop what youre doing and follow your breath with
mindfulness. Focus your concentration on each exhale and inhale
and let your mind quiet. If your mind seems a bit chaotic, dont
worry. This is perfectly normal and might last a few weeks before
really beginning to calm down. Refer back to the chapters
Mindful Breathing and Mindful Sitting for detailed
instructions on how to practice mindful breathing as sitting
meditation and as a practice which can be done throughout your
day. After a few weeks you can move on to mindful walking, eating,
and many other nourishing practices. But continue to practice
formal sitting meditation in the morning and/or night and
mindful breathing throughout your day. These are great beginner
practices and theyll remain cornerstones of your mindfulness
practice even as your skill improves. The reason these are great
beginner practices is because they dont require a high level of
skill. Walking meditation (or mindful walking) is an example of
moving meditation, but its typically done in a slow manner to
where its easy for a beginner to do. Id still suggest sticking to
mindful breathing for at least the first few weeks though before
trying to practice walking meditation at all. Dont rush t he process
of developing mindfulness. Youll gain nothing from doing so and
only end up hurting your practice.
3. Pick moving objects

Know that its best, at first, to pick objects of mindfulness
which involve movement. The reason for this is that its much
easier to keep your concentration on something which is
constantly changing and moving. The fundamental practices are
great because they provide this: breath goes in and out constantly
and your steps are wellsteps. You can absolutely practice
mindfulness of, say, your body while lying down. Simple
mindfulness of the body is a very relaxing practice which can help
improve the quality of your sleep. But if youre sitting perfectly still
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then youll have a hard time in the beginning keeping your

concentration. This is just in the beginning though. Once you
improve your concentration youll be able to practice mindfulness
of anything with relative ease.
3. Sit often
Sitting meditation really is the cornerstone of all meditative
practice. It was my first experience with mindfulness and Id
suggest it be your first experience with meditation of any kind.
Adopting a daily practice of sitting meditation is very important.
If you try to start practicing mindfulness without making sitting
meditation a part of your daily practice then it will be much more
difficult to get to a point where your mind becomes quiet. And
later, sitting meditation will aid in your efforts to obtain a clear
mind. No matter how far a Zen monk goes in their practice, they
always sit and often two to three times a day. Remember to think
of sitting meditation as your practice time to keep you sharp.
Every great athlete practices the fundamentals of their craft on a
daily basis. No matter how good they become, they practice the
fundamentals. For spiritual practice, one of these fundamentals is
sitting meditation.
4. Schedule mindfulness
As Ill talk about in the next chapter, part of why its difficult
to establish mindfulness as a daily practice is that its something
you do throughout your day as opposed to something you usually
plan for or schedule. This is great for obvious reasons, but it also
means that in the beginning of your practice you can go entire days
and just altogether forget to be mindful of anything. Because of
this fact its important to actually schedule part of your practice,
at least at first. This will help you develop your mindfulness,
increase the chance of you remembering to be mindful during the
rest of your day, and give you a clear marker as to how well youre
sticking to your practice. If you missed your sitting meditation
session, you know you missed. This will help quite a bit at first,
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trust me. And its not a bad idea to continue to schedule mindful
time, even if its just your time for sitting meditation.
5. Go easy on yourself
Earlier I talked about the nonjudgmental aspect of
mindfulness. Mindfulness is an open acceptance of everything, so
those thoughts, feelings, and sensations that keep popping into
your mind shouldnt be labelled a bad thing. In fact, they arent a
good thing or a bad thing. Remember, mindfulness is just an
observer. You shouldnt be passing judgment, good or bad, on
anything including disruptions to your concentration. These
distractions are normal. Theyll subside for the most part
naturally, your mind will quiet over time, and it will bring you a
great sense of peace. So dont worry about that. Youll know your
practice is really successful not when these distractions subside
but when you start becoming mindful of these distractions. No
matter how many of them you have. Dont get frustrated if at first
you cant hold your concentration for more than a few seconds.
This is perfectly normal. If you get frustrated just acknowledge the
frustration with mindfulness and let it go. Know that these
distractions will subside with practice and that your goal is
primarily to develop your mindfulness. When you develop the
ability to shine the light of mindfulness on these distractions is
when the real healing can begin. These disruptions are the things
distorting your perception and keeping you from reality as it is,
filled with peace, joy, and freedom. No matter what, just keep
practicing. With time youll see the fruits of your labor.
6. Prioritize mindfulness
You wont get far in your practice of mindfulness if you dont
prioritize it. This goes for anything in life. This is because right
from the beginning youll be clashing with old habits. Remember
last chapter when we talked about our habit energy? Keep in mind
that our actions contain a certain amount of energy. That is, that
the more often we do something the more energy or pull it has.
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This is our habit energy. We all have this habit energy. What
differs from one person to another is where we place this energy.
When you begin practicing mindfulness youll naturally be
pulled in other directions constantly. This is your old habit
energy attempting to pull you back to your old ways. You can use
the other tips and tricks in this chapter, such as making sure to
enjoy the process and to pick simple objects of mindfulness, but
youll still need to prioritize your practice. This means, as with
establishing any other new habit, youll have to fight with your old
and likely less productive or positive ways. But remember how
energy works, the more time and effort you place into something
the more pull it will have. Stick with it and gradually it will become
easier until the point in which it will take almost no effort at all.
And the great thing about mindfulness is that you can do it while
doing just about anything. So its not so much choosing
mindfulness over other things, its more of remembering to be
mindful. At first though remember to keep it simple and choose
easy objects of mindfulness.
7. Slow it down
Were taught to move quickly, multitask, and ultimately be
as productive as possible. This mentality is ingrained in us. It
probably started during the industrial revolution, where we as a
species became obsessed with speed and productivity. It was all
about who could grow the fastest and claim the most land. It was
inevitable based on our development as a species, but this mindset
has stayed with us to the present day and its completely against
our true nature. Were so used to rushing around all day that a lot
of times we never even realize theres another way to live. We think
that its just how life is. But its not. And of course, part of the
point of mindfulness and meditation is to calm the mind. But this
job can and should be handled on both sides.
While developing your practice of mindfulness you should
also work to become aware of when youre rushing around and
when youre not. And aside from helping to calm your mind, if you
actively work on slowing down youll also find more opportunities
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to practice mindfulness. Because of this its highly beneficial to

analyze your daily schedule. Youll find that opportunities to
practice mindfulness are numerous in our daily lives. Walking
from point A to point B, sitting in a waiting room, driving to and
from work, and just stopping for a moment to follow your breath
anywhere and at any time. Slow it down and really start taking the
time to enjoy the little moments with mindfulness. It wont take
nearly any extra time and very little effort.
8. Be patient
Mindfulness takes time and patience to develop. At first, it
will be subtle. Unicorns wont start flying through the air and
celebration banners wont drop from the sky. Youll just feel.a
little more alive. A little more present. Thats the best way I can
describe it. But with practice youll notice your ability improve.
Youll feel more present, more alive, and better able to notice
things with your mindfulness. Of course, youll need to have some
indicator that youre practicing correctly. I covered a few great tips
so far, but another good one would be to simply practice mindful
breathing and sitting meditation often. These are the easiest ways
to practice mindfulness and the method of counting your breath,
which youll do during both of those exercises, is the easiest way
to tell when you lose your mindfulness and a great way to tell if
youre practicing correctly. Remember, mindfulness works like a
muscle. The more you work it out, the stronger it gets. Work
patiently towards making mindfulness a way of life and youll
develop it into a powerful force for peace and happiness in your
life.
9. Let go
When you begin practicing mindfulness youll probably find
it extraordinarily difficult not to become distracted. We covered
this earlier, so it shouldnt be of any surprise. But something else
will likely happen. Youll have a hard time convincing yourself to
let go of these distractions. Why is that? Well, we tend to blow
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everything in our mind out of proportion. What that means is

when we have a project due at school, a presentation at work, a big
event with the family, or some personal business, we tend to mull
over the thing in our heads repeatedly. Did I remember to do
that? Did I have them add that? What am I going to do about
that? How is that going to work? Its an endless cycle of
questions and answers.
When you begin your mindfulness practice you might have a
very hard time convincing yourself to let go of these thoughts for
even 10 minutes to sit down and meditate. But its so important.
You might think that you need to keep these things cycling
through your brain constantly, otherwise youll screw something
up or just not do as good a job as you could or should, but thats
not the case. You only minimize your effectiveness in any given
task by hounding over it and never giving your mind any rest.
Youd be surprised how refreshed and sharp your mind will be if
you allow yourself to step away from something for even a single
session of mindful breathing or walking meditation. So learn how
to let go of these things and just follow your breath. Let go of
everything. The more you practice the easier it will be to do this
and the better youll feel.
10. Have fun

Youve probably heard this one a million times before about
a million other things, but thats because its true. Its not just true,
its one of the most important points on this list. Why? Because
when we enjoy something our drive to do that thing increases
tenfold. Luckily, for the most part, this will come naturally when
practicing mindfulness. By the very act of practicing mindfulness
your monkey mind will begin to settle and youll feel an
extraordinary sense of tranquility. When I first started practicing
mindfulness I felt an amazing sense of peace that seemed to
extend throughout the rest of my day. It was rough at first, I cant
say that it wasnt difficult. Your mind will likely be bouncing
around uncontrollably for the first a couple of weeks, youll be
pretty fidgety, and if you use a timer during sitting meditation
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youll find thoughts like I wonder how much longer I have to go?
popping up regularly. But even so, youll find yourself feeling great
after finishing a session, even if it was just a few minutes long.
During this time you really just have to push through the
difficulty. But I dont mean literally push or be forceful. Just be
mindful of whatever it is youre being mindful of, in the beginning
this will be mostly your breath, and as thoughts arise gently
acknowledge them and bring your concentration back to your
breath. This tough period wont last long at all and during it youll
still get a lot of joy from practicing. Really take time to notice how
mindfulness is improving your mood and behavior. If you take
time to do this youll deepen your appreciation of your practice
further and find even more drive to continue practicing.
But the real joy is in once your mind has begun to settle and
you can just sit. When you can sit, stop, or walk and be mindful
without feeling like you want to get up or like you have something
you need to get to, youll know youve reached a real milestone. I
cant describe this feeling to you. You just have to feel it for
yourself. Its one of the most beautiful and peaceful feelings youll
ever feel in your life. In those moments everything is perfect just
as it is and you feel like you could sit forever.
11. Just sit

At first, you might find yourself counting the
minutes waiting for your meditation session to be over. This is the
wrong mentality. I used to sit down and eventually grow twitchy
and fidgety when I knew my session was almost over. If this is
happening to you, try not setting a timer for a while. Just sit. If
youre too conditioned to get results in everything you do then a
timer during mindful sitting can be counterproductive at first
because all youll want to do is think check! Thats off my list
but theres no benefit in that and meditation doesnt work that
way. Just sit. After a while this feeling will disappear and instead
youll notice yourself feeling like you could sit forever. And it will
feel wonderful.
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FAQ 9: I cant sit still, how on earth am I

supposed to meditate?
_______________
All the more reason to sit! Those who have the most difficulty
sitting still are the ones who need mindfulness the most. If youre
constantly moving to the point where you cant imagine yourself
sitting still for more than a few minutes at a time then your mind
is very, very busy. And the busier your mind, the more stressed
and anxious you are.
If all you do is learn how to stop and follow your breath from
time to time youll completely transform how you feel on a day to
day basis. Those with the most difficulty sitting are typically the
ones who end up appreciating the practice the most because they
derive the most meaning from it. We often have to learn from
experience in order to really appreciate something. If youve
experienced a chaotic mind then youll truly appreciate the peace
you find from adopting the practice of mindfulness in your daily
life.
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Tools of Mindfulness
Shortly after beginning my own mindfulness practice
something became glaringly obvious to me: its really easy to
forget to be mindful. And I dont mean for a few minutes, I mean
for entire days. Especially if you have a typically busy schedule.
This is because one of our most common habit energies is the very
semi-conscious state I described earlier in the book. Were so
conditioned to live in this semi-conscious state that in the
beginning we need to remind ourselves to be mindful constantly
in order to establish it as a daily practice. Sure, mindfulness is
awesome because you can do it while doing anything else you
typically do in your daily life. But thats part of the very reason why
you need tools to help you establish mindfulness as a daily
practice. While you might strive to be mindful whenever walking,
without things supporting your practice youll more than likely
just forget and walk wherever you go like you always do. That is,
semi-conscious, with a mind dispersed between many thoughts
and sensations.
In the last chapter, under item number four titled Schedule
mindfulness, I mentioned how scheduling a specific time frame
to be mindful, whether you practice mindful sitting, walking, or
something else, helps support and establish your practice. But this
only aids in the process. It will still be easy to forget to practice
while going about your day. Towards that end, tangible tools like
symbols and reminders are something Ive made great use of in
establishing my own mindfulness practice. Tools of mindfulness
are tools which interact with one of the six sense organs: touch,
taste, sight, smell, sound, and mind. In Buddhism, mind is
considered a sense organ. I think it helps personal and spiritual
development greatly to interpret mind as an organ which receives
sensations much the same way as our other traditional sense
organs do. Here, Im talking particularly about either a sound to
remind you, a sight to instill feelings in you, an idea to conjure a
state of mind in you, or a combination.
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In this chapter well talk about how to set up reminders (both

audio and visual) which naturally help you develop the habit of
mindfulness, how to utilize objects as constant objects of
mindfulness during your day, and how to create a pocket-sized
resource to not only help remind you to practice mindfulness but
which also gives you a way to trigger mindfulness during all of
your regular daily activities. Again, these are all techniques I
myself have used personally and which have helped me develop
the practice of mindfulness in my own life. I hope some of these
can be of use to you. They were of great use to me!
Symbols of Mindfulness
Symbols can be powerful forms of reinforcement and
support. A necklace, a ring, a bracelet, something you keep in your
pocket like a rock, or anything else you might think of. Its about
creating your own symbol for mindfulness and awakening which
you carry on you at all times. It reminds you to be mindful, and it
also acts as a sort of refuge. When you touch your symbol of
mindfulness, you can enter a state of mindfulness. No matter
where you are, no matter what youre doing, your symbol of
mindfulness is a great way to bring yourself back to reality and
calm your mind and body.
A while back I purchased a small gold lotus pendant, which
I still wear to this day. I thought it might be helpful in reminding
me to be mindful and of the importance of my spiritual practice as
a whole. I decided on the lotus flower because it symbolizes
awakening, so it reminds me of my practice and the overall
purpose. A symbol which you keep on you throughout your day
really is a great way to remind yourself to be mindful. This one
thing helped my practice greatly. I personally wasnt used to
wearing jewelry of any kind, so if youre like me youll have to try
different things out to see what you prefer. You can also carry
something like a small and smooth flat rock. It will fit in your
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pocket or purse but at the same time be just bulky enough to

remind you that its there from time to time throughout your day.
Whatever symbol you decide on, if you decide to use one
then use it wisely. Take it seriously, remember why youre wearing
or carrying this symbol. Dont let it just become something you
carry which you pass over. Remember, if youre passing over it
then youre passing over your practice.
The Bell of Mindfulness

Remember the chapter on mindful breathing? Practicing
mindful breathing throughout your day can itself be a great way to
develop mindfulness further. By setting reminders on your phone
(or tablet, if you carry it on you) or posting a reminder on the wall
of a room you step into every day such as your restroom at home
or office at work, you can help develop mindfulness as a daily
practice. One of the most effective ways Ive found of developing
mindfulness as a daily practice is by setting up simple alarm
reminders on your phone. Id suggest setting them for the same
timeframe I mentioned in the Mindful Breathing chapter. Set the
alarm to go off every hour and plan to practice mindful breathing
for about one minute once the alarm goes off.
I like to use a bell sound set as my alarm sound. Many
Buddhist temples have bells, very similar to church bells, which
they sound when a session of meditation begins and ends. Every
time the bell goes off I imagine the bell sounding at one of these
temples and, no matter where I am, transport myself to a place of
peace and quiet. When this bell sounds everything stops. I dont
listen to the excuses I try to give myself about oh, let me just f inish
this one thing, or Ill get to that in just a minute. I stop
everything and just breathe mindfully. No matter where I am I
stop. If Im not comfortable I immediately go somewhere that I
am. Just breathe. Let this be your daily vacation time. No matter
where you are, for one minute every hour youre transported to a
place of pure peace and tranquility. When you come back youll
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feel refreshed and ready to tackle anything. And not only that. By
doing this one practice youll be reminded to be mindful
throughout the rest of your day.
This one practice was a huge help in developing my daily
practice. Not only are you reminding yourself to practice mindful
breathing every hour, but because youre practicing mindfulness
every hour of every day (I typically have them set to start going off
around 8AM since my kids are awake by then, wouldnt want to
wake them early) you gradually begin to remember to practice
mindfulness while doing other things throughout your day so it
supports the development of your entire practice. But as with all
of the tools discussed in this chapter, you need to take it seriously.
You might find yourself, for a time, disregarding this alarm. If you
find yourself doing this you need to remind yourself why your
practice is important, dust yourself off, and just get back on the
wagon. Its natural to run into some bumps along the way. So
remember, go easy on yourself and just keep chugging along.
Towards that same end you can also post physical signs that
you type or handwrite and place them on the wall of rooms you
walk into every day such as your restroom, kitchen, office, and
even your car. You can write or draw whatever you want on it as
long as it reminds you to be mindful during your daily life. For
instance, you could have a poster or sign that symbolizes walking
meditation in your bedroom that sits on the back of your bedroom
door. This way, each time you walk out of your bedroom in the
morning youre reminded to walk mindfully. If you tend to rush
around at the office and build up most of your stress and anxiety
there you can place one on the back of your office door or laminate
and place a small one on the surface of your desk. Signs work
great. The only thing about them is that if you dont take them
seriously from the start it becomes easy to ignore or simply pass
over them. Whichever one of these tools you use, you must take
them and your overall practice seriously. As I mentioned in the
last paragraph, if this is a problem then remind yourself why your
practice is important and get back on track. In this case you could
always add these reasons to the very sign that reminds you to be
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mindful. That way, youre simultaneously reminded to practice

mindfulness as well as why its so important to do so in the first
place. Theres a lot of options for making use of reminders. Do
whatever works for you.
The Pocket Book of Mindfulness

When Zen master Thich Nhat Hanh first began his monastic
life as a Buddhist monk he was given a small book. The book, The
Essential Discipline for Daily Use, was written by the Zen master
Doc The (pronounced tay) and given to novice monks in order
to help them develop the practice of mindfulness. The book, as
Nhat Hanh describes it, was no more than 40 pages long from
front to back and was made up of short verses which they would
recite to themselves while doing specific tasks in order to awaken
their minds (i.e. practice mindfulness). The book included verses
for each specific activity that a monk or nun might do throughout
his or her day. Such as waking up:
Just awakened, I hope that every person will attain great
awareness and see in complete clarity.
And washing their hands
Washing my hands, I hope that every person will have
pure hands to receive reality.
Thich Nhat Hanh has since expanded on that original idea
by adding a few modern meditations of his own such as a
telephone meditation and a meditation for riding a bike. The
telephone meditation is four lines. You breathe in when reading
the first line (silently to yourself), out for the second line, in for the
third, and out once more for the fourth:
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Words can travel thousands of kilometers.

They can build more understanding and love.
I vow that what Im going to say is going to promote
mutual understanding and love.
And every word I say will be beautiful like flowers.
As you can see, the first two mentioned were one-liners and
the third was a full verse. Theres no set way to do this, the point
is that theyre words to help you practice mindfulness and conjure
a state of mindfulness and greater awakening. Overall, I loved the
idea of the book and thought it would be an incredible tool to help
myself develop the practice of mindfulness. So I decided to make
my own Essential Discipline.
Long-term happiness doesnt just fall into your lap. Unless
you make the decision to prioritize something, youve got nothing
more than a shot in the dark at accomplishing it. But how do you
do this with an already busy schedule? Trust me, I know how you
feel. I, at the time of writing this, have a nine month old and a
three year-old. Just they by themselves are a handful like no other
let alone my other responsibilities. But this can be helped by a
number of things. We just have to get creative. This is why I liked
the idea of The Essential Discipline for Daily Use so much. I
thought, what if I created my own version of the Zen masters book
in order to help me adopt the practice of mindfulness in my
everyday life? That was the birth of the pocket book of
mindfulness.
Adopting the practice of mindfulness isnt easy, no matter
who you are. But this book is the perfect companion for the
modern-day man or woman to cultivate the practice of
mindfulness whether you lead a busy family life or fast-paced
corporate life (and anywhere in between). I liked the idea of
having a book which outlined all the various moments throughout
the day where one could practice mindfulness and realized that if
I did it old school that is if I literally bought a physical
(handheld) notebook and kept it on me at all times- it would be a
great way to remind myself to practice mindfulness as well.
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Feeling it in your pocket, youre constantly reminded that its

there. Well, turns out, it worked. As soon as I started using it I was
not only constantly reminded to practice mindfulness, I knew how
to put myself into a state of mindfulness no matter what I was
doing. And then I began associating a sense of peace and
happiness with the act of taking the book out, which encouraged
me to use it to practice mindfulness even more often. Which
brings me to the many reasons why the pocket book of
mindfulness is a great tool for helping one develop mindfulness.
First, it constantly reminds you to practice mindfulness. Its
simple- its a physical book that you handwrite and keep in your
pocket or wallet. Its physically obstructive, or at least noticeable
enough that youre constantly reminded to practice mindfulness
throughout your day when you sit down or reach for your wallet.
Whats great too is, after a while of reading and practicing each
phrase youll start to automatically remember to practice and
recite the applicable phrase to yourself without even needing the
book any longer.
Its also great because it shows you how to practice
mindfulness no matter what youre doing: This is the original
purpose of the book. Within it exists various short verses, as we
discussed earlier, to help you develop your practice of
mindfulness. No matter what youre doing the book has a phrase
which you can use to take control of your consciousness and
enter mindfulness. If you think youll be taking the book out more
often than youre comfortable with at first, dont worry. After a
while youll memorize certain phrases and wont have to take the
book out nearly as often.
Lastly, it provides positive reinforcement for your practice.
Youll notice that, after a while of using the book, the book itself
becomes a symbol of the benefits of your practice. Inner peace,
happiness and clarity all become associated with opening your
book and reading a verse. This is a great source of reinforcement
for your practice. Which, as we talked about earlier, is necessary
given how easy it is to forget why were practicing. If youre
constantly reminded of the benefits and beauty of your practice
youll not only continue to practice but your practice will
strengthen.
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Building Your Own Book of Mindfulness

In order to create your own book of mindfulness youll just
need: a small pocket-sized notebook, a pen, and a little
inspiration. For the pocket-sized notebook Id suggest Moleskine.
Thats what I made my book with and its served me perfectly. You
can get them at Barnes & Noble if you have one around you,
otherwise you can find them easily online. Feel free to use
whatever makes you comfortable though, theres absolutely no
guidelines to this. Youre simply writing verses on paper in a
format that allows you to keep it in a noticeable place throughout
your day.
Next, youll need a pen. Nothing special here, right? But I
would like to mention two important points which I learned in
making my own book. First, try to use a pen that doesnt bleed too
much. And second, make sure after writing something to keep the
book open for a bit in order to let the ink dry. This isnt a big deal,
but as you can see from the images below the ink will really spread
unless you do this because of how many times you open and close
the book.
And lastly, you can take the verses I have listed below as-is
as well as examples for creating verses that apply more specifically
to your own life. I listed three examples earlier but below are a few
more entries I have in my own book of mindfulness including
some verses I created for modern life (driving, the internet).
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Home
The first page of my book of mindfulness is about the

practice of going home or returning to yourself. We all lose
ourselves in struggles and challenges from time to time, but by
practicing mindfulness we can go back to ourselves and regain
inner peace and clarity.
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Present moment
Present moment, wonderful moment is a poem written by

Thich Nhat Hanh. I really liked it and thought it would be the
perfect verse for stopping and following my breath (when feeling
stressed, overwhelmed or needing to calm down for whatever
other reason) so I decided to put it at the beginning of the book
. Ive since used it more than any other verse in the book. Reading
it brings me a great sense of inner peace. Each word in the poem
up to release refers to what youre supposed to do as y ou breathe
in or out. I typically breathe in and out 2-3 times for each line to
enhance the practice. Breathe in on the first word of each line and
breathe out for the second. Breathe in on Present moment and
breathe out on Wonderful moment.
So as you read deep, make sure you take a deep breath. As
you read slow make sure you take a slow breath. As you go adopt
each new word into your practice. First deep breathing, then slow
deep breathing, then as you breathe slowly and deeply calm your
body and ease your mind, half-smile to release the tension in your
facial muscles and then on release imagine yourself releasing all
tension and stress from your entire body and mind. Then on
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Present moment, wonderful moment simply savor the peace of

this moment. Relish in the beauty of this moment. Youll never get
it back. This is a very calming practice which Ive used many times.
In, out
Deep, slow
Calm, ease
Smile, release
Present moment,
Wonderful moment.
Dealing with anger
This is another verse which I adapted from Thich Nhat

Hanhs work as I thought it would be highly useful given the
toolbox nature of the Book of Mindfulness. I thought, why does
the book only have to help with becoming mindful during specific
activities? This verse helps you regain hold of your consciousness
when anger takes over, no matter what youre doing. Breathe in
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and out for the first line and in and out again for the second line.
After reading the line below you can continue to breathe mindfully
until the emotion calms.
Although right now I am angry at _______,
Deep down I know I am capable of being at peace.
Driving meditation
As I place my hands on this wheel I enter a state of
mindfulness.
I know I am sitting here, driving this car.
I vow to treat other drivers with patience and
compassion.
And I will renew my sense of inner peace with each turn
of the wheel.
Internet meditation
As I place my hands on this device I enter a state of
mindfulness.
My breath is my companion to the connected world.
I know where I am, what Im doing and why Im doing it.
And I vow to consume only those things which nurture
my mind.
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Working meditation
As I enter this building I also enter a state of
mindfulness.
I will treat all tasks with the same level of importance I
place on taking care of my boys. (You can fill in the blank
here, this is my own)
My breath will guide all important decisions.
I vow to treat others with compassion and will use deep
listening when speaking with teammates.
This is only a sliver of what you can include in your own

book. If you really put the work in to utilize the pocket book of
mindfulness it can be a valuable tool to advance your practice.
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Start Your Adventure

My intention with The Little Book of Mindfulness was to
provide a resource which broke mindfulness down from A to Z and
gave the reader everything they needed to make mindfulness a
part of their lives. I hope The Little Book of Mindfulness has done
just that for you.
In Part 1, we discussed the origins of mindfulness, what
mindfulness is, what it isnt, and the benefits or reasons to practice
mindfulness. In Part 2, we covered practicing mindfulness
through the fundamental activities of mindful sitting, mindful
walking, and mindful breathing. We also discussed how to
practice mindful eating, cleaning, working in mindfulness, and
how to be fully present with mindfulness for experiences with
friends and family. And in Part 3, we discussed how to actually
make mindfulness a daily practice, or habit. We discussed my best
intangible tips and tricks for developing mindfulness as a way of
life such as to have fun with it, prioritize your practice, and tips for
specific practices, as well as an entire chapter on tangible tools for
developing mindfulness such as reminders, symbols, and the
pocket book of mindfulness.
But no matter how much value this book has provided for
you, it wont amount to anything unless you take action. You can
read ten, twenty, even thirty books on mindfulness or anything
else in life for that matter. But if you dont then get up and apply
that knowledge, nothing will change. Youll stay in the same
position youre in now with the same level of happiness and
fulfillment. Nows the time to take the information within this
book and apply it to create positive change in your life. Learn
about mindfulness, understand its importance, and then apply
both the practices themselves and the tips and tricks to
establishing mindfulness as a daily practice that I described in this
section.
Take time to practice sitting meditation every day, go for a
short mindful walk after work, and breathe mindfully throughout
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your day. Sit and eat in mindfulness while being fully present for
each bite. Be completely present when spending time with family
and friends, appreciating their presence and feeling their love.
Learn to live deeply and treat every typically mundane activity
with reverence and complete attention so as to train yourself to
find peace and happiness in the simplest of things by touching the
very ground of your being. And open yourself up to the light of
mindfulness. Let all of your insecurities, deep-seated emotions,
and conditions rise to the surface so that you can allow the mind
and bodys natural healing process to take place.
Mindfulness is meant to be lived, not studied. Its about
living deeply and seeing into the true nature of yourself and the
world around you. So get out there, start really living, and never
look back. Shine the light of mindfulness on your entire life.
Wherever you go, be there. Whatever you do, do it with you entire
being. Transform your life one moment at a time. This is your life
and its now or never. Let mindfulness guide you to a happier,
more peaceful, and more harmonious existence. Your adventure
starts today.
Peace,
Matt
P.S. Developing mindfulness as a way of life isnt easy, but
its infinitely rewarding. If you need help along t he way Id be more
than willing in any way that I can. My home online is my blog
Buddhaimonia (buddhaimonia.com). I write new articles weekly
and would love to see you stop by sometime. Continued reading
and teaching is healthy for any self-development practice and I
aim to provide the best content possible towards that purpose.
Feel free to leave a comment on an article, message me on Twitter
or Google+, or send me an email and Ill do everything I can to
help.
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The 9 Most Frequently Asked Questions

on Mindfulness and Meditation
FAQ 1: Whats the difference between
mindfulness and meditation?
At this point you might be wondering: what exactly is the
difference between mindfulness and meditation? Mindfulness
is itself a form of meditation. One of various forms of
meditation. Which is why, as you might have noticed, the word
meditation has been used in place of, or alongside, mindfulness at
various points in the book thus far. Theres just certain more
traditional ways of referring to different types of mindfulness
practices which can often make things confusing for a beginner.
Mindful sitting is traditionally called sitting meditation,
simply meditation, or more recently mindfulness meditation.
Mindful walking is traditionally called walking meditation, not
mindful walking. Things like this can make it confusing for
someone just starting out, especially someone whos learning on
their own without the guidance of a formal teacher, which is
common in the age of the internet.
So, if mindfulness is a form of meditation, what exactly is
meditation? Meditation covers a pretty broad spectrum of
techniques. But there is a central theme. All meditation has to do
with developing the mind. In a nutshell, meditation is a mental
technique used to develop or maintain the mind. Like
mindfulness, meditation can be defined in a number of ways.
Whats important is just that you get the general idea. Your true
understanding of meditation will come when you actually begin to
meditate.
FAQ 2: How exactly is slowing down and

taking time to do something completely
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unrelated to my work supposed to make me

more productive?
While productivity isnt the point of mindfulness or life in
general, and before anything this should be realized, as I
mentioned earlier in the chapter theres nothing necessarily
wrong with wanting to be more productive. You just need to
understand that there are times and ways that productivity is
helpful (positive productivity) and other times and ways where its
harmful (negative productivity). If you figure out how you can get
your work done in a third of the time that it used to take you and
that allows you to get home to your kids faster each day, thats
positive productivity. If you decide to start taking your work home
and instead of playing with your son you work at the kitchen table
all night while your son sits and plays by himself, this is negative
productivity.
Another example would be that if you decided to stop taking
your lunch break in order to get an extra half-hour or hour of work
in each day, and consequently never even slightly rest your mind
during your average work day, this would be negative productivity
because it will actually hinder your performance more than that
half-hour or hour of extra work could ever make up for. But worst
of all, by doing so you hurt your overall mental well-being. On the
other hand, if you were to decide to take part of your half-hour or
hour lunch each day and practice mindful sitting for 15-20
minutes, this would be positive productivity. By doing so youd be
giving your mind the best rest it could get in the middle of a work
day by completely taking your mind away from work for an
extended period of time. This will greatly improve your
performance. But best of all, it increases your overall mental wellbeing.
Positive productivity improves the well-being of yourself and
those around you. This can include things that dont have anything
to do with your work but instead make you more efficient. By
taking a break to do something which will make you sharper, more
alert, more optimistic, and/or more energetic you increase your
effectiveness, and therefore productivity, in any given task
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tenfold. Negative productivity harms the well-being of yourself

and those around you. Negative productivity often just makes us
feel more productive and either doesnt make us more productive
at all or actually hurts our productivity. If you use these as your
guiding principles towards productivity youre sure to become
maximally productive while simultaneously improving instead of
harming your well-being.
I completely understand the productivity junkie mentality
because I was that guy too. I didnt understand the point of doing
something completely unrelated to my work or how that could
actually make me more productive. I was the epitome of a
productivity junkie. Everything I did that I felt wasnt naturally
productive towards my work I tried to do at the same time as
something that was. When I did work I tried to be as quick as
possible and was constantly looking for ways to squeeze more time
out of each day to get more work done. It turns out none of those
things make you all that more productive. In fact, they can make
you far less productive. But when you allow your mind to step
away for a period of time from something thats been sitting in
your mind and truly rest, youll notice yourself as being far more
creative, effective, and therefore productive when coming back to
it. Its just the way the mind works, theres nothing more to it. We
need rest. Its completely unhealthy for us to stay on any task for
an extended period of time with no rest. A great guiding principle
would be to use your mindfulness itself to keep tabs on the
condition of your mind while working. If youre trying out things
that can make you more productive, but feel your mind becoming
stressed as a result of these things, its probably a good idea to stop
doing them.
FAQ 3: How long can I expect to practice

before seeing results?
I wouldnt bother worrying about when youre going to see
results or not. You shouldnt be so focused on getting results
when it comes to your spiritual practice or even just mindfulness
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in itself. Of course, it would be wrong to say that you started your

practice for no reason. That just doesnt make any sense. You
started wanting something, and this could be called a result. But
what I really mean by that is you should be more focused on the
practice itself. Know why you began your mindfulness practice,
find confirmation of your practice in that and then let go of it.
Practice without any expectations. Only once you let go will you
obtain the greatest results. If you keep hanging onto ideas of I
do this because I want to get this in return then youll never find
true peace.
OK, but just like you said Im still going into this because
Im interested in gaining something, you say. Im sure you, like
most others including myself, began or want to begin practicing
mindfulness in order to calm your mind and feel more peaceful
and happy. If thats the case then youll feel concrete effects of your
practice almost immediately. When I say you can find true peace
and happiness in this moment, I mean it. Of course, youll need to
develop your ability to experience the greatest results.
In all likelihood your first couple of weeks will be tough.
Youll experience your monkey mind at its greatest intensity.
Ultimately it all depends on how quiet (or loud) your mind is going
into practice. Either way, dont judge yourself. It doesnt matter
how quiet or loud your mind is, just that you practice diligently.
For the most part, the rewards exist in the very moment of
practicing and not in some far-off goal. This is an important
lesson to learn. With mindfulness youll learn to appreciate the
present moment as it is in all its beauty
For me in my own practice, in the beginning seeing my mind
gradually quiet and feeling the increasing sense of peace within
myself as my practice developed was more than enough
confirmation and encouragement for me to keep practicing. That
started happening after just a few weeks and was rather
significant.
FAQ 4: Cant I just sit down however I want

when I meditate? Do I have to sit in the full-lotus
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in order to get the greatest benefit from sitting

meditation?
No, you dont have to sit in any particular position. The
purpose of the full lotus is simply that its the most stable sitting
position available to us. When you sit in the full lotus while being
supported by a proper cushion youll see what I mean. In the full
lotus you feel extremely stable. Even more stable than sitting in a
chair.
You can meditate in whatever sitting position youd like. But
be careful, a stable sitting position and proper posture are very
important in a regular meditation practice. The full lotus is the
most stable position by far and, once you get used to it, a very
comfortable position to meditate in. Because of the stability of the
full lotus it also removes potential bodily distractions from sitting
meditation. Youre free to let your mind and body vanish and
simply sit with your breath.
You should strive to eventually sit in the full lotus. This is a
difficult position to sit in even with practice for some which is why
I mentioned earlier in the chapter that you can sit in the half lotus
or even sit cross-legged or on a chair if neither of those are
comfortable for you. In no way is any specific sitting position a
requirement. Dont let anyone tell you so. Sit in whatever position
you can and meditate diligently.
FAQ 5: The same thought keeps coming into

my mind while meditating, what does it mean?
Dont worry, this is normal. Because everything is an object
of your consciousness, mindfulness is really about becoming fully
aware of your own complete body and mind. Your thoughts and
emotions being a part of that. If the same thought keeps creeping
into your mind during meditation, then, as you do with any
thought, simply acknowledge it each time it comes to the surface
and then bring your focus back to your breath. Do this as many
times as necessary. Youre letting the emotion run its course.
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Whether its a specific fear, anger, or some limiting belief, this is a

good thing because its a clear sign that your mindfulness is
improving.
If you stick to your practice you will slowly and gently unfold
your mind, watching all your fear, anger and stress dissipate. This
is why its important to practice mindfulness in your everyday life.
Even if you meditate every single day it wont be enough. You need
to work on being mindful during your everyday life in order to
uncover all the various afflictions blocking you from experiencing
the ultimate level of peace and happiness.
FAQ 6: Everywhere I read Im being told to

acknowledge the thought and then let it go.
What does that even mean?
Whats important is that you acknowledge the thought with
mindfulness. By acknowledging the thought with mindfulness
that in itself is a nonjudgmental action. You aren't judging the
thought or yourself for having the thought. By "let it go" the
teacher is probably often referring to the nonjudgmental aspect of
mindfulness, whether they realize it or not. It's not a bad
description, I like it myself because it reminds one of the
nonjudgmental aspect of mindfulness, but more detail needs to be
given of the action instead of just "let it go".
The only action that will precede acknowledging the thought
with mindfulness will be you bringing your concentration back to
the object of mindfulness, be it your breath, steps, broom, dishes,
food, or whatever you're being mindful of. Essentially, because
mindfulness is itself by nature nonjudgmental, there will be no
letting go. There will simply be no clinging. Mindfulness is what
observes the thought, but mindfulness does not grab hold of
anything in the first place. So there is nothing to let go of.
More often than not the same thought will reappear
constantly. Instead of trying to kindly get the elephant out the
door, only to find him resisting, imagine yourself talking to a
giraffe and the elephant just walks up and interrupts you. Bringing
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your concentration back to your object of mindfulness isn't letting

the thought go, it's simply turning away from the elephant and
continuing your conversation with the giraffe. Yes, the elephant
will continue to try and interrupt. But simply being with these
interruptions in order to heal them is the very nature of meditative
practice. It will take some time to heal. Just keep sitting and be
with the elephant. Don't make him leave, just sit with him and
eventually he'll calm down and stop interrupting you. When this
happens, the thought or emotion (the elephant) will have
subsided.
FAQ 7: How do I know when Im practicing mindfulness?
At first, youre going to be confused as to whether or not
youre really practicing mindfulness. So, youre supposed to read
some words on a page and then just.hope youre doing it right?
Thats where faith comes in. I dont mean faith in a higher power,
but I am talking about belief in something. In this case, that means
belief in the teaching or instruction of this book. Trust the
instruction in this book and just practice. Keep practicing and,
with time, youll get the hang of it.
There are some good ways to identify that youre practicing
correctly. The best place to start is with what I mentioned on point
6 in the Mindfulness is chapter, but there are some questions
you can ask yourself to further ensure youre practicing correctly.
Ask yourself these questions once youve been practicing for a few
weeks (the answer to each of these is likely to be yes if youre
practicing correctly):
Q1: Do I feel happier and more at peace than I did before I
started practicing mindfulness?
Q2: Do I feel less stress and mental exhaustion than before?
Q3: Am I feeling less angry and more patient than I did
before?
Q4: While being mindful, am I sensing the interruptions
that arise in my mind and body?
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Q5: When I become mindful, do I feel like I just turned the

light switch on to my life?
Q1-Q3 are clear indicators that youre not only practicing
mindfulness but that youre practice is working.
If you answered no to Q4, you might be concentrating too
hard. That is, forcing your concentration to the point where youll
give yourself a headache. Softly direct your concentration to the
object of mindfulness and softly redirect it when your
concentration lapses.
And in regards to Q5, remember that mindfulness is a
conscious decision. The moment you decide to become mindful
is a conscious decision, and an act, committed by you. You
should feel an immediate change in your awareness when
making this conscious decision.
FAQ 8: I often go days without remembering

to practice mindfulness. I feel like its just not
working for me. What am I supposed to do?
Tackling that very good question is the very purpose of Part
3. This is something youll undoubtedly encounter when
beginning to develop mindfulness as a daily practice. The chapter
Tools of Mindfulness is about just that- overcoming our natural
ability to forget to practice. Most of us are pretty busy. And so it
can be really easy to let an entire day go by and forget to practice
mindfulness altogether when were used to rushing around from
the time we wake up until the time we lay our heads down to rest.
If you use one or more of the techniques I outline in Tools of
Mindfulness chapter then eventually your practice will grow and
youll be practicing on a daily basis.
You might notice during this time that you begin to slow
down. I mean that you begin to move more slowly throughout your
day than you did previously. And yet, youll be getting more done.
This is one of the beautiful benefits of mindfulness. Mindfulness
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will help you realize that all that rushing around never made you
more productive. And now you have a better way.
FAQ 9: I cant sit still, how on earth am I

supposed to meditate?
All the more reason to sit! Those who have the most difficulty
sitting still are the ones who need mindfulness the most. If youre
constantly moving to the point where you cant imagine yourself
sitting still for more than a few minutes at a time then your mind
is very, very busy. And the busier your mind, the more stressed
and anxious you are.
If all you do is learn how to stop and follow your breath from
time to time youll completely transform how you feel on a day to
day basis. Those with the most difficulty sitting are typically the
ones who end up appreciating the practice the most because they
derive the most meaning from it. We often have to learn from
experience in order to really appreciate something. If youve
experienced a chaotic mind then youll truly appreciate the peace
you find from adopting the practice of mindfulness in your daily
life.
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Thank You
The truth is, we may or may not ever meet one another. We
may never speak. The world is a big place and I wont ever know
and definitely wont ever be able to meet everyone who reads my
work. So its because of this that I wanted to take a second to say
thank you. A big thank you. Even if we never meet again I wanted
to let you know how much I appreciate you taking the time to read
The Little Book of Mindfulness. It means so much to me that you
took the time to sit down and read my work. From the bottom of
my heart, thank you.
I worked harder than I ever have in my life to write The Little
Book of Mindfulness. Despite being in the middle of moving my
family to a new home, raising my two wild boys (who, at the time
of writing this, are 9 months and 3 years old), working 40 hours a
week, growing and maintaining my blog, and a whole list of other
responsibilities, I finished the book and made it out in one piece.
But it took a lot from more than just me. I also wanted to thank
my wife Edith. Shes been the best mommy to our two little dudes
and been nothing but supportive of my work from day one. She,
before anyone else, told me I should write. I also wanted to thank
my mom for always being there. Shes been nothing but supportive
from day one as well. She and my wife were my first two readers
on Buddhaimonia, before anyone else even knew it existed.
A quick note about distributing The

Little Book of Mindfulness:
Feel free to distribute this to friends, family, and
acquaintances. Just do me a favor and either direct them to
buddhaimonia.com so that they can have a chance to sign up to
my email list and get their own copy or at least let them know
where you got it. I bring out a lot of free content on my blog, but
with a family of four that depends on me to put food on the table,
and a dream of someday being able to write fulltime, I cant do this
116
completely for free. Your time is precious, so I appreciate that

youve decided to spend some of that time with me and The Little
Book of Mindfulness.
Thank you!
117
About the Author
Author Matt Valentine

Matt Valentine is the founder of Buddhaimonia
(Buddhaimonia.com) and a self-published author. He writes
weekly on his blog about life or spiritual development at large
including a range of topics such as mindfulness, meditation,
conscious living, self-mastery, relationships, overcoming
obstacles, and releasing ourselves from attachment (letting go).
Matt believes that spirituality is simply about learning how to live
deeply in the present moment and that by doing so we can
discover the greatest gifts that life can offer.
Matt lives with his family in Los Angeles, California. You can
learn more about Matt at Buddhaimonia.com/about.
118
More from
Matt Valentine
119
Zen for Everyday Life

How to Find Peace and Happiness in the Chaos
of Everyday Life
Youll find peace and happiness within your own mind, in

the heart of the chaos of your everyday life, and Zen for Everyday
Life is about showing you how to do that. Zen for Everyday Life,
Page 17
My second book, Zen for Everyday Life, takes over where

The Little Book of Mindfulness leaves off. It provides a clear and
straightforward path to cultivating peace, happiness, and
greater meaning in your life. It shows you step-by-step how to
apply literally dozens of simple meditation techniques to
what you already do in your everyday life. By doing so it equips you
with the skills you need to cultivate greater peace, joy, and a deep
sense of meaning within your own life and on your own terms.
Zen for Everyday Life will help you take principles that have
been used in Zen and other universal wisdom traditions for
120
thousands of years and apply them to your everyday life, no

matter how chaotic or busy your life is. Its ultimately
about showing you how to turn your entire life into one
continuous, beautiful, and peace-filled meditation, even
the most seemingly mundane activities of your everyday life.
15 Benefits of Zen for Everyday Life

Zen for Everyday Life is packed full of value. With over 40
meditations and exercises as well as countless tips, tricks, and
strategies, with Zen for Everyday Life you will:
Learn how to cultivate a great sense of joy in even the
most mundane and ordinary activities of your everyday life.
Discover a refreshing sense of freedom in the midst of the
craziness of your everyday life.
Find peace in all areas of your life and learn how to
maintain that sense of peace for the rest of your life.
Unlock a happiness not bound by temporary or limited
pleasures, but based on a tranquil and clear mind which can
withstand the tests of life.
Learn how to improve communication with loved ones and
better nurture your relationships.
Uncover a deep sense of meaning in your life and realize
fulfillment.
Learn ways to uncover deep-seated fears and limiting
beliefs.
Gain the skills and knowledge to motivate yourself to
action even when you feel like quitting.
Show up to life- realize the beauty of your life as it is right now
in the present moment.
Discover how to cultivate greater confidence in your own
abilities.
Reconnect with your true self and revive your inner child.
Overcome negative self-talk and realize everything you need
to live fully.
Find time you never knew you had.
121
Create a daily practice that nourishes your mind and

body.
Discover how to look deeply into the experiences of your
everyday life to cultivate a sense of gratitude and a
reverence for life.
Whats in Zen for Everyday Life?

Whether youd like to sit down and read the eBook, listen to
the audiobook on the go, or even prefer the feel of a real
paperback, theres a version for you. Zen for Everyday Life comes
as a 298-page eBook as well as paperback edition and an
over 6 hour audiobook edition, both packed with more
than 40 meditations and exercises that will help you bring
greater peace, happiness, and meaning into your life at the deepest
level.
So, what are you waiting for? If you liked The Little Book of
Mindfulness, then youre going to love Zen for Everyday Life. Zen
for Everyday Life will help you take your mindfulness and
meditation practice to a whole different level, and as a result, help
you find greater peace and happiness even amidst the chaos and
craziness of your everyday life. This is your life, right here, and
right now. Make the decision to prioritize your peace and
happiness and watch all other things in your life (and the lives of
those around you) become transformed:
Click here to get Zen for Everyday Life
122
1-on-1 Training and Guidance

with Matt Valentine
Whats holding you back from living

your best life?
Inner obstacles. Whats baring down on you each day?
What personal obstacles, like negative self-talk or a lack of
confidence, are you facing? Do you wish you had a way to
overcome these things and find peace and a true sense of joy
in your life?
123
Meaning and purpose. Do you lack a sense of meaning in

your life? Do you wish you could wake up each day with a
reverence for life and a sense that what you do matters?
Stress and anxiety. Is stress and anxiety getting to be too
much to handle? What if there was a way to not just manage
stress and anxiety, but remove it altogether?
Uncertainty in your life path. Are you having a hard
time figuring out what you want to do with your life? Do you
feel stuck because you just cant figure out what your next
step should be?
Habits. Do you feel your daily habits are whats really
holding you back? That if you could just change what you do
each day youd be able to change your life for the better?
Life really is one big and amazing adventure. Sometimes, it
might not seem like it though. Sometimes, it can seem downright
tough and unforgiving. We all experience it at some point in our
lives, and the majority of people go their entire lives believing that
life is nothing more than that. But its so much more.
What if you could wake up each day with a deep sense of
appreciation for the precious new 24 hours youve been
given?
What if you could go about your day with confidence,
knowing why you do what you do and how you contribute
to the betterment of the world around you?
What if you could overcome your negative self-talk and
doubt and find a strength within yourself you never knew
existed?
And what if you could overcome bad habits and completely
transform your life from the very foundation up by
adopting new positive ones to take their place?
You can only do so much by yourself. In fact, we
depend on countless people and things each and every day just to
go about our usual daily lives. Thats where I come in. Im here to
help you with each and every one of the points I covered above and
124
more. Whatever you want to call it, training, guidance, or life

coaching, its powerful for a number of reasons.
Dont think you need to work 1-on-1 with someone to
improve the quality of your life? You dont. Im not going to sit
here and feed you a bunch of bull. And dont let anyone convince
you otherwise.
BUT, to say its not highly useful, even critical for those
wanting to get the most out of life, is like saying theres no point
to a physical trainer, or a drill instructor, or all those professional
coaches in the NBA, NFL, and every other sport in existence, or a
teacher of ANY kind.
The reality is, you can learn with a teacher in one
month what will take you years to learn on your own (if
ever). And on top of that, a teacher or coach can help guide you
when youve lost your way even after youve arrived at where you
want to be. Theres so many reasons why its beneficial, which is
why Ive decided to open up this service to my readers.
Want more information?
Click here to learn more about 1-on-1

Training Guidance with Matt
Valentine
125

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The Little Book

PART 1: WHAT IS MINDFULNESS?

THE ORIGINS OF MINDFULNESS

PART 2: PRACTICING MINDFULNESS

PART 3: DEVELOPING MINDFULNESS

OVERCOMING OLD HABITS

GLOSSARY OF FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

MORE FROM MATT VALENTINE

Wakefulness is the way to life.

The Little Book of Mindfulness

The Little Book of Mindfulness

with mindfulness. By living deeply with mindfulness we can touch

The Little Book of Mindfulness

How to Use The Little Book of

The Little Book of Mindfulness

Id like to cover. Below is a small list of points you should keep in

1. Read with mindfulness

The Little Book of Mindfulness

information in this book. This can do a number of beautiful things,

2. Take your time

The Little Book of Mindfulness

Mindfulness works like anything else in life. That is, its an

The Little Book of Mindfulness

Youre now ready to venture into the world of mindfulness

The Little Book of Mindfulness

The Little Book of Mindfulness

The Origins of Mindfulness

The Little Book of Mindfulness

The Little Book of Mindfulness

equally important to understand the origins of mindfulness in our

The Little Book of Mindfulness

West Meets East

The Little Book of Mindfulness

productive and efficient at their jobs as opposed to the original

The Little Book of Mindfulness

The Little Book of Mindfulness

thought, feeling, or some other sensation arises the practitioner

The Little Book of Mindfulness

The Little Book of Mindfulness

notices when your concentration lapses and your thoughts stray.

2. Mindfulness of something in the

The Little Book of Mindfulness

Mindfulness is always the observing of what is occurring in the

The Little Book of Mindfulness

Mindfulness is a purposeful directing of your consciousness

The Little Book of Mindfulness

something while practicing then this is a good thing. Simply by

5. Developed like a muscle

6. Like turning on the HD switch to your life

The Little Book of Mindfulness

our mind. When sitting at your computer at work, for instance,

The Little Book of Mindfulness

will be highly beneficial to practice mindfulness of more difficult

The moment you make the conscious decision I am

The Little Book of Mindfulness

FAQ 1: Whats the difference between

The Little Book of Mindfulness

The Little Book of Mindfulness