Every day is a retreat

I would like to open a discussion on how do you integrate your practise to your daily life. Past few weeks have opened my eyes to really see how the sitting practise is only a preparation for the real practise that starts when I open my eyes and get up from the cushion. How have you combined the mindfulness practise and the real life? In what kinds of situations have noting proved to be helpful and effective? If you have already written about it in your practise journal or some other thread you can just post the link. Here is my take on building the off the cushion mindfulness practise:

kennethfolkdharma.wetpaint.com/thread/41...second+gear+practice

For me noting while having an argument with my wife has been very insightful. It really helps to calm one down and listen what the other has to say and it is interesting to watch your own reactions in an emotionally charged situation'¦

Some ideas for everyday mini retreats:
Driving a car alone 500 kilometres
Any uninspiring manual work like painting a house or digging a foundation for a pavement
Walking the dog in the rain
Waiting for the next train when you just missed one
During a lecture or a meeting
When travelling in a bus, train, aeroplane, tram, boat, taxi, subway, bicycle'¦
Waiting your turn to speak to an auditorium full of people
Lying in bed sick
Eating an apple
Mowing the lawn

How about these?

Balancing the checkbook.
Fighting with your partner.
Getting stressed at work.
Going to a bar.
Falling asleep at night.
Having sex.
Using the bathroom.
Watching your eyes open first thing in the morning.
Right after doing anything unskilful.

I usually find that the places I don't normally think or want to be aware are the most fertile.
The instinct to cordon off practice in a specific setting is a very good place to investigate. I usually find all kinds of fun, unexamined stuff hanging around in those places.

Owen, that "Balancing the checkbook. " really struck home for me, hah!

Missed this thread the first time around. Cool!

Here are some that come to mind for me:

Making long term plans for the future.
Talking on the phone with your parents.
Brushing your teeth.
Showering.
Dreaming.
Ordering food at a restaurant / bodega / cafe, etc.
Interviewing for a job.
Shaving.
Clipping your toenails.
Making a really important point in a conversation or argument.
Watching someone's response to the important point, and your own reaction(s) to their response.
Putting on / taking off clothes.
Right after doing anything skillful.

I would be interested to hear if anyone has a good techniques / suggestions for improving one's ability to sustain mindfulness while reading or writing. So far, I seem to have a choice: do deep reading/writing and immerse in the topic but loose mindfulness, or try to note (maybe after after sentence) -- and then find that my reading slows to a crawl and my comprehension and holistic grasp of the text risks dropping.

After long meditation retreats, I seem able to sustain mindfulness while reading/writing more successfully for at least a few days, so maybe it is ultimately just a matter of (yet) more practice... But usually it is either reading or deep creative work that form the first sites of my first extended dropped-mindfulness post-retreat.

Writing this post being just one example. =)

"I would be interested to hear if anyone has a good techniques / suggestions for improving one's ability to sustain mindfulness while reading or writing. So far, I seem to have a choice: do deep reading/writing and immerse in the topic but loose mindfulness, or try to note (maybe after after sentence) -- and then find that my reading slows to a crawl and my comprehension and holistic grasp of the text risks dropping.

After long meditation retreats, I seem able to sustain mindfulness while reading/writing more successfully for at least a few days, so maybe it is ultimately just a matter of (yet) more practice... But usually it is either reading or deep creative work that form the first sites of my first extended dropped-mindfulness post-retreat.

Writing this post being just one example. =)


"

For me it works to keep an anchor such as the feelings in my chest, or my forehead or behind my eyes, or any place in my body where sensations are stronger. For activities like social interactions, watching tv/movies/sports, reading, writing, where one is engaged and interacting I find that it really isn't hard to do those things while "noticing" the changes in the sensations in the anchor.
Don't go for noting so much as an awareness of how your sensations are changing in the anchor.

Thank you Mike for the 'Anchor'! I have experimented with it for some time and it really helps to bridge the gaps in mindfulness when I have to divide my attention to reading, writing or talking to someone. Previously I have tried concentrating on the breath in those situations but the chest area as a focus seems to work much better. Combined with Owens 'Alien' I expect to get my mindfulness practise to a whole new level.

(for Alien see: kennethfolkdharma.wetpaint.com/thread/4235682/The+Alien )

Antero.

The subject of keeping mindful while reading and thinking is very relevant for me, as that is what I have to do most of my day every day. I feel that only now (mid? second path) I am building up enough momentum to face this challenge, only recently did my mindfulness start to really seep off practice time into daily life.

There are various modes of reading a text; (1) one can read it diagonally while looking for a specific part, e.g. when one is looking for a specific post in a thread here at KFD; (2) one can be reading it in a sort of leisurely dullness, as one does with some gripping novels; (3) one may be reading it but not being able to process what is written, such as during dark night, or when the mind is overly agitated or dull; and finally, (4) one can be reading it with full attention, really "taking it in," so to speak. For my job only (4) and occasionally (1) is really of any interest.

Now, I have noticed the following thing, and I would really like some confirmation or disconfirmation: When I am able to read in mode (4), then I really can take the whole thing in, which means I am not only processing each paragraph, but also keeping a good context of the content of what I have read before and my goal in reading what I am reading now. What I have noticed is that when I do this, there is a distinct sensation of pressure/stimulation on the mid-upper-frontal part of the brain, from about 1 inch behind the forehead, to the lower part of the crown chakra.

Whenever I can't read things in mode (4), I will find that there are blockages or energetic swirls of various kinds which prevent a clean and sustained activation of the given area.

Can anyone confirm this for me?

Bruno,

Have you looked into the process called lectio divina?
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lectio_Divina

Also when listening to, say, Bob Dylan (or reading the bible or some other spiritual text - like the story of the buddha). I try not to intellectualize at all, merely take it in as fully as possible and allow the meaning to operate on a deep level. So listening to say "The gates of eden" I will just allow the images to form as they are sung rather than analyze in any way. Seems to really take things to another level.