Wednesday, December 21, 2011

MIndful Motion
Too many of the things we do each day are part of our habit life---things we do without thinking, without awareness, without attentiveness. Living the habit life is not living at all; it turns life into a series of conditioned responses and removes us from the present moment. \

This exercise gives you a glimpse into moving with mindfulness. To to this exercise well, you must awaken, tune in and be completely present. Habit will not help you here. 

To do this exercise, you will need a mouse connected to your computer.
Scroll down to see the star and the directions. 


1. Put your computer's mouse cursor at the top of the star diagram at the left.
2. Move the mouse and trace all around the star, stopping when you arrive at the starting point. This task is one you can do easily because of your habits and conditioning. LIkely you could do this without much thinking or attention.
3. Now, turn your computer's mouse around so that it is pointing the other direction (i.e., the cord is pointing towards you).
4. Position the mouse cursor at the top of the star diagram.
5. Going either right or left, begin tracing the star outline on the screen with your mouse.
6. As you approach each corner, stop and make intentional decisions about how you will next move the mouse to continue tracing. As much as possible, do not stray from the line as you trace.
7. Continue tracing until you arrive back at the starting point. 


How did you do? A simple task suddenly became difficult and required careful attention. Could you repeat steps 1 and 2 above---with your mouse facing the normal way---with the same devotion to attention? Could you do any simple task in your life today with that same careful, mindful attention?

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