The Moment, Mindfulness and ...

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...Why is it so hard?

I do breathing and focus on the now. I read this Zen book about the martial arts and it helped. Medications of various types have helped. And I can, most of the time, force myself back from the maze of my mind into the present.

But should this be something one has to struggle with? Is it rare to struggle with this? If not, why is staying in the moment so difficult?

If it is common, I think it's because of the multi-taskedness of modern society as well as the sheer volume of people encountered. And with each one of them, a snowflake's specialness.

I considered posting in Other Disorders, but to me this really is more of a philosophical question.

It seems like the world actively tries to push me out the present moment. Is it me, or is it a normal by-product of society's progression and I am having trouble adjusting to it?

It's because you have so much on your mind.

I would call it creativity if this quality is used properly, channeled properly.

As long as it doesn't interfere with your life--your job--then I don't find that one must have both hands and feet on the Earth at all times. One must expand from Mundane existence.

One of Buddhism's basic tenets is that life is suffering. It does not CONTAIN suffering, it IS, in its essence, suffering. This is why enlightenment takes many lifetimes. That said, thinking of the future isn't as bad as dwelling on the past. The past cannot be changed, while the future can. You are typing a message on the internet using a computer because smart men dreamed of the future. You didn't say what specifically is the problem. Do you feel haunted by the past? Or always dreaming of the future?

It is very hard to change ways of thinking. You say you force yourself and that is the mistake. You might like a book called Clarity by Jamie Smart, but Jon Kabat-Zinn is well know in the USA. They use a secular form of Buddhism. The premise is that your unconscious mind will do the work if you can step aside and allow it.

True. My mind is full of worry.


Both. Thoughts of the past enter my mind unbidden. The dreams of the future are my own. I think it's important to move forward with plans, etc. Swim or sink, so to speak.



Oh it doesn't come naturally at all. I am too anxious and fearful. I will check out this book for sure.

I used to worry a lot and be very fearful. Now, I can't be bothered to worry. Changing naturally is very hard, especially later on in life, ha, ha. I have Jamie Smart's book, Clarity, but nothing by Jon Kabat-Zinn. However, Mindfulness was recommended to me by a psychiatrist to help me overcome the depression follow up of my surgery and kidney disease. I've read Mindfulness is as effective as medication, but without the side effects.

According to Jamie Smart living in the moment will enable you to be in the flow, or whatever Zen might call it. It used to be very important to me as an artist. I don't have quite so much of that these days. I like to be spiritual but have never practised Buddhism.

I'd like to suggest, for the most helpful answers to your questions, you ask your questions again at http://www.zenforuminternational.org in the section labeled "Beginners Questions Forum."

There you will likely find a comprehensive answer and helpful suggestions to improve your specific practice, from people with the same goals in mind.

Please note though, that in Zen, although mindfulness is acknowledged, the main method of meditation is zazen.

Namaste

From the Hua Hu Jing translated by Brian Walker(a really nice guy btw)

"The teaching of the Integral Way(becoming free of suffering) will go on as long as there is a Tao(ie.internal path) and someone who wishes to embody it; What is painted in these scrolls today will appear in different forms in many generations to come. These things, however, will never change: Those who wish to attain oneness must practice undiscriminating virtue. They must dissolve all ideas of duality: good and bad, beautiful and ugly, high and low. They will be obliged to abandon any mental bias born of cultural or religious belief. Indeed, they should hold their minds free of any thought which interferes with their understanding of the universe as a harmonious oneness. The beginning of these practices is the beginning of liberation."

"The ego(ie. the separate sense of self/the mind and its continuous thoughts) is a monkey catapulting through the jungle: Totally fascinated by the realm of the senses, it swings from one desire to the next, one conflict to the next, one self-centered idea to the next. If you threaten it, it actually fears for its life. Let this monkey go. Let the senses go. Let desires go. Let conflicts go. Let ideas go. Let the fiction of life and death go. Just remain in the center, watching. And then forget that you are there."

"Does one scent appeal more than another? Do you prefer this flavor, or that feeling? Is your practice sacred and your work profane? Then your mind is separated: from itself, from oneness, from the Tao(the internal path away from suffering). Keep your mind free of divisions and distinctions. When your mind is detached, simple, quiet, then all things can exist in harmony, and you can begin to perceive the subtle truth."

"The tiny particles which form the vast universe are not tiny at all. Neither is the vast universe vast. These are notions of the mind, which is like a knife, always chipping away at the Tao(the ultimate reality), trying to render it graspable and manageable. But that which is beyond form is ungraspable, and that which is beyond knowing is unmanageable. There is, however, this consolation: She who lets go of the knife(the mind dividing everything even though all is one) will find the Tao at her fingertips."

"The ego says that the world is vast, and that the particles which form it are tiny. When tiny particles join, it says, the vast world appears. When the vast world disperses, it says, tiny particles appear. The ego is entranced by all these names and ideas, but the subtle truth is that world and particle are the same; neither one vast, neither one tiny. Every thing is equal to every other thing. Names and concepts only block your perception of this Great Oneness. Therefore it is wise to ignore them. Those who live inside their egos are continually bewildered: they struggle frantically to know whether things are large or small, whether or not there is a purpose to joining or dispersing, whether the universe is blind and mechanical or the divine creation of a conscious being. In reality there are no grounds for having beliefs or making comments about such things. Look behind them instead, and you will discern the deep, silent, complete truth of the Tao. Embrace it, and your bewilderment vanishes."

These are brief excerpts from a Taoist text, if you want to know more let me know and I can give you links.

Taoism, Buddhism, Advaita Vedanta, etc... all teach the same things just in different ways.

The true nature of reality is Non-dualism and we suffer because of our belief that we are a separate Self...this is an illusion. Full awareness of Non-dualism is Nirvana, Enlightenment, Peace.

See, this is what I like so much about East Asian thought. It's totally opposite from West Asian, or Middle Eastern, thought, which says that there is a Good God and an Evil God and you are with one and against the other. If you are with Good God, you must be good and humble and pure 24/7 or else you enter the realm of the Evil God and are doomed to the lake of fire.

I was reading more about the Duggars, whose case has been discussed here in PPR, and how if some of them are walking down the street and spot a woman who is "ungodly", meaning that her clothing is too revealing or she does not have a marriage ring, they all say "Nike" to each other and all the men have to look at the ground until she is past. The family does not allow for dating as we know it, instead all marriages are arranged and hugs, kisses, and sex are forbidden until wedding day.

I have read elsewhere how some of these radical Christians believe that a chance glance at a pornographic magazine in somebody's trash inevitably leads to sinning and molestation/rape. It's a really extreme philosophy, and they wish to force it on everybody so as to save our souls.

I briefly practiced this today with my psychiatrist.

Unfortunately I found it almost impossible to concentrate on my breathing. My mind was either completely blank (he ascribes this to consistently high levels of anxiety) or would instead focus on exterior sounds such as the ticking of the room's clock, motorists whizzing past on the nearby carriageway or the distant murmurings from others in the building's hallway.

Oh, no, no, no!
Jake you succeeded!

The entire point of mindfulness is for you fully experience the (sensory aspect of) MOMENT, as opposed to being lost in thought.
The point is not total focus on breathing, but total focus on the NOW, the moment...and just the moment.

btw for your first time you did MUCH better than most...congrats!

This isn't my experience as perspective can be fundamentally changed. You can view an event one way and then later understand that how you saw it wasn't true or the full picture. You've "changed the past".

Or an event negatively effects you for some time then you decide to view it in a different (maybe more mature) way, perhaps with outside help. You have "changed the past."

Yeah?

I heard that called "reframing"
I'm sure there are other terms as well