Howdy, Stranger!

It looks like you're new here. If you want to get involved, click one of these buttons!

Examples: Monday, today, last week, Mar 26, 3/26/04
Welcome home! Please contact lincoln@icrontic.com if you have any difficulty logging in or using the site. New registrations must be manually approved which may take several days. Can't log in? Try clearing your browser's cookies.

Minful While Working Pooped Me Out

comicallyinsanecomicallyinsane Veteran
edited August 2005 in Buddhism Today
I was putting up drywall yesterday and I decided to be very mindful of my work. It was ahrd with my daughter asking me questions every five seconds. I got a good amount of work done but at the end of the day I was really tired. More tired than usual.

Comments

  • SimonthepilgrimSimonthepilgrim Veteran
    edited July 2005
    The practice of mindfulness can, I have found, require concentrated effort. Little by little, it becomes the default position of our mind. I think of it as equivalent to all other learning experiences:

    * we start from unconscious ignorance where it didn't even occur to us that we were not mindful;

    * becoming aware of our ignorance, we move into conscious ignorance where we learn the basics and begin to acquire a little ease in practice. It is during this time that discouragement arises. This is the "learning curve" which is so rarely curved but more like a potholed mountain track!

    * Fortunately, after practice (as in a foreign language, say), we acquire some degree of competence, whilst still requiring conscious attention to the skill. This is conscious competence and is also subject to discouragements. These often arise from our vanity and self-deception at being 'good' at something but not perfect.

    * Finally, in a switch that goes unnoticed, we no longer need to think about the mechanics of the skill: we apply it automatically. This is unconscious competence. Although it is a state much to be desired in some cases, it is also where our bad habits reside!
  • ajani_mgoajani_mgo Veteran
    edited August 2005
    This sounds alot of work to me... Are there any ways said by the Buddha to train mindfulness~ I will need it to overcome many obstacles in my future life I think...
  • JasonJason God Emperor Arrakis Moderator
    edited August 2005
    http://www.accesstoinsight.org/canon/sutta/majjhima/mn118.html Majjhima Nikaya 118 Anapanasati Sutta (Mindfulness of breathing)

    http://www.accesstoinsight.org/canon/sutta/majjhima/mn119.html Majjhima Nikaya 119 Kayagata-sati Sutta (Mindfulness of body)

    http://www.accesstoinsight.org/canon/sutta/anguttara/an06-019.html Anguttara Nikaya VI.19 Maranassati Sutta (Mindfulness of death)

    http://www.accesstoinsight.org/lib/authors/thanissaro/concmind.html The Path of
    Concentration & Mindfulness by Thanissaro Bhikkhu (Good book)
  • SimonthepilgrimSimonthepilgrim Veteran
    edited August 2005
    Ajani,

    When we deconstruct any action, however simple, it appears complicated. Imagine trying to describe all the actions involved in making a cup of tea! And, once we understand the fact of complexity, the Cha-no-yu (the 'Tea Ceremony') comes into its own.

    I am reminde of a story told to me by one who had been with HHDL in California. At the end of the teaching, a young man asked His Holiness, "What is the quickest and easiest way to Enlightenment?" According to my friend, His Holiness replied, wityh tears running down his cheeks, that the West has to learn that speed is not what it is all about.
  • ajani_mgoajani_mgo Veteran
    edited August 2005
    OK I see... But will it make work more efficient really?
  • comicallyinsanecomicallyinsane Veteran
    edited August 2005
    Being mindful makes all my work more eficient. I tend to get more done which makes me more tired. Being mindfull while working rocks!!!!!!!!!
  • ajani_mgoajani_mgo Veteran
    edited August 2005
    Oh, you mean that it can't increase your present limit of Power (in the physics term), but it can increase your endurance and let you work longer... I see... It will be useful for me... Especially when passing my fitness tests... I suck at fitness.
Sign In or Register to comment.