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What do others do to maintain mindfulness throughout the day?

For me, with regular meditation "practice"...

Then on autopilot check in every now and again throughout the day, no set times no set places... random inspections so to speak...

It would seem meditation is like an exercise/work-out for the mind and the more the workout, the stronger the mindfulness muscle becomes...Where gradually "awareness develops' ie, becoming aware of what is going on with the senses especially the thinking process...and can then gently tweak/change thought patterns, especially unwholesome ones...

This is not to say that those unwholesome thought patterns don't occur, they occur but for the most part are nipped in the bud before they have a chance to take root/solidify into actions ie, verbally or physically expressed...

However, at times the odd one or two might slip though...but they don't tend to last long...due to the ongoing random inspections....

Even "I" don't know when these random inspections will occur...

I’m a bit torn on this one. When I first encountered buddhism and meditation you had to pay and that was normal to me. In the culture I’ve grown up in, there’s no such thing as a free ride! In fact it almost creates suspicion when someone offers something for free.
On the other hand, now that I stay at a donation based monastery, I’ve had the monastics lament the fact that Western people come and stay there and offer nothing because they’re told it’s free.
It’s just a misunderstanding in Western culture. We’d almost prefer it if someone just tells us you need to pay $x for this class or $x for staying three nights.

Have you noticed that every time you have lost mindfulness, you were actually lost in thoughts or thinking? When thoughts themselves become objects of awareness, mindfulness is regained.

The more you can get out of your thoughts, the more you are practicing mindfulness.
"I see you Mara aka the Devil"

@Bunks said:
This week I have practiced stopping for a 5 minute meditation at the top of each hour regardless of what I am doing.
I’ve practiced sitting meditation, driving meditation, walking meditation and standing meditation.
Missed two or three and often they have happened at a bit after or before the top of the hour but I’ve tried to be consistent.
Can’t really comment on the meditations themselves but the one thing I can say is that everything is truly impermanent (annica). Everything just rising and falling, rising and falling. What’s playing out this hour is unlikely to be the thing playing out the next hour. Try to hold things a little less tightly. Peace to you all 🙏🏻❤️💎

This reminds me of a next step, of returning to the breath whenever you notice you have lost it, and staying with the breath throughout the day. I did it on a day where I was doing just chores around the house, and like you in a wide range of circumstances.

I agree that a donation based model is cleaner and the relationship purer. It is pretty difficult in the west to support oneself as a teacher purely off donations though. Many western monks have had to disrobe because supporting themselves was too difficult. There are western teachers that do support their efforts off of donations though, I'm thinking specifically of Josh Korda of Dharmapunx NYC. Buildings require rent to be paid and retreats have food and utilities to be paid.

That said, something funny I've heard Joseph Goldstein say, western Buddhism is the upper middle path. Basically that the expense and free time needed to involve oneself in the dharma in the west greatly selects for people who have wealth, education, free time. Making the culture and inclusivity of western Buddhism fairly homogenous.

I think I live in a fairly fortunate area for Buddhism. My metro area has the second largest Tibetan population in the US and there has been a TB temple with qualified teachers and monastics supported by the Tibetan population. There is also a western Theravada center that operates off of donations. There are others too that I don't have experience with. As Buddhism in the west grows it should become more and more possible to support teachers off of donations rather than fees.

@how said:
I see where some students today might take a teaching more seriously when their own dime is on the line, but I think it also flirts unnecessarily into the murkier realm of appropriation & expectation over renunciation as the basis of a path.

I think it fundamentally alters the relationship between teacher and learner if there is money involved. There is an expectation of value for money, a commercial transaction, which I feel uneasy with.

I admire your stance in this @how

This week I have practiced stopping for a 5 minute meditation at the top of each hour regardless of what I am doing.
I’ve practiced sitting meditation, driving meditation, walking meditation and standing meditation.
Missed two or three and often they have happened at a bit after or before the top of the hour but I’ve tried to be consistent.
Can’t really comment on the meditations themselves but the one thing I can say is that everything is truly impermanent (annica). Everything just rising and falling, rising and falling. What’s playing out this hour is unlikely to be the thing playing out the next hour. Try to hold things a little less tightly. Peace to you all 🙏🏻❤️💎