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How often do you "check in" during the day ?
Shoshin
No one in particularNowhere Special Veteran
KIa Ora,
For some it would seem that cushion time is the only time they have to 'seriously' watch the mind's activities, but away from the cushion the mind more often than not, is let off the hook and is free to run wild/run amuck (until the next time)...
So as one who meditates, do you also "check in" during the day (away from the cushion) ? And if so how often ? (It's not as if one has to go looking for the mind-but when first starting out, one would think that this was the case)...
And what tricks do you have up your sleeve for lassoing the mind and bringing it back to the events of the present moment ?
Metta Shoshin . 
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Comments
What a great question! I think the more regularly you meditate, and the more experience you have with it, the easier it gets to practice mindfulness when you're off the cushion. So this will come in time, OP.
For me, another type of mindfulness that's important is checking your motivation when choosing actions, when interacting with others, when choosing what to say when speaking, depending on the situation. Developing that "observer" function. That's just as important.
I find that simple labelling is a helpful support for mindfulness eg "walking", "feeling", "thinking", "seeing", "hearing". Also as Dakini says, a regular sitting practice is an important support.
Agree with the observing/witnessing/labelling/mindfulness approach.
Other approaches are asking, 'what is this' or bringing the attention to the breathing/body.
A while ago I used to carry a bead or stone and as the mind wandered I would press hard and use the discomfort as a reminder or remembrance to be attentive . . . :om: .
Some people return to the breath at regular intervals, though I'm not sure I'd remember to do that! Others will use a prompt to re-establish mindfulness, maybe a change of posture or a particular regular activity. It's rather like developing a good habit, though of course mindfulness itself shouldn't become habitual.
Ah yes, remember a practitioner who used a bell alarm on his phone for a reminder every 15 mins to be mindful . . .
I'm a bell user.
At the monastery the bells rings every 15 mins, and no matter where you are on the grounds or what your doing....we stop.
I set one at home on the laptop....and have a small digital one in my cube at work.
At work and at home it's set for every 2 hours. I've gotten into a habit of doing a go around the building for walking meditation after meetings.
"We can program a bell of mindfulness on our computer, and every quarter of an hour (or as often as you like), the bell sounds and we have a chance to stop and go back to ourselves. Breathing in and out three times is enough to release the tension in the body and smile, then we can continue our work. Few softwares below might of help:
http://plumvillage.org/mindfulness-practice/mindfulness-software/
Could I get some software which will meditate on my behalf?
Duuuummmmb.......
I use the same mindfulness reminder toolbar that @vastmind mentions and it is great. Note that it is just reminding you to be mindful by ringing a bell every 20 mins or so, it doesn't actually do the mindfulness for you.
That larger part of my day involving driving, getting in and out of my work truck and walking to and from clients homes..are easy triggers to remind myself to be mindful of that moment. My truck is my Zendo and my walking is kin Hin esk.
My holidays from mindfulness are most often surrounding my face to face interactions with others or anytime or place where I resort to entertainment to dodge my willingness to simply be where am.
Which certainly points out where some new triggers might be called for.
Thank you @Shoshin for this thread's teaching.
Ten Awesomes!
Kia Ora,
I don't know of any software, but if you would like, I could meditate on your behalf, the going rate is $100 an hour (or part there of- add $50 if you want any extras like feelings of bliss thrown in)
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CODcash up front...(it's not that I don't trust you) .Metta Shoshin .
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Kia Ora,
You're welcome @how....
My days too also flow along those lines :
I "try" to maintain a mindful state 24/7/365 (from the moment I wake, right up until I enter the land of nod) which means if thoughts start to drift off I bring them back to the present moment, this is not to say, that because I maintain present moment awareness that I always "do and or say the right thing"....I'm nowhere near that level of perfection.
When I walk I mindfully walk and when I drive I mindfully drive and when I'm at work I'm "checking in" on a regular bases, constantly on guard making sure that thought don't get its own way and drag the mind off on some whirlwind tour of the outback and beyond... .
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It's like creating a wholesome mindful habit "trigger happy habits"...I also find that what others are saying ie, a word, a sentence, (when I interact with friends, clients, etc) can trigger mindfulness ....
Metta Shoshin .
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The more I meditate the more I naturally become aware. It's spontaneous.
I do use triggers like showering, eating , driving, water and the sound of birds.
When I come into contact with water I become more aware because I've taught myself to use it as an alarm to wake up! It becomes a habit.
I also like to use Eckhardts "anchoring" in which in these moments I have a sensation of the body as my focus. What goes on "outside" is secondary
Great question.
All the time, more times a day than I could count. It's so frequent I'm not sure I can even call it "checking myself" because it's not as much an active point of stopping to check where I am but more so a process that has taken over my previous habit energies. Except it's not a mindless habit the way the other habits were. It comes into play in pretty much every area of my life, from showering and brushing my teeth, to responding to text messages, to responding (or not) to internet comments, choosing meals, eating, listening to people, walking the dog, vacuuming the carpet. I am most likely to lose mindfulness when I have repeated myself 27 times asking someone to do something, cleaning dog vomit, when people jump to conclusions without letting me finish speaking. But, even those are better. I recognize my irritation rising before it turns my whole day to a bad one (often, not always) and I am able to let go of the negative feelings regarding whatever happened much faster.
Anchoring is a useful procedure, similar to checking oneself as mentioned. Some tantrists wear a buddhah pendant, sometimes in a pouch, which they fondle for regular extra anchoring.
If possible I like to use language itself as a reminder. This involves looking for the symbolic keys within language, sub-texts, subconscious and if sufficiently aware the super-conscious or speech of the enlightened Buddha Nature inherent in all speech.
We can also ground ourself in different body parts. This is superficially or quite deeply the use of mudra. For example what sensation/calming/centering happens when a hand is placed on the sternum, solar plexus or stomach? If we use a mudra during meditation, we can simply repeat these hand postures to remember or anchor into a meditative mind . . .
@lobster
Not that what you are saying is not correct...
Anchoring is very useful as a defense in the presence of a threat just as grounding (like earth witness) has it's own purpose but both are performed when mindfulness is already present (already checked in).
I think the op was instead asking about what tricks folks use to be reminded to be brought back to the present.
Yes, the challenge is how to re-establish mindfulness on a regular basis.
I think the other challenge with mindfulness is that it's multi-dimensional, so that initial coming back to the present is only the start.
See here for example: http://www.accesstoinsight.org/lib/authors/thanissaro/mindfulnessdefined.html
I try to remember and rely on the times that I don't to better train. I don't use any tricks although I can see their use.
Thich Nhat Hanh says we can use what he calls "oops" moments as our guide. The more times we catch ourselves slipping, the better job we are doing. It's like a shoulder coming out of the socket except for the pain... Once we catch ourselves once, it is easier to catch the next time.
I won't remember to do any gimmicks. If I could remember to snap a rubber band, I could remember to be mindful. To be mindful, I have to be re-mindful. To do that I have to train myself to catch myself and then laugh it off.
To be mindful, I have to be re-mindful. To do that I have to train myself to catch myself and then laugh it off.
I do think it's similar to developing a good habit. Repetition makes it natural.
In my case, as others have described above, often mindfulness and awareness periods interspersed throughout the day.
Away from the cushion, I make sure to close my eyes and do some deep breathing and serious "mind-lassoing" while starting the computer, during tea-breaks and my yoga session.
Probably as pay-off for the cushion practice I put in, I find that awareness of what goes on in my mind comes more often and more naturally.
Like I catch myself red-handed the second my mind begins acting up and coaxing me into buying into one of its tricks.
I like your trick, @Vastmind. Have already programmed my cellphone!
Right, I know this is a Buddhist forum - and believe me, I'm not a Christian - I'd probably burn if I entered a church, but what I've been doing is trying to see 'God' in every situation (when I'm mindful enough to remember).
Just trying to be mindful doesn't seem effective for this daft Geordie, but the 'tool' of asking myself 'where's God in this situation?' (maybe some twonk has just cut me up on a motorway, or the lady in front of me in the check-out queue is faffing about and taking too long to pay); it just seems to bring my attention to what's happening and find a 'better place' (more meaningful, kinda deeper/richer aspect to the moment).
I don't believe in Patriarchal bearded blokes who live in the sky, it just seems to be more effective for me. I can't explain why.
I have been feeling better with my medicines etc lately and it is hard to not be distracted from meditation by how other things in my life are 'coming alive'. So I have to make myself do my meditation. One way to get motivation is to think of how much meditation I will have done in my life 10 or even 30 years from now (I am 37) I have been meditating for 13 years and the last 3 I have done 30 minutes or more EVERY day. I hope to raise that to 1 hour/day and my goal is to meditate 10000 hours in my life. You'd think I would be quite accomplished by that time.
Hey Jeffrey
If you decide to ask one of those pesky Zen Masters about such an accomplishment, ya might want to keep a spare kyōsaku in your back pocket to answer his/her likely response.
Myself, I still get motivation from just remembering what you practice with.
My latest meditation trick is called Bodies & Faces.
Whenever I look at someones face in the street I 'click' "home"!
That might be every second or so on a busy high street. It also has some amazing compassionate side effects. But you have to practice it to understand. It is otherwise completely unsatisfactory, very disturbing and belittling and unrewarding - i.e you feel like siht ;-)
Metta
I hope to raise that to 1 hour/day and my goal is to meditate 10000 hours in my life.
Sounds good! I think you'll notice quite a difference if you can increase the lengths of your daily sits.
@Jeffrey what do you hope to accomplish by sitting for 10000 hours that might not be accomplished otherwise?
I guess he will find that out.... Maybe he's not aiming to accomplish anything specific. maybe we could all 'try and see'.....
It was just a question @federica. I like to know what drives people to do or say what they do or say. I am still discovering what drives me to do and say what I do or say. It's very fulfilling and at the same time can be extremely frustrating. But when it stops becoming fun, well I suppose I'll just become frustrated again;)
when we successful in this
we can know this
Let us return to body association techniques.
Without mala it is possible to touch each of the fingers to the thumb and think of the breath or particular centering in the moment, qualities of enhanced mindfulness, mantra recitation or in Tantra leaving the nails long for a little discomfort of pressing into the thumb to remember vows, gurus, initiations etc . . .
You might also consider these dual purpose cushion hats, that come in 'Meditator' and 'L earner' versions . . . there may even be a princess version . . .
@anataman yeah I just figure I will be a very skilled meditator. Like Buddha before he became enlightened but after he had learned things such as dhyana or jhana.
I've been doing a lot of sutra-reading, lately, and the practice of meditation is stressed again and again, so there has to be something to it.
@lobster: have you branched out to caps, now?
As things stand at the moment with me, it's easier for me to elucidate when I actually check OUT....I'm staying in and hanging on with grim determination, AND a light and jovial heart....
I don't think I check in quite as often as I check out but the tides been turning.
I don't get your math. How can you possibly check in more often than you check out.
If you are in, there is no new checking in unless you have checked out somewhere.
If you are out, then you can't check out again unless you have checked back in somewhere. The only other options are in to out or vise versa which must equal each other.
I get that you can spend more time in one that the other but not that you can switch numerically more in than out......or vise versa.
I don't understand!!!!
YES
:buck: .
Lol... Join the club!, just kidding. I only mean that if I checked in during the day (remindfulness) as often as I lose the flow during sitting meditation I might actually make some progress.