Mindfulness techniques while at school?

clearview

Hi, I'm 17 (almost 18) and a senior in high school. Other than closing my eyes and focusing on my breath (which would only get me yelled at), what are some techniques to stay mindful while in the classroom? I have a tutorial 6th and 7th hour so there's a lot of time where I could be doing something productive but instead I just sit there with nothing to do. I've heard of focusing on the board or teacher and observing desires to look at clock,etc...I was just wondering if anyone else has prior experience with being mindful in a school/work environment and what works best for you? Thanks

ravkes

Here's a suggestion. Do your homework or use the tutorial to learn something new or review. If you don't want to do your homework or work in general, do it anyways. Mindfulness means seeing reality as it is. So pick something you don't want to do and see it as it actually is. Ever wonder why some people like a certain thing and others don't? Could it be that it's the object that has the quality or does it come from our mind and our conditioning? From my experience I've seen that it comes from my own narrow-mindedness.. took me a little while to realize it though ha..

Currently, I work a part-time job and go to college as well so I have experience with mindfulness in relation to everyday life. I used to hate working and studying (I almost failed out of college and refused to get a job even though I was in debt). Today I worked for 8 hours and studied for 2.5 and didn't mind it at all! Dare I say maybe enjoyed learning new things?! Ha.. Then again I have been practicing for 1.5 years almost, but my goodness the changes I've seen in my habits have been incredible. Meditation/Mindfulness really helps, so I'm glad to see you've caught on at a young age.. I started when I was about 19, so I'm young too.

Mindfulness can be utilized in every activity, all it is is paying attention to what's happening right now and seeing it clearly. Sounds simple and it's only hard because we have a nasty habit of following our thoughts wherever they go instead of just letting them be.

clearview

I do my homework. The thing is, I finish it within 15 minutes of my first tutorial and I still have 90 minutes of school left.

ravkes

So just sit there and let things be for 90 minutes. Let me know how that goes.

mugzy

You don't have to close your eyes to focus on the breath. You can gaze slightly downwards, with your back as straight as feels comfortable, and breathe. You can learn to bring that feeling of awareness to every aspect of your life. I try to touch everything I do with mindfulness, whether I'm sitting, walking, eating, or working.

Here's a simple meditation you can use that I learned from the writings of Thich Nhat Hanh:

Breathing in, I calm my body.
Breathing out, I smile.
Dwelling in the present moment,
I know this is a wonderful moment!

While it's probably not the answer you are looking for, you could use the extra time to study, read, or write - I'm sure your teachers would be happy to see you being productive.

buddhajunkie

Any activity that is simple and involves little thought can be easily used as an object of mindfulness meditation. For example, turning the pages in a book, without reading the contents, would be similar to walking meditation. Read up on walking meditation to get an idea of how an activity can become a meditation object.

You should also be doing "normal" meditation outside of school, which will improve your other types of meditation.

Now-Is-reality

I am in the same situation down to our ages. Hahah. While I am in school and if in class I tend to focus on the teacher. I know you have heard of this one before, but it's a cool effect. Just as I would do in sitting breathing meditation, i watch my breathe and count it until I am focused while fixing on the teacher or his desk etc., then I switch my attention to the class once I am focused. The initial thing helps focus yourself. I continue with watching my breathe without counting it but listen closely to what is going on around me and thus look at who is speaking at the time. This helps me in two ways: one I can stay mindful, and two I learn or hear more in class because i am not distracted by my own thoughts, desires etc.

Also when I have off periods or as you say tutorial, and during that time period i will go outside or to the back of the library where I can be by myself more or less and then will do sitting meditation. I like doing this outside during the school day, it's nice. Sometimes I bring a buddhist book or whatever and sit on the sidewalk where not many kids go to and meditate for awhile until school is over.

Good luck.
Ash