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One minute meditation?
betaboy
Veteran
Is it okay to meditate just for a minute every time we get the chance in the middle of work instead of sitting down and meditating for a longer duration? That way, we would hsve done lots of one minute meditations throughout the day. Does it have value? Cumulative effect? Has anyone tried?
0
Comments
You might find it helpful to check out the four foundations of mindfulness ( body, feeling, mind, mind-objects ).
Taking an example of exercise - it is possible to do lots of 1 minute bouts of exercise throughout the day - if you do 60 of these then you have the equivalent of an hour workout - it is clear however that the nature of the 60 x 1 minute is different to the 1 x 60 minutes.
Or you can just be aware of both if you don't know which one to pick, though I think some may find that more difficult.
It really doesn't matter. Choose one thing to focus on when you're doing something and focus on that. You can focus on a smudge on the wall if you really want to. It's not the object that you're focusing on that matters, it's the fact that you're focusing at all.
So some people prefer to practice a 'broad' mindfulness, including everything, but with the breath on the background, something to go back to. Others prefer to practice 'focussed' mindfulness, on just the breath, going into very still and focussed states. I personally think it's best to practice both, but it's not like one is superior to the other. In fact, there are many more objects the Buddha recommended.
So don't confuse mindfulness with concentration. While they are greatly dependent on one another, they are not the same.
So to answer your question, I would advice some 1 minute meditations for sure. It's very useful, although not a replacement for longer sittings. But apart from that you can also have a broader all-day mindfulness of what's going on in the mind. To notice: When does anger arise, when does a tendency to lie/steal/hurt arise? This is mindfulness as well. A very important aspect even.
I hope this can remove some confusion.
One minute of meditation at work is a great way to start connecting a larger amount of life's meditative moments together but if you choose to train this way just to avoid other longer meditation periods you will be handicapping your practise. Much of an average person's resistant identity conditioning that meditation can illuminate and dissolve, requires longer periods of meditation to unearth.
So Yes!, it has value, is cumulative and is a common practise but it should really be practised in addition to meditation periods of longer duration.
Good point. Generally mindfulness on a single object leads to concentration. This applies both on the cushion ( eg mindfulness of breathing ) and off the cushion ( eg walking meditation ).
Concentration then supports mindfulness.
For example, taking a minute to stretch, periodically, has a great benefit to your body, and taking a half-hour period to do more in-depth exercise also has great, and somewhat different benefit.
If you do one-minute meditations, you'll reap the benefit of a habit of one-minute meditations, and if you do longer meditations, you'll reap the benefit of longer meditations.
Like physical exercise for office workers, who are often advised to take a minute to stretch, as well as get half an hour of walking (or something prolonged) several times a week, doing both short and (at least a little) longer meditations would have great benefit.
But as a rush-around-y person myself, I find the concept of "meditating at the stop light" (not as dangerous as it sounds) very beneficial, and it lets the pressure of "I have to meditate!!" off enough that I'm actually more likely to do the longer meditations as well, if that makes sense