Clinical Handbook of Mindfulness (129 page)

if you do, note that also as just more thinking, in the same spirit in which

you observe other thoughts). This practice is called
mere recognition
,

and the essence of it is to simply notice and return, notice and return,

without much involvement with content.

6. Repeat this process for a comfortable period of time, gradually lengthen-

ing your meditation periods to at least 30 or 40 minutes. The Latin motto,

propera lente
, is highly pertinent: hasten slowly. Do not attempt to do

more than you are ready for, but accept yourself as you are. Your capacity

to sit will gradually increase. If you like, you can do this in a methodical

way. For example, if 5 minutes is the most you can do to begin with, prac-

tice daily for 5 minutes for a week or so, then try 10 minutes for a week,

then 15, and so on. If you try to force yourself to do things you are not

ready to do, you may give up altogether.

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7. When you finish your sitting meditation, take your time coming out of

it. See about bringing the same attitude of clear, accepting awareness

into your daily life. During the day, return frequently to your meditation

by practicing a few mindful breaths. There are many opportunities for

this — while waiting in line at the bank or store, while waiting for your

computer to boot up or finish a task, while you are on hold on the tele-

phone, while you are paused in traffic or at a red light, and so on.

Metta Meditation

Metta means loving-kindness. There are many reasons to cultivate feelings of

kindness toward ourselves and others. Traditional Buddhist teaching lists the

following benefits of such practice: (1) sleeping well, (2) waking up feeling

well and light in heart, (3) having no unpleasant dreams, (4) being liked by

others and at ease with them, especially children, (5) being dear to animals,

(6) being supported and protected by gods and goddesses, (7) protection

from fire, poison, and sword, (8) being able to attain meditative concentra-

tion easily, (9) one’s face becomes bright and clear, (10) mental clarity at the

time of death, (11) being reborn in the Brahma Heaven (Nhat Hanh, 1997).

One need not take this literally to understand how much value Buddhist tra-

dition places on this practice.

Such a practice is foundational to the kind of empathy that the work of

therapy requires (Bien, 2006). In one demonstration (cited in Barasch, 2005)

a Tibetan-trained monk who practiced loving-kindness meditation was able

to discriminate subtle changes in facial expression of emotion to a level two

standard deviations above the mean, a capacity that would stand any thera-

pist in good stead. There is also evidence that compassion is good for us. In

one study (McClelland, 1986), students who watched a film of Mother Teresa

performing acts of compassion showed an elevation in S-Iga in their saliva,

indicating improved immune functioning. This occurred even for students

who disapproved of Mother Teresa and her work.

All forms of meditation are already a practice of kindness, to oneself, and

by extension, to other people. But it is also helpful at times to make this

aspect more explicit. To practice loving-kindness meditation, begin with

yourself. Sit quietly, enjoying your breathing. As you continue to breathe in

and out, dwell gently with simple phrases such as:

May I be happy
.

May I have ease of well-being
.

May I be free from negative emotions
.

May I be safe
.

Take your time with each one. Do not rush the process.

Then, when you are ready, perhaps when you have begun to feel the effect of

the practice, widen the circle outward to include someone else, beginning

with the person closest to you, breathing in and out, dwelling with the

same phrases, but now for her sake, (placing her name in the blanks):

May

be happy
.

May

have ease of well-being
.

May

be free from negative emotions
.

May

be safe
.

Appendix A: Mindfulness Practice

481

Then the practice can be extended in the same way to a friend, a “neutral”

person (someone you don’t know well), and more challengingly, to an

enemy – someone whom you find disturbing to even think about. Finally,

in the last step, radiate the same intentions toward all beings.

There is no need for each practice session to include all the levels (self,

dearest person, friend, neutral person, enemy, and all beings). What is most

important is that the practice be done in a deep, leisurely way. At times,

a whole meditation session may be used simply to generate lovingkindness

toward self or toward one other person. Each level is as valuable as the other.

Physiologically, anger is a very expensive, destructive emotion, triggering

the release of hormones such as epinephrine, norepinephrine, and cortisol

that are implicated in heart disease and other health problems. Metta medi-

tation can help here, since under the principle of reciprocal inhibition, one

cannot feel both love and anger at the same time. If you are angry with some-

one, and wish to take care of this emotion by replacing it with kindness, it

is helpful to begin with yourself rather than immediately trying to cultivate

kindness toward the person you are angry with. Once you are feeling kindly

toward yourself, you may be able to take that additional step more easily.

At times, you may be able to just sit and generate feelings of kindness

toward all beings, envisioning yourself as emitting rays of love and compas-

sion to everyone, bathing your mind in this feeling. But if that becomes too

diffuse or abstract, return to the more concrete form described above.

Mindfulness of the Body

Every teacher knows that students love attention. Sometimes students will

even act disruptively in the classroom in order to get it, especially if they feel

they cannot seem to get it any other way.

Your body also loves attention. It loves it when you simply appreciate it,

stopping to attend to exactly how things are with it.

While mindfulness of the body can be practiced in different postures, it is

often enjoyable to practice lying down when this is possible. As you lie on

your back on the floor or mat, spend a few moments enjoying your breathing.

Note how the floor is supporting you, holding you up.

After a little while, begin with your feet. On an inbreath, say to yourself

silently, “Breathing in, I am aware of my feet.” On the outbreath, say, “Breath-

ing out I smile to my feet.” After the first time, you can shorten the words

to just “feet” on the inbreath, and “smiling” on the outbreath. Notice just

exactly what sensations are present in your feet. Note any sensations on the

surface, such as temperature, or the feel of socks or shoes, or of the floor

against your heels, as well as sensations within the feet, such as any tiredness

or discomfort, or feelings of pleasant relaxation. Whatever is there, positive

or negative, embrace it with accepting awareness. Contemplate how valu-

able your feet are, how many things are possible because of having two good

feet. Send your feet kindness and appreciation.

When you are ready, taking your time and not rushing, move up to

your legs.

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Thomas Bien and Fabrizio Didonna

“Breathing in, I am aware of my legs. Breathing out, I smile to my legs.”

Note with some precision the exact sensations that are present in your legs.

Remember how valuable your legs are, and send them love and appreciation.

After several minutes, do the same with: your hands, your arms, your neck

and shoulders, the muscles in your face, your back, and your chest and stom-

ach, again taking your time with each part of the body. Then finally, embrace

your body as a whole in the same way, “Breathing in, I am aware of my body.

Breathing out, I smile to my body.” Note exactly how the body is feeling right

now, and send appreciation and love to your body.

It is possible to get much more detailed with this practice. For example,

you can take each foot, hand, or leg, one at a time. You can differentiate

upper and lower arms and legs, and even focus on each digit individually.

You can also specifically send kindness to the organs and parts of the body,

such as your blood, your bones, your skin, your heart, your eyes, and so on.

Keep in mind, though, that when we try to do too much, we risk becoming

impatient. If we become compulsive about the practice, this can generate

anxiety. So only practice to the extent that helps you to feel calm and light.

Mindful Eating

The essence of eating meditation is to know that you are eating when you

are eating, to be aware of the vast array of sensory experiences that are

available when you eat. One way to begin this is to sit mindfully in front

of your food, and rather than diving right in, pause to breathe in and out a

few times. Notice what you hear and see and around. Look deeply at your

food. Consider all the conditions required for this food to be in front of you.

If you are looking, say, at a simple piece of bread, the wheat had to grow in

the fields, receiving the sun, the rain, and nutrients of the soil. The farmer

had to take care of it, water it, fertilize, and harvest it. The raw wheat had

to be milled. The baker had to bake it and send it on to the store where

you purchased it, and so on. In this way you can begin to see the piece

of bread more truly for what it is, a miraculous manifestation of the entire

cosmos.

When you are ready, lift the bread to your mouth, noting the movements

of your hands and the action of your teeth as you bite into it. Note the grind-

ing motion, the work of your tongue, and the release of saliva. Note how

the flavor changes as you begin to chew slowly, chewing each bite well and

thoroughly. Note the activity of swallowing, and any lingering taste. In short,

notice everything. It is amazing how much there is to notice in the “simple”

act of eating a piece of bread. If you tend to eat quickly, try taking three

mindful breaths between bites. Alternatively, chew each bite at least thirty

times, doing this in a relaxed, non-compulsive way.

When you feel too busy, and your mind is too active to eat a whole meal

in this way, modifications are easy. It is always possible to at least take a few

mindful breaths and contemplate your food before beginning to eat, and then

perhaps at least eat the first bite in a deep and mindful way.

A simple meal can be a wonderful experience if we are mindful. It is a

shame if we miss it.

Appendix A: Mindfulness Practice

483

Mindfulness of Sight and Sound

During our daily life, we normally see and hear on automatic pilot. This infor-

mal exercise aims at opening our senses to establish a deep connection with

our visual and auditory awareness in the present moment. Practicing this

exercise reveals how often we fail to really see and hear the things around

us in a vivid way, perceiving only a small fraction of what is going on around

us. Frequently, rather than perceiving things freshly in themselves, we per-

ceive only the categories we normally use to make sense of our world (Segal,

Williams, & Teasdale, 2002). We do not see the flower but only our concept

of “flower.” We do not hear the actual sound made by a passing car, but only

the concept “car noise.” We also immediately categorize each percept as pos-

itive, negative, or neutral and uninteresting. Mindful seeing and hearing frees

us of the shallow and automatic perceptions that render us deaf and blind to

the world around us.

Seeing Meditation

The duration of this practice normally ranges from 5 to 15 minutes.

To begin with, you can stand in front of a window or in a chosen a loca-

tion outdoors. When you feel ready, begin to carefully observe an object of

your choice, close or distant, on which you will focus all your awareness.

While observing, try to avoid naming or categorizing the object (for exam-

ple
a tree
), but instead try to describe it through its physical and sensory

characteristics – the shape, the color, areas of light and shadow, whether it is

rough or smooth, the distance between it and you, its movement or stillness,

the differences and relationships between various parts of the object. If the

object is one you can hold, you might even take it in your hands to observe

it more closely. During the observation, the mind may wander and thoughts

may take you away from your visual awareness. When this happens simply

notice that the mind is wandering – acknowledge this event – and as soon as

possible, simply go back intentionally to seeing with clarity and depth. Stay

with the object until you feel you have made deep contact with it. After some

time you can choose to move your attention to another object and observe

it in the same way.