Active alert mindfulness

People often think mindfulness is about going inward

inducing a calm trance by focusing on an image such as a candle flame. That's true but it's not the only path to a mindful state. 

There are methods that have been used for thousands of years that rely on active, alert approaches to achieve mindfulness. The Zen master, Bokuju called out his own name as a way of clearing his mind of unneeded thoughts. Another approach is via direct attention unmediated by language; a condition achieved by training. 

Natural mindfulness has to be active and alert; it uses our instinctive response to the natural world to settle our worries, fears and regrets. For me, it is a combination of curiosity and concentration. Walking through fields and woods raises hundreds of questions like: can I tell what time of day it is? Is the wind still blowing in the same direction? Has something changed since I was last here? 

The calls of birds and rustling among the leaves draw me in to expereince the aliveness of the present moment.   

Jay Dixit offers the best ideas here: savour the present; for me any garden or wild place helps. I take issue with his statement: 'mindful people are happier' because I think mindful people are also sadder. That is, they experience the full range of emotions without dwelling on setbacks indefinitely. 

Natural mindfulness: walking in the open air to clear the mind demands that you stay alert if you're walking through a wood with badger setts and low hanging branches.  But it may be that some people have ways to focus their attention in daily life. 

One method I'm exploring is to begin with a number 5: halfway between 0 [experiencing maximum angst about past mistakes and dread of the future] and 10 [being totally in the present moment] Most of us begin somewhere near 5. We need to plan for the future and learn from the past but not so much that it clouds every moment. 

I'm interested in how people raise the figure to '6'; being more in the present; to notice what is happening now. I begin by imagining how I would feel, what I might hear and see  if I was more in the present. Then I take a deep breath in and as I breathe out, I step into the space where '6' is. 

That's all.