Enlightenment, joy and peace can never be given to you by another. The well is inside you. Thich Nhat Hanh
Mindfulness sounds simple. So, we make the mistake of thinking it should be easy. We put off starting because we do not know how. Yet as Pema Chödrön puts it, we ‘start where we are’.
Mindfulness is experiential – something you embody, and the experience is yours. There is no single way to practice, no way that is ‘good’ or ‘bad’, ‘right’ or ‘wrong’.
You might start by reading books, watching videos, following influencers, joining a class, working with a teacher. There are formal and informal practices. There can be chanting and incense, silence and noise, birds and trees, daily activity, and longer retreats. You can sit in a cave, or at your desk. On your own or in company.
However, there are a few areas that do seem to matter.
Time spent – to begin with it can be challenging to sit for more than a few minutes. So rather than setting yourself a goal of meditating for an hour, start with a time limit you can feasibly do. As little as 10 minutes can be a great starting point, and you will find once you get into the habit, practicing for longer gets easier.
When during the day – what works best for you? First thing in the morning for me, for others at the end of their day. When doesn’t matter as much as picking the time of day that works for you. Make it the same time every day. If it is a moveable feast, it likely will not happen.
Where you practice – this could be as simple as a favourite chair or could involve a specific room/area of your house or workplace. You might want props, candles, images, a mat to lie/sit on. Wherever it is, keep it set up and ready for you. You are more likely to practice if the space is there.
How often you practice – daily if possible, certainly five days out of seven. It takes about 11 days to get into a habit, 21 days to create the new pattern. Keep going for eight weeks and your brain changes.
It helps to see mindfulness as a long game, like learning a musical instrument or a foreign language. Little by little, you make progress.
