Not Being Mindful
So I have taken it upon myself to study Mindfulness. This is the teaching of the Buddha. In a time where I feel that my life has become too hectic I feel that mental training is in order. So far I am in the information gathering and beginning application stage. I’ve read a book and a bit more on the topic so this is still very early for me yet. My goal is to apply these simple techniques to my everyday life in order to make better use of my time by being more effective. I would rather work 8 hours efficiently than 10 hours in a disorganized manner. This is my effort to improve my professional skills, but also my attentiveness to all aspects of my life.
A funny anecdote:
One day last week, while reading “The Heart of Buddhist Meditation”  I left my umbrella on the PATH train. Whoops. I guess I could really learn a thing or two about it! However I was reading Eight Mindful Steps to Happiness and in the introduction the author describes an incident where one of his students was reading his first book “Mindfulness in Plain English” while crossing the street, and was subsequently hit by a car!! At least my little lesson in mindfulness was not one inducing misery!
I look forward to understanding more about the concepts of Bare Attention and Clear Understanding. I plan to put into practice Mindfulness of Breathing as often as I can.