Tripping On Mindfulness

One of the ironies of mindfulness is that it's still possible to be forgetful, klutzy, or even distracted while doing our best to pay attention.

Why? We are choosing where to focus and so there are, by necessity, bits of information that aren't getting the full laser treatment. It's simply not possible to be mindful of everything all at once.

That's the beauty of it.

You can shine your mental high beams on, say, fully connecting with every person you talk to today. While being very aware of your interactions with others, you might trip on the edge of the carpet.

Clumsy and mindful may seem like strange bedfellows, but they are intimate nonetheless.

True story: I know a reference librarian who was in the habit of reading while walking. One day, she was walking the two blocks to her house during her lunch break while reading a new book. She was so completely focused on the words she was reading that she tripped on the sidewalk, landing in a heap right there on Ash Street.

Fortunately, this happened in front of the fire station, and the paramedics came to her aid immediately. Unfortunately, in addition to her badly-bruised ego, she broke not one but both arms.

The book she was reading? "Coping With Attention Deficit Disorder"

You can't make up this stuff!

Mindfulness doesn't lend itself to multitasking-- especially when we need to watch where we're going. One-track mindfulness is ideal, but two tracks can work if one of them involves repetitive physical activity. Breathing, washing dishes, eating, walking, sweeping, swimming? Perfect. Tack on another--like reading--and you'll end up stumbling, too.

Even if you've never done a faceplant on concrete, chances are you've developed your own quirky mental editing tricks. We choose our targets based on what we decide at that moment is most meaningful.

Your son might be totally immersed in playing the guitar and forget all about his math homework. Your friend might get caught up in a woodworking project and forget to call you back. You might get so absorbed in a conversation with someone at the grocery store that you forget to buy the bread that was the reason for your trip.

Mindfulness helps us pay attention, but it doesn't make us perfect. And that's perfect! It shows us our imperfections while helping us become less judgmental about them. A hefty sense of humor helps.

Use mindfulness to help you "step back" before tripping--on the stories in your head, the swirl of emotions you feel, and the chaos of your life. Develop the mental agility to step back, step into and step out of your chosen focus.

You might remain klutzy. You may forget to buy bread. But you won't end up tripping over what matters most.

About The Author

Maya Talisman Frost is a mind masseuse offering specialized mindfulness training in Portland, Oregon. Trained in conflict resolution, she uses her 25-year meditation practice and plenty of humor to teach real-world techniques for paying attention to what matters most. To subscribe to her free weekly ezine, the Friday Mind Massage, visit http://www.MindMasseuse.com.

maya@mindmasseuse.com

More Resources

Unable to open RSS Feed $XMLfilename with error HTTP ERROR: 404, exiting

More Coaching Information:

Related Articles

Eureka! I've Found It!
OK, so it wasn't quite that big of a deal. But I did find the "T" that mysteriously escaped from the word "not" in one of my articles a few months ago.
How to Create Your Ideal Life - Excerpt from Individual Power
When I lost it all, I felt powerless. During my darkest hours, I wrote letters to God asking "why?" I received answers in writing.
Coaching Prime Time
An awful lot of fantastic coaching has been coming out of Hollywood lately, have you noticed? Whether it's Morgan Spurlock's feature film debut "Supersize Me"..
Become More Self-Confident
Signs of Self-ConfidenceLet's explore the meaning of self-confidence by taking a quiz. Read the list of statements below and check which ones, in your opinion, are signs of self-confidence.
Learning To Recognize Your Ego
What is an ego? Well, in case you didn't know it, we all have one. The ego is the logical rational part of your mind that allows you to separate yourself from other people.
Top 10 Ways to Coach Yourself to Total Success!
Coaching is about being your best. It's about performance, about "staying the course" and, in the end, about creating and living the life you really want.
Body Language Speaks Louder Than Words
Has it ever occurred to you how much you are saying to people even when you are not speaking? Unless you are a master of disguise, you are constantly sending messages about your true thoughts and feelings whether you are using words or not.Studies show that your words account for only 7% of the message you convey.
Three Great Ways to Deal with Negative People
1. Do not believe everything you hear!With close friends and family it is not unusual to think that you ought to take onboard everything you hear.
Coaching: The Art of Putting Yourself In Somone Elses Shoes
COACHING STEPS: The following are five (5) steps a coach can take to change behavior and performance. The goal of this process is to create the context for the person being coached towards one in which excellence becomes the norm.
The Power of Effective Coaching Skills
The most valuable assets of a 20th century company were its production equipment. The most valuable assets of a 21st century organization ? will be its knowledge, workers and their productivity.
Success at Work : People Skills : Complaining
Do you know an individual at work who is a chronic complainer? Are YOU a chronic complainer? People don't like complainers. Listening to a chronic complainer gets people depressed.
5 Minute Morning Balance Ritual
"3 Questions, 5 Minutes a Day: Make leaps towards greater balance in one single week with the Shicka Boom 5 Minute Morning Balance Ritual"By Laura Lallone, Certified Life CoachThis article is dedicated to a woman that I've never met and probably never will. Tall with dark, dark hair, she was perfectly manicured in a tailored suit with high-heeled pumps.
Discovering Your Passion and Purpose
"I can't seem to discover why I'm on the planet.""What is my purpose here? I know there's something I'm supposed to be doing, but I don't know how to find out what it is.
Buyer Beware: Choose A Business Coach Carefully To Get The Results You Want
Consider this scenario. A colleague suggests you get a business coach.
Do You Want to Make More Money as A Life Coach
There's a lot of coaches out there not making any money, looking for opportunities, trying to model what others are doing, networking like crazy, researching, visualizing, affirming and hoping? yes, hoping that the clients show up before the bailiffs.I've been involved in Marketing and PR and worked with and met the good, the bad and the ugly of the coaching world and can honestly say if you are not making any money there is probably a reason why that I can help you with.
That Little Bit Of Extra
The "little bit extra" is a very powerful concept to put into practice today in every aspect of your life. The difference between being ordinary and being extraordinary is that little bit EXTRA.
What is Coaching?
Recently, I have received several emails asking me about coaching and what it is exactly. So, I decided to answer some of those questions in this article.
Ten Benefits of Having a Relationship Coach
As a Master Certified Relationship Coach, I work with singles to help them attract a great match and with couples to help put their relationships back on track. I hear great feedback from my clients about the value of coaching.
What The Buddha Says About Coaches
There is a Buddhist saying that goes like this: "If you meet the Buddha on the road, kill it." This means to kill any concept of the Buddha as something apart from oneself.
What You See is What You Get
H. Jackson Brown Jr.