"Like" or "Not-Like" is the question

This week we continue with our discussion of mindfulness, focusing on the aspect of mindfulness which is non-judgmental.

Being present in the current moment and aware of what is happening in our body, our thoughts, our feelings and beliefs is the basis of the practice of mindfulness but it is only part of the method. The other piece is about noticing without judging. One example might be that you are focusing on being present in the now and your mind wanders from one thing to the next until you are planning dinner in your head or you find yourself at the supermarket and don't remember the drive there. Instead of berating yourself for not being mindful, the method is to simply bring the mind back to the object of attention without judgement. This idea was once presented to me as an analogy of a train station and the image has always stuck with me. Imagine you are standing on a platform at Grand Central Station (or perhaps Southern Cross Station if you are in Melbourne). Your thoughts are the trains. As you stand firmly on the platform you can pause and mindfully, consciously decide whether to get on any of the thought trains. If you lose your focus and find yourself in Brooklyn (or Frankston for the Melbournians readers) then you simply go back to the platform and start again. The majority of us spend most of our time in automatic mode, jumping from train to train unconsciously, following our thoughts here and there, completely out of control. However if we can stop and be present, we will have the time and space to decide which mental direction to take.

Another trouble we have is that our minds are habituated into rating things as positive or negative. We construct our view of the world and our identities around categories of what we find appealing and what we don't. Have you honestly listened to your mental chatter from a third party perspective? I have been listening to mine lately and have been horrified to learn that what goes on in my mind is not consistent with what I strive to do and be externally. I am passionate about acceptance, social inclusion, diversity, community development, love and compassion etc. but  I was walking down the street the other day and was surprised to notice just how judgmental my thoughts were. The running mental commentary was all about rating the things I saw as to whether they fit into the way I think the world should be or not. "that's a cute outfit" 'That one really doesn't suite her." "those are such high heals, how ridiculous" "Yuck, that guy in front of me is smoking" "That shop looks nice" "that one doesn't" "Yum that bread smells good", "Ugh the butcher shop doesn't?" On and on...and if our internal rating system isn't enough, we can now press a "Like" button on Facebook or Instagram to show our 300 closest friends what we have put in our appealing category. Or even better we can also go on Pinterest and create a visual board of all the things we like so we (and the world) can see them. I am just as guilty as anyone. I love looking at all the pretty things on Flickr or Pinterest or seeing what everyone else is doing in the world of online social media. Can we do these things without judging? I am going to try this week and let you know how it goes.

It is only if we are aware of our thoughts that we can make the choice to change them, so practicing mindfulness can lead us to a calmer, more compassionate, and more in control place from which to make better decisions. When it comes to food intake it can mean having the time and space to choose whether to follow a craving or to decide whether to go for a second serving.It also means not judging ourselves as "bad" for eating cookies and "good" for eating salad.

If you want more about mindful eating check out these links:
Here is an article with some great tips on Mindful Eating plus a yummy vegan recipe from Zen Habits.
and I came across this Mindful Eating Quiz this week that helps us examine how and why we are eating.

How have the practices been going for you the last couple of weeks? I would love to hear your stories, comments, thoughts, etc.

Practice: This week let's examine our thoughts a bit more. Pay attention to your mental chatter and if you find yourself going down the track of rating things as good or bad, see if you can stand firm on the platform and watch that train go right on by. Particularly focus on your thoughts around food, eating, body, etc. And share what you find with us! Until next week....

Metta,

Dharma Mama