Expert: Stuart Resnick - 9/11/2009

Question
QUESTION: I have been reading books, watching videos, and searching the internet over and over because everything says the same thing and I try to meditate,being conscious of the breath,but I have a problem with knowing if im doing it right.I know Im not supposed to wonder because I would not be mindful,but how do you be mindful correctly. I have read some of your answers and they are hard to understand, so maybe you can answer this like im a dummy.when I meditate,or what i believe might be meditating,I breathe normally and follow it by feeling the air fill my stomach,and when thoughts come i notice it and return to my breathing.Do i think subconsciously,about anything,or focus on something while feeling my breath? My other question is, for example, mindful while working. How do I stock produce, or lets say apples,mindfully.Do I think at all,in order to focus on just the apple?Or do I not think, and just subconsciously know what im doing? Another way to put the question,how do I do something mindfully?I mean what do i think,what do i sense,what is it? Is it like being a ghost? and watching me,the apple,the place i put the apple, like being seperate from my body? I am very interested in mindfulness and have been at it for quite some time but not getting anywhere, i only end up being quiet and NOT myself from all the focusing all day on one thing at a time, until i just have to quit for a day or read more on it.(I am also rushed by my manager and I have anxiety,but take medication for it)So my mind is always on what to do next,you know,rushed and confused.I need mindfulness.But i need to understand how it is cultivated,exactly.

ANSWER: Example: say that just now, you're stocking apples. When you're doing that, just stock apples.

While you're stocking apples, all sorts of thoughts and feeling will appear in your mind. Let them come and go without hindrance; treat them like clouds appearing and disappearing in the sky. Don't cling to any of these thoughts and feelings. Whenever you feel like you're entangled in thoughts and feelings, return to stocking apples.

Don't cling to any type of thinking or ideas, including ideas about "mindfulness." When you're sitting, just sit; when you're eating, just eat; when you're stocking apples, just stock apples. Just do it. That's all.

If you have great difficulty dis-entangling from thoughts, you can try repeating a mantra. When you feel entangled in thinking, repeat the mantra to simplify your thinking. That may make it easier to then return to just doing what you're doing (e.g. stocking apples).

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: I now understand why the formal meditation is to keep bringing your attention back to your breathing, so i can do the same in my daily activities, in order to stay with what Im doing. I now would like to ask another question, please. I now let go of thoughts, now I wonder do I focus on how I move and how the apple feels or what Im about to do?Or does that just come naturally, without trying to focus? In other words, is just letting go of thoughts all there is to it? What really makes me ask such questions is the way its put in books and other readings, about whole heartedly doing something,and it takes a certain quality of attention, and when you eat you smell the food,taste,chew,swallow,etc. It makes me think I have to try to 'focus' my attention, which in turn is frustrating. How can I ever feel at ease if I have to focus so hard?

Answer
Just don't attach to thinking; that's all there is to it. Books are different people's opinions, so in some books, people will say you should cultivate a certain quality of attention. That's not what I practice or recommend.

In the Zen school, we say, "Ordinary, everyday mind is the Way." So just perceiving what's already appeared in front of you (the sky is blue, sugar is sweet, a dog says "woof," etc) and just doing what you're doing (when hungry, eat; when tired, sleep; when someone is suffering, help; etc) is enough.

If it's so simple, then why are there problems? Problems are caused by attaching to thoughts like "I want something." These thoughts are normal. Everyone has them; just don't cling to them, let them appear and disappear like clouds in the sky. It's not that wanting is bad, but clinging to "I want" thinking does create suffering. Use formal meditation to practice non-clinging to thoughts, then you can develop the habit of non-clinging in ordinary life.

Since it's so simple, it's not necessary to be very clever. You don't need any special understanding. Just practice.