Lately, I’ve been spreading my work hours throughout the week, working each day but for fewer hours than I would if I were only working from Monday to Friday. I find that this helps me stay on top of things (being a professor, training professionals, writing, and having a DBT practice, I have lots of stuff to keep track of) and avoid crunch/panic times when a bunch of stuff needs to be done all at once. I’ve also found that my endurance for sitting in front of the computer all day has diminished over the years; thus, working in smaller but more consistent chunks helps me avoid computer fatigue.
Although I earmarked a small chunk of time this morning to write one of these DBT Centre of Vancouver blogs, I’m realizing now that very little is coming to mind that seems worth writing about. I could comment on how it started raining lightly a little while ago, and I had to take my cushion in from my chair outside. I could describe the sound of the robin chirping on my roof. I suppose I could also describe my very enjoyable morning yesterday, when I went for a run and had my first swim in a local lake and then sat on the beach with a thermos of coffee and a snack and thought, “This is the life!” I’m not sure, however, that anyone would be particularly interested in any of that!
I could mention that, as things have been busy, I’ve skipped a day or two of my regular meditation/mindfulness practice here and there but am firmly committed to getting back on track – not only with the regular practice but also with practicing briefly whenever I remember to. Yesterday, during my run, for example, I found myself up in my head, thinking, planning, wondering, and analyzing, and I reminded myself that I’m running around a beautiful lake. I took a minute to reorient my attention to the here and now, noticing the sensation of relief as the waves of my mind (all that thinking) started to subside. The waves returned and subsided, as they do, but at least I recognized them before becoming caught up in the undertow.
Maybe this what I should write about: In DBT, mindfulness practice is an everyday thing. You don’t have to do any special practice. I sit and meditate regularly, but you don’t have to. You could practice while walking, washing the dishes, watching TV, eating, talking (or even arguing) with someone, and so on. Rather than carving out a huge amount of time to sit and practice, it can be effective (and even more manageable) to remember to practice on a regular basis, in small bits and pieces here and there. Try to remember what it’s like when you gently direct your attention to your experience of the here and now. See if you can identify when you’re caught in the undertow of the waves of your mind, notice what the experience of being caught is like, and direct your attention to whatever you’re doing, right now. If you need time to jump around in the waves of your thoughts (you have to figure something out, solve a problem, plan, organize, analyze, and so on), find time to do that with your full attention as well. Just as I’ve been working in smaller chunks, if you want to incorporate mindfulness into your life, try doing so by practicing in small, manageable chunks, and see what happens. ~Alexander L. Chapman, Ph.D., R.Psych.