A blog that I stumbled across a few years back was Zen Habits, written by Leo Babauta. My visit to the site back then was brief. I don't know why, probably due to reasons that are typical of many of our web habits. Click here, click on that link, read a bit, another link saved as a tab to be read later (and is either not read or skimmed through before jumping to another link). Anyway, Zen Habits only featured very briefly in my life way back whenever it was. That was until recently when my web surfing habits took me back there again. This time I stuck and keep an eye on Leo's regular posts.
Leo Babauta
What has drawn me back to Zen Habits and the pages that I encountered on my way there was two fold. One, looking into people who have made writing a central part of their lives, and two looking at people who have developed ways for organizing their lives. Perhaps more on one or both of these at a later date. In this blog entry I wanted to draw attention to one of Leo's recent entries - The Pause Upon Which All Else Relies.
Leo, as the name of his blog indicates, writes a lot about changing habits. He has made a point of changing the habits in his own life and obvioulsy greatly benefitting from it. On his website he shares the wisdom and experience that he has gained. The post to which I refer is about the ability to pause, to stop yourself before engaging in the activities that we do without thinking, that distract us, that take us away from our regular or intended activities. I'll let Leo speak to what he advises, but will add here the importance of meditation as an aid to helping us to cultivate the "Pause."
Meditation practice tells us to be aware of thoughts as they pass through our mind. To watch them, to be a passive observer, not getting involved in the content, just watching the thoughts arise and pass away, letting them go and dissolve back into the mind. For some thoughts this advice will be easy, for others we will find ourselves easily caught up in the conversation taking place in our mind. Don't berate yourself, just breath and return to the object of meditation. Familiarity and practice will make this practice easier. The mind will not necessarily be quieter, but the distracting capabilities of your thoughts will lessen.
See meditation as a dress rehearsal for your daily life. Helping you develop the ability to enact the "Pause" during the challenges of your life.