Greater Good - The Science of a Meaningful Life

This week my “Walking the Talk” challenge is: be more diligent about my meditation practice.  For a super-emotional person like me, mindfulness—attention to the present moment—is the most important happiness habit in the history of the universe.

I’m constantly tempted by a desire to analyze past events and plan for the future (sometimes that means just worrying about the future).  But when I really bring myself to the present moment, feelings of being rushed, harried, and busy evaporate.  And this summer, I’m all about not feeling uber-busy.

There are many ways to be mindful.  This week, I’m going to get back to my regular meditation practice.  As Jon Kabat-Zinn elucidates in this short video, meditation is a great way for me to heal the damage that stress and busyness do to my immune system.

If the science of changing habits has taught me one thing, it is the supreme importance of starting small.  So although I am totally inspired to start meditating for hours each day (an hour in the morning, an hour before bed sounds so nice) and to sign up for a 10-day vipassana retreat, I’m going to limit myself for now.  This week, I’m shooting for one 7-10 minute meditation a day.  That’s all.  Seems like it shouldn’t be too hard (that’s the amount of time I linger in bed after hitting snooze). But in this crazy life, it often gets squeezed out or interrupted by my kids’ needs.

Never meditated but want to try?  I like loving-kindness meditation, which I blog about here (includes a Buddhist Sylvia Boorstein instructional video).

I always love company in trying to fulfill my resolutions, so please let me know if you are “Walking the Talk” along with me.  If you are trying to be more mindful this week or are doing a little meditating, what is working for you?  How is it going? What obstacles have you faced, and how can you remove them?