Transition

“For a long time it had seemed to me that life was about to begin - real life. But there was always some obstacle in the way, something to be gotten through first, some unfinished business, time still to be served, a debt to be paid. Then life would begin. At last it dawned on me that these obstacles were my life.” ~ Alfred D’ Souza

Theory:

Life is a complex dynamic ever changing unfolding process. Just like snowflakes no two moments are ever the same and thankfully otherwise we’d all would get pretty bored rather quickly. Eastern philosophy refers to this Universal principle as Impermanence meaning that ALL things are temporary and transitory in nature. “Here today, gone tomorrow” and “ “What a difference a day makes, 24 little hours” are just a couple examples of American pop cultural references further highlighting this concept.

Why is it so vitally crucial to cultivate Mindfulness (moment to moment Awareness) to this principle of Impermanence and major Life transitions? Often during times of transition the Mind loses track of paying attention and fully appreciating the present moment. Whether it be from following the breath as the inhale flows into the exhale, in between the raising of the right foot after the planting of the left foot, traveling from point A to point B, from taking one bite to eat to taking the next, maturing from childhood to adulthood to parenthood, or winter changing into Spring the present moment is often determined as uninteresting or nonthreatening therefore becomes discounted and gets thrown away from being taken for granted for some other future moments perceived as more desirable and interesting. As soon as the Mind determines the present moment as either nonthreatening or non-interesting Awareness tends to get bored effortlessly moving onto other things that it considers more entertaining and valuable. Not that there is anything inherently “Wrong, Right” or “good, Bad” about this natural tendency of the Mind but when unrecognized and gone unchecked it may produce additional unnecessary suffering when we unconsciously engage in worrying, planning, judging, wanting, resisting, craving, regretting, desiring, Catastrophizing…

While waiting at the doctor’s office or during a medical procedure, in line at the local grocery store, sitting in traffic, while on hold with the telephone, while waiting for your partner, child, or Loved One, Food taking longer than expected all of these are perfect opportunities for utilizing that time to practice Mindfulness. Instead of getting frustrated, upset, hangry, nervous, or anxious the moment you notice Awareness constricted around unpleasant thinking and your nervous system becoming activated the invitation is to make a subtle shift in attention to any of the focused Awareness practices; following the Breath, Body Scan, Sound Awareness, Labeling, Concentration practices are all different techniques or tools readily available to be accessed by anyone at anytime to reestablish equanimity. Equanimity is a mental state of calmness, eveness of temper, or balance of Mind amidst the dynamic changing nature of life.

Practice

Part 1

Begin with Mindfulness of Breath Meditation. Once you feel “settled”, let the focus of attention move from feeling the breath to feeling whatever physical sensations are happening throughout the body. You might scan the body with attention as a way of noticing more subtle physical sensations or to notice the sensations in a sequential order from head to toes. In this exercise, you need only feel whatever physical sensations happening in the body right now. You need not do anything about them. You don’t need to figure them out or make them go away. Let attention rest with whatever physical sensation is happening and let it move whenever it wants. If attention wanders off, gets caught up or gets lost, bring it back to the breath. Focus attention on the breath until it feels “settled” again, then move the focus from feeling the breath back to feeling whatever physical sensations are happening in the body in the moment.

Part 2

When the timer alerts you, slowly move from a sitting to standing posture. Notice the shifts in sensations and energy as you transition from sitting to standing. Stand for one third of the meditation, focusing attention on sensations in the body just as in Part 1.

Part 3

When the timer alerts you, slowly return to a sitting posture. Notice the shifts in sensations and energy as you transition back to a seated position. Sit for the final third of the meditation, focusing attention on sensations in the body just as in Part 1.