WHAT TO DO WHEN YOU DON’T HAVE TIME TO MEDITATE

It’s clear to me that most people have a difficult time maintaining a daily 20-30 minutes of meditation. Our busy schedules leave us with very little time for this kind of self-care.

Mindfulness is a type of meditative practice that takes you out of the world for a brief period without the need for engaging in formal meditation. While I do not believe mindfulness is a substitute for traditional meditation, it is certainly a worthwhile practice, and has benefits of its own. Mindless meditation is well-suited for people with busy lives, who cannot commit toa regular meditation routine.

Mindfulness meditation can be done while performing mundane tasks. I’m taking about the times when we “zone out” doing tasks that do not require analytical thinking. These include chores where your brain goes on “automatic”, such as cleaning or organizing.

Stop what you are doing right now (for a minute). Forget about what is
going on around you. The world won’t stop turning for a short moment.
Just be with yourself. If it is appropriate, wherever you are, or whatever
you are doing in this moment . . . just be.

Put yourself into whatever you are doing. Pay close attention to what you
are doing. Engage your full senses in the activity (by using sight, sound,
smell, touch, and possibly taste). Allow yourself to become fully immersed
in the experience. As you do this, your thoughts will settle on the task at
hand. Everything around you will start to lose meaning, as you focus on
what is in front of you.

When you decide to end your mindfulness experience, you will most likely feel a sense of contentment and peacefulness. This is one way to
experience meditation. It’s also an excellent way to meditate when you
can’t find the time.