What is Your Mind(ful) of Practicing?

I spent last week in Santa Cruz, California, with chi gong master, Lee Holden, during a week-long teacher training immersion program.  It was an amazing experience in so many ways.  Not only did I have a chance to deepen my understanding of chi flow (WW version of chi gong)--I got to look at some of the health and wellness themes that we talk about in new ways.

One thing Lee talked about is that the mind is always meditating.  Unfortunately, it is meditating on the dark side.  I never considered worrying or rehashing the past as "meditating," but it is.  It is focusing the mind on something very specific and staying focused on it.  How useless is this?  Our evolution and strong DNA are at work.  We are literally hard-wired to be suspicious of the unknown.  By being on guard, defensive and expecting a hazard, our ancient ancestors survived.  That rustle in the grass was not a bunny rabbit coming to kiss you cheek but the paw of a tiger slithering through the grass to have you for a snack. 

Nowadays, our stressors are not usually that dire.  We are flooded with stressors like too much information, too much to accomplish in too little time, etc.  Yes, we have to pay attention to what is expected, but we do not have to focus all our energy on what is not helping.  What about changing the channel in your head?  What about switching to a channel where you see yourself calmer, in control and succeeding?  What about paying attention to silence or to quiet in the brain or to the time in between activities or tasks? 

What keeps us grounded is the body because the body is always in the present.  The body is always feeling "today at this very moment."   The mind wants to travel to the past and rehash it, or to the future and worry over it.  Both of these "meditations" create more stress.  Stress is fattening and frustrating.  So, what about changing the channel in the mind to the program you'd like to watch?  What would you like to see yourself doing well today?  What would you like to see yourself NOT doing at all today?  How would you like to feel today?  Is it possible to tune in to that channel more often?  Is it possible to be mindful of that image?  If you're "meditating" anyway, why not meditate on the good stuff--because it will bring more positive energy to you--to have more of the good stuff.

This isn't a wish fulfillment practice, this is a positive intention practice.  We benefit from training it.  It does not come easily to many of us--me included, but it does create room for shifts to be noticed.  By noticing shifts in our thinking or feeling, we can get closer and closer to what we really want.  We can be present in body AND mind for what is really important and what is worthy of our attention in the first place.