Walking Meditation: "The Filmmaker"
Brief Background: You have probably experienced the runner's high, when you get into this trance-like, painless and wordless state of being. Because of your hard work, endorphins, the body's own painkilling morphine, are released into your system. How can we get into this state of mind while walking? Well, you can either walk really fast and wait for your endorphins to kick in and aid the process. Or you can train your awareness and exercise your mind/brain over your body. We're going to do the latter... You'll notice that the more we turn towards pure mindfulness meditation the harder it seems to get. That's because our minds are used to activity and tend to chatter away and attach to habitual patterns of thought. Don't be annoyed by this, it's perfectly normal. Just shift focus to your footsteps. Look at your feet if your mind is stubborn and won't let go. But do it gently and mindfully. Let's relax while we walk. This means that you patiently bring your focus back to your footsteps whenever you sense any drifting thoughts or become aware of your inner voice chattering away. Again and again, no questions asked. Here's our
Disclaimer.
Listen to the sound of your shoes patting the ground. Feel the sensation in the soles of your feet as you walk... your lower leg muscles pushing and pulling, flexing and extending, shortening and lengthening. Soon you become lost in the rhythm and before you start thinking about it (e.g. wow, this is a pretty nice feeling bla-bla-bla) switch focus to your visual senses... "Observe." You are now a filmmaker at one with your camera, capturing moving pictures with your lens. You're dollying forwards (in feature film, dollying means the camera is moving on a dolly, a platform, instead of zooming in on objects from a static, fixed position). Observe and listen. Whenever there's a thought, whenever your inner voice interferes, angle your lens down, capture your feet and listen to the sound of your footsteps against the ground/pavement. Observe/film your surroundings and listen to the natural soundtrack. Whenever your inner voice-over interferes with the images and external soundtrack, capture a camera shot of your feet, hear your foot steps. Again and again, patiently, decisively, no questions asked. When the voice-over is silenced, return to the free, unscripted film you're shooting... Mantra to mindfulness - narrow to wide focus - footsteps to the bigger picture. Thoughts and further recommendations Start doing your walking meditation for five minutes. Walk around the block and back to your home. Then go for two blocks, or twice around your neighborhood. Or drive to the park and do your walking meditation there. You don't have to keep increasing the frequency or distance beyond 20-30 minutes and three times a week. Make it fun rather than a chore. You see how you can do this walking meditation anywhere you go, and at anytime you like? No one will notice the super-alert undercover filmmaker walking amongst them. However, if you find yourself thinking that you are a super-alert filmmaker, simply return your focus to your feet and gently kick those thoughts and that unnecessary voice-over out of the moving shots and the natural soundtrack of your movie. Walking meditation can be a lot of fun. If you don't think it is or if your inner narrator keeps interfering, understand that this happens more easily when your camera operator/director/producer (the too-intrusive mind) is bored and wants to
control the process.
Angle your lens at different scenes and objects, move in for a close-up or two... capture that bug lying on his back, legs kicking, frame in that blooming juniper tree... or angle up to that red sunset, those far-away stars. And if you would like to try a different meditation exercise,
click here for mindful walking in slo-o-ow motion.
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