Mindfulness Meditation, Week 1 of 8: Done

As of this morning, I have officially completed Week 1 of my 8 weeks of mindfulness meditation.

Because part of the practice is avoiding judgments (positive or negative) about the meditation experience itself, I’m going to do my best to stick to what I’ve observed.

I have meditated every day this week. Some mornings I was conscious for more of the practice than for others. According to Jon Kabat-Zinn, this is normal, so I’m not worrying about it.

It has not been nearly as difficult to go to bed at a reasonable hour as I would have guessed it would be. Having a target wake-up time seems to be the key, although I am, naturally, reserving judgment.

I’ve not had a chance to read nearly as much as I usually do. Mostly this hasn’t bothered me. If I get much closer to the next book club meeting and have made little to no progress on Neil Gaiman’s American Gods, I may be less complacent about my lack of reading time.

I’ve not noticed any major shift in my usual mood. I’m still short with my kids and my spouse more often than I’d like to be. I’m perhaps a little less anxious than last week, although whether that’s due to the meditation or the reduced online time.

I did find that our time hiking this afternoon was particularly enjoyable. The landscape seemed more vibrant and detail-rich than I remembered it. Maybe my increased awareness during daily meditation is rubbing off on the other parts of my day.

Mostly I’ve noticed that I’m more happy, at least today. I don’t know if that will continue, but it’s nice for today.

Another nice thing today: Graham Short, the micro-engraver I blogged about nearly a year ago left a comment on my blog post about him. I felt so very grateful that he read my blog and that he took the time to comment.

Tomorrow, in addition to my morning body scan meditation, I will begin doing a 10-minute sitting meditation at another time during the day. I’m quite nervous about how I’m going to manage it, but I’m cautiously optimistic.

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