Your Attention, Please: Meditation for the Oblivious

I was amused at a comment someone made to me about the Ten Breaths Meditation.  She said she'd love to practice this meditation, but she kept forgetting about it.  I enjoyed this, because I know what she means.  It sounds simple enough to take the length of ten breaths to notice the beauty which surrounds us, but it can be ridiculously hard to actually do this.

We are constantly running on autopilot, breezing through tasks and our days without having awareness of even things which require doing.  So, what if, instead of adding something into the mix, we started at the core and began to make notes on what we missed during our daily routine?  What if we began to work with being oblivious?

The thing about being oblivious is that, at least once in a while, no matter how often we fail to pay attention, something will wake us up.  You arrive at work and have no idea how you got there, except that it was by car and you were driving.  (That's usually good for a bit of a head shake.) You threw your house keys down somewhere-now it's time to lock up and you have no idea where those keys might be.  Those glasses you're looking for?  They're on your head.

The trick is to take note of what you miss without scolding yourself or adding items to your "Failure List."  Remembering what you didn't notice is a step in the right direction on the path to waking up to Now, because we can't notice that we're oblivious until we pay attention.   Besides, some of the things will be a source of amusement, if not for you, then for others who did notice. What's more fun than bringing a smile to someone?

I'll start you off with ten things I've failed to notice since yesterday. I wrote mine down, but making mental notes will work just as well.  Approach this practice with a sense of humour; meditation need not be Serious Freakin' Business:

• The exact time I went to bed last night.  
• The exact time I woke up this morning.
• The colour of the yarn in the solar dye pot outside my back door.
• Whether Morris pooped or peed when I let him out this morning.
• The names of people who helped me in stores today, even when they wore name tags.
• The way my balance shifts when I walk.  (No excuse for this one-I walk a lot.)
• Exactly where Mr. DD parked the car when he waited for me to run errands. (Corollary: how long it took me to locate said car and driver.)
• The particular way I draft when using my Tibetan spindles.
• Where I left the meditation book I'm reading.
• The open side zipper on the dress I wore while I was out doing errands all morning.  (So much for making a rare effort to dress up.)  

Ducks on the creek:  did you notice their colours?

Namaste.