This question can bring you straight into the practice of mindfulness – so long as you don’t answer it.
By asking the question, you step out of habitual responses for that moment – out of the wandering mind and preoccupations in which we all spend a good deal of time.
When I ask the question I see fairly quickly that I am welcoming the moment or pushing it away or wanting it to go on for longer or feeling irritated or one of any number of attitudes or qualities.
Hardly aware
It seems our attitude to the moment can be something we are hardly aware of – yet it colours other people’s experience of us (grumpy vs happy for instance) as well as our own mood.
Why not answer the question? Because you ask the question only in order to come out of that light trance. If you need to change the quality you are bringing to the moment you will realise this instantly, in my experience, and will alter your approach without needing to analyse.
The experience I am having
By the way, when I say ‘this moment’ I’m really saying ‘the experience that I am having right now.’ So a longer version of the question would be “What quality am I bringing to the experience I’m having right now?”
One could say the question is another way of saying ‘Wake up!’ And mindfulness practice aims to keep us awake to our experience and to what we are adding to it.
So the question, “What quality am I bringing to this moment?” can bring us straight into the heart of mindfulness practice.
My 15-lesson Easy Mindfulness online course can enable you to bring many mindfulness practices to your daily life and to learn what mindfulness is and why it’s a good idea to practise it. Payment is by donation so it’s affordable to all. Learn more
Image by Ahmed Zayan from Unsplash
