Did you ever try to slow down and only do a single thing at a time?

You unscrew the cap of the toothpaste slowly, set it down carefully, pick up your toothbrush and hold in one hand, squeeze some toothpaste out with the other hand and put it on the brush, then put the toothbrush down. You carefully screw the cap back onto the tube of toothpaste, pick up your toothbrush again and brush, putting all your awareness on each tooth—or at least each area—as you brush it.

I think most of us combine several of these steps, rushing through the entire sequence, all the while thinking of something completely unrelated, like tomorrow's meeting or tonight's Hive post or that one embarrassing conversation we had with the one girl in the fifth grade. We finish brushing then without even having been aware of doing it, just like when we sometimes end up at work but with no memory of actually driving there.

If you've never done it before, try the way that I list a paragraph above the last. At every stage, try to focus on only one action, resisting the urge to do multiple steps at once. Furthermore, focus your awareness on each action. For example, as you unscrew the cap, watch as you unscrew it, listen as you unscrew it, keep your mind clear by focusing on what you are doing. If anything pops in there, try to push it out by just thinking "I am unscrewing the cap". Moving slower than necessary may help you do maintain focus.

If you really do this practice, you may find an unexpected result. The world seems to grow quiet, you may become aware of a stillness that you rarely experience. As such, it may seem a little eerie, as if the world has gone silent because a ghost is present; but if you stay with the sensation you will find it more peaceful than unsettling.

Mindfulness

This is mindfulness. We all know the word. It's become a buzzword that is thrown around everywhere. But few of us ever take the time to learn what it actually is beyond a general idea of "paying attention" which we kind of intuit from the word. While that's not a bad guess, it's more than simple paying attention, it is being in the moment and what's more, being one with everything we do, and, by extension, being one with the universe.

Oooo now there's a fairly mystical idea. "Being one with the universe". Sounds like some secret thing learned by living in an isolated mountain-top monastery in Tibet, only gained by years of intense study with an old monk who only teaches by way of cryptic hints; something that even if it's actually real and possible is simply not something that us regular joes have the time to learn and experience. We have to work, we have to care for families, we just don't have time to go off and learn the secrets of the universe.

The Limits of Language

Don't let the language fool you. All language is an imprecise thing when trying to describe complex ideas. There is a reason philosophy books can drone on for so long—it's nearly impossible to describe an idea unless the listener already has some experience of some or all of the proposed idea. This is important. Without having had an experience, language talking about that thing is meaningless to us. We have no connection to it nor can we understand it. You all know this feeling. When an old Buddhist talks about what enlightenment is like it sounds like riddles—like complete nonsense—to most of us, but to one who has also had the experience of enlightenment, his words are crystal clear. That is to say, a concept only becomes meaningful when we have an experience to connect it with.

What I mean when I say "being one with the universe" is simply this: we are only doing one action at a time, as we do that action all our awareness is on that action, and we are ignoring the monkey mind as it chatters about whatever it is chattering about. In this way we are one with what we are doing. Slowing down and taking care to listen carefully are both great strategies for helping to ignore the monkey, by the way.

Monkey Mind

I should specify for those of you without any meditation background. Monkey Mind is what we call our restless mind, because it is always bouncing around with thoughts like a hyperactive monkey. When I say "ignore the monkey", I mean ignore your mind. Don't try to stop thinking. Trying to stop thinking is a thought, and you can't stop thinking by thinking. That would be like trying to smooth ripples in a pond by touching the water. Instead, just ignore the mind. Let it prattle on and on about whatever it will, but you ignore it. Putting your awareness on what you are doing is a great way to help ignore the mind, as I said above. This is why meditation often advises beginners to focus on the breath.

Paying Attention

Why is it bad to do multiple things at once? Why not start to squeeze the toothpaste out while you are still unscrewing the cap? Why not work on the cap with one hand while you brush with the other? Why not review your plan for the day as you brush? It's not bad per se to do these things, but something is always lost when we scatter our attention. And we are scattering it. The human mind can only pay attention to one thing at a time, so when we think we are multitasking, we are instead quickly switching back and forth between things, and probably doing a worse job at both things than we would have done if we had focused on them one at a time.

We are only given a limited amount of time. 80-90 years if we are lucky. With advances in technology it's not inconceivable that that time limit could be pushed beyond the century barrier; living to 150 doesn't seem outside the realm of possibility. But it's still limited. That one hundred and fifty years will go just as quickly as the ninety we currently get. Even if there is something after this life, our memory of this one probably won't last many years into the next, making this life effectively a one-shot deal. To me it seems a much better usage of this limited life to pay attention to it rather than rush through it and be distracted by meaningless thoughts or activities, like checking Facebook two hundred and ninety-six times to see if there are any new likes on our silly post about cheesecake.

Be Here Now

Practicing mindfulness offers immense benefits. Instead of being absent-minded, forgetful, scatter-brained, and completely overwhelmed as we run from thing to thing, practicing mindfulness can bring a peace that... well, that you won't believe me about until you experience it for yourself. So why not start by paying attention to the simple act of brushing your teeth tonight?

Misc: Title photo by me

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David LaSpina is an American photographer and translator lost in Japan, trying to capture the beauty of this country one photo at a time and searching for the perfect haiku.