This is a fascinating practice and says something quite profound about how we have this habitual tendency to get mentally ahead of ourselves. I’m not going to say too much more about it at this stage, but I look forward to your observations with an eager sense of anticipation….

Instructions

The shorthand for this practice is ‘mindfulness of doors’, but actually the practice involves bringing your awareness to any transition between spaces, namely when you leave one kind of space for another. Before you walk through a door, pause even for just a second and take one breath. Try to bring awareness and a sense of investigation to the differences you might feel in each new space that you enter.

A key element of this practice is to pay careful attention to how you close a door when entering a new space. We often move into a new space without finishing up properly with the old one, forgetting to close the door or letting it slam shut.

Reminding Yourself

I suggest putting a sticker or notice on the doors that you open and close frequently at home, just to get you into the groove first thing on Monday morning!

How to Train a Wild Elephant & Other Adventures in Mindfulness by

These practices are adapted fromby Jan Chozen Bays. You can find out more, read my review of and purchase this book from my Mindfulness Library (page 2)

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