With enough practice, you can expand the scope of this exercise to cover the mood of the mind. For example, notice the pulsating urge to get a pizza before the store closes or the emergence of negative thoughts toward other people. Once you are adept at noting your moods, return to your body and observe how it affects your body as you walk. Does the body feel charged? Is there a tight feeling in the chest or stomach when the mind becomes agitated? You may experience pressure around your eyes or mouth.
The goal here is to get a feel for the energy associated with different thoughts and emotions. As you gain more insight into how this affects the body, notice what happens when you stop simply observing. Most likely, the grip of the thought or emotion softens a little. The body responds with a corresponding feeling of ease. Show active interest in this feeling.
If you start doing this consistently, you will naturally develop the ability to pause and be in the moment. It will allow you to break the flow of the usual musings and obsessions that hijack the mind and cause it to fall into a seemingly unstoppable trance. This in turn can help free precious mental energy from repetitive thought patterns of ideas, regrets and resentments (to name a few). Such discursive thinking can otherwise leave you feeling overwhelmed, agitated, and anxious; it can leave the mind-body complex completely devoid of energy and enthusiasm.
For those who struggle to make time for seated meditation, walking meditation is a perfect antidote. It can help clear the energy of the mind from restlessness and entanglements. As you become adept at this, you will be in a state of peace more often. Like any skill you’ve learned in your life, say driving a car or learning to play a musical instrument, it really just requires enough practice.
So the next time you have a busy day with too many things competing for your attention, try the walking meditation technique. Even a 5-minute daily spell performed mindfully and consistently will bring positive results in your life.
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