Daily Life Mindfulness Prompt Sheet [ENGLISH] [Draft]

I created the following document as a tool to help those who have a difficult time using the insights of formal mindfulness meditation practice during their informal and messy daily lives. It is in draft state right now, so it is not perfect, but i hope it is at least interesting and useful to some. Good luck out there.

Pierrick Simon / lemiroirtranquille@outlook.fr / @PhiloTranquille sur Twitter / Le Miroir tranquille sur Soundcloud / 

22/09/2021

Daily Life Mindfulness Prompt Sheet

The point of this document is to encourage the use of Mindfulness in daily life, outside of formal practice. If you used Mindfulness today in the way described on the left, you can add a cross in a column on the right. Each column represents a day. The point is to fill as many squares as you can over a period of 14 consecutive days of daily mindfulness. There are several categories of prompts, which are explained each time.

--- Subjectivation --- (Subjectivation is the state of remembering that you are a thinking subject, not a prophetic mind in contact with a distant reality. With subjectivation, you realize that you have thinking patterns, which are liable to be criticized on two fronts: they might not be true and/or they might not be useful right now. Without subjectivation, you have little to no incentive to use your mindfulness training.)

I consulted this form for guidance and inspiration before the very end of the day, remembering that I am a thinking subject.

While predicting something or interpreting a particular event, I reminded myself that the chances are very low that I am completely right in my assessment of the situation.

While following a particular train of thoughts, I asked myself if it was useful for me to entertain these thoughts right now, and I made a judgment call along those lines.  (it’s okay if the answer was “yes”)

While I was in distress, I was able to recognize the “I am suffering” aspect of my state of mind, as opposed to the “I notice this objective scandal with precision” aspect. For example, being angry, I realized that I was being angry, and that I was engaged in the situation, (even if I was in the right).

 

--- Awareness Primers --- (Awareness Primers are meant to invite you to continue your awareness training in daily life, outside of formal meditation. They kickstart the process of being mindful.)

I committed to doing an activity in a state of mindfulness (or at least starting it this way) and I followed through on this commitment.

I used mindfulness to increase my appreciation of a certain experience. (for example eating food, or encountering art)

I moved to a destination (however close) while being mindful of the movements of my body. OR, I felt the weight of my body against the floor, chair, or bed.

I did a mindful pause in between two activities.

Once I realized I was lost in thoughts, I gently brought back my awareness to the present moment, and to a sensation anchor (such as the breath, for example, or sights,or sounds) .

 

--- Relief from Suffering ---- (Understanding the connection between mindlessness and suffering is a big motivator for pursuing mindfulness practice. Therefore, compliance with the practice rides on actually using mindfulness to reduce suffering. However, proceed with caution.) WARNING: Do the following exercises with caution. Firstly, because the cost of becoming mindless while focusing on difficult experiences can be high. Secondly, because pain, suffering, and feelings of victimhood are not always safe to discard. Thirdly, because the jury is still out on potential contraindications.

When a difficult emotion arose, I focused on the sensations that are the phenomenal signature of this difficult emotion.

When I felt dangerously offended, I tried to find the ego at the center of my experience that could be the target of the dangerous offense, and I realized that there was no such ego.

Upon noticing myself rehearse and/or ruminate, I decided to focus my mind’s eyes on the troubling thoughts until they vanished from view.

In pain, I suspended my interpretative framework of what the pain meant (if only for a moment).

While being slightly shaken by irritating thoughts, I resolved to completely drop the thoughts.