In his 90s the great Zen Buddhist proponent and practitioner Daisetsu Teitaro Suzuki (1870-1966) voiced some reflections on building up a daily spiritual routine. Blessed with a strong will to work, later in life he advocated spreading different projects across the day rather than focusing for too long on one project. Possibly, that is good rule of thumb for all of us at whatever stage of life. We remain fresh and alert by limiting the time we spend in one sphere. We might also profit from introducing regular breaks throughout our working day. In the culinary sphere we are told that a sorbet between courses refreshes the palate. So regular breaks serve to renew us before moving to a different project, or perhaps a different aspect of the same work.
Absorbed in work we can, unknowingly, move away from our centre and therefore lose our perspective. Setting a watch, or alarm, to pulse for a short moment every fifteen minutes or so can serve to bring us back to our centre and help us to stay ‘on purpose’ with our work. We can also introduce slightly longer pauses to instil our work with added energy and uplift. Such pauses can also mark the beginning and end of an activity or project when we dedicate it to a higher purpose. This can be done alone or together, if we are working with others. When with others, this helps to bind us together to realise a goal or intention.
There is no doubt that rituals designed to engender mindfulness and reflection can be woven together throughout the day to make a coherent and richly-textured pattern. These will appeal to our sense of order and provide strategic changes of occupation which keep us fresh and alive! Reflection as a practice implies an inner and outer movement, much like the tides of the sea or the movement of the breath. Ideally, our spiritual routine has this rhythmic quality too. We breathe in to explore the richness of our inner world, and out to manifest it through different mediums. This could be as simple as an uplifting word or smile, as we pass someone in the street, or as nuanced as creating a new recipe, garden design or a piece of writing or artwork.
Between our inhalation and exhalation, there is a momentary period of no breathing which lasts one or two seconds. Once remembered, this can be used as another ‘aide memoir’ to remind us of the still point between activities. Pause points are also essential when it comes to being mindful of our bodies, for instance, when we have sat at a laptop or desk for too long.
You may enjoy our course Mindfulness & Buddhist Psychology as Pathways to Self Knowledge and Self Transformation.
