Mindful Design · Everyday Mindfulness
Lesson 1 · Coming back
Minds wander. Noticing that, and coming back, is the practice.
Use it when you notice you’ve drifted: washing up, waiting, reading the same line three times.
To begin
Grounding
One sound, to begin
Not recorded yet.
Wherever you are… just as you are.
Eyes open is fine.
Without effort…
letting one sound find you.
Whatever is there — near or far.
If it's unpleasant… choosing another.
Resting your attention on it gently.
Following it the way you might follow a thread.
When attention drifts…
returning.
Just this sound.
Just this moment.
No effort.
No goal.
Present.
Grounding
Weight and warmth, to begin
Not recorded yet.
Wherever you are… just as you are.
Eyes open is fine.
Noticing the weight of your body…
where it meets the chair… the floor… the earth beneath you.
Feeling the warmth of your hands.
Moving, if you need to.
Just letting the body be
exactly as it is.
Held.
Here.
Present.
Grounding · 42 sec
Breath
The breath, already here
Finding a comfortable position.
Taking one slow breath in…
and a gentle exhale…
Returning to the natural rhythm of the breath…
already here.
As the breath moves…
just noticing it.
Rising…
and falling.
Nothing to change…
nothing to control.
And now…
just resting with the breath.
The practice
Coming back
Not recorded yet.
Hi. It's Matthew again.
This one's called Coming back. It's the skill under everything else here.
Choosing one thing that's here right now.
A sound… your feet on the floor… or the breath, if that's easy for you.
Eyes open is fine.
Resting your attention there… lightly.
Sooner or later, the mind wanders. That's what minds do.
The moment you notice… that's the practice.
Noticing… and coming back. To your sound… your feet… or the breath.
Resting there again… lightly.
Once more, with fewer words.
Noticing… coming back.
And a little while on your own. I'm right here.
Next time you notice you've drifted… washing up, walking, waiting…
notice… come back… and carry on.
What to keep
Once today, when you notice you’ve drifted: notice, come back, carry on.
Why this
Why: Coming back
Not recorded yet.
A quick word on why.
You use this any time you notice you've drifted. Halfway through washing up, you realize you've been replaying a conversation. Or you've read the same line three times.
The moment you notice you've wandered… that's a moment of mindfulness. Coming back is the practice.
Every time you come back, you've done it once.
So if your mind wanders, you're not doing it wrong. It's what you practice with.
It won't stop your thoughts, or empty your mind. Thoughts keep coming. That's fine.
The skill is noticing… coming back… and carrying on.
A quick question
You’re washing up and realise you’ve been replaying a conversation. What’s the practice here?
Just for practice. Nothing is saved.