Living Mindfully

Written by Alice Hocker, author of Finding Inner Peace

Thich Nhat Hanh is a Vietnamese Zen Buddhist monk who practices through meditation the art of living mindfully.  Thich Nhat Hanh is 86 years old and he lives in the Plum Village Monastery which he founded in 1969.  It is located in the South of France.  He is also the author of more than 100 books.

Thich Nhat Hanh says, “It is essential to keep peace in yourself.  Deep intention is your beginners mind and from here you begin to nourish your passion.”  His attention is continually aimed on what his purpose is in life and abstains from moving away from that mindset.  Through the practice of living mindfully he has developed his mind, his thoughts remain centered without wavering. 

Zen master, Thich Nhat Hanh states, “Intention is so strong that it can protect and keep you alive.  Enlightenment is always there when you breathe in and if you are aware of it; that is already a miracle.”  Through mindful walking meditation he says, “You touch the ground with every step and you say I have arrived in the here and now to touch wonders of life, as you breathe in.  As you breathe out you say I’m home, in the here and now.  Free from regret of past and free from fear of the future and you can touch life deeply with every step.  And the greatest miracle is to be alive.”

Thich Nhat Hanh teaches the meditation of mindful walking.  After becoming aware of this form of meditation, I have begun to implement this mindset into my daily walks and I must say they are powerful!  You genuinely feel with each step that you are in the here and now and because you are so focused on that moment, that step, you are free from everything and it is an awesome experience.  Mindful walking has taken me to an even higher level of living authentically. I encourage you to try it.

Thich Nhat Hanh says, “With practice you can always be in the present moment and be happy in the here and now.  Present thinking/ present walking helps you to go home and be in the present moment.  Being aware of being alive.”  This was exactly the experience I had in practicing mindful walking.  I practice mindful living, I just had not been aware of implementing mindful walking.  I am grateful for the knowledge to now do so.

Thich Nhat Hanh states, “People sacrifice the present for the future and life is only available for the present moment.  Mindful walking teaches you to live life happily every moment of our life.”  That is a powerful and a very true statement.

In the practice of Buddhism, absolutely everything from walking, eating and drinking their tea, is a practice of meditation to be completely present in the here and now.  We can definitely learn from the meditation of mindful walking which elevates our consciousness to a state of mindful living and truly live in the here and now.

I would encourage you to give mindful walking a try.  It really has expanded my consciousness to live with an even deeper sense of living daily with the mantra, “Be here now.”

With much love,

Alice