Only this moment is life
Or- on mindfulness
A quick recap for those just joining us. In the military, we use Lines of Effort to ‘bin’ logical groupings of tasks and missions that contribute to achieving a specific strategic or operational objective.
In life, I use 6 Lines of Effort, LOE—1 Body, LOE—2 Mind, LOE—3 Spirit, LOE—4 Purpose, LOE—5 Relationships & LOE—6 Responsibilities.
We’re now on LOE—2. We have covered: Brain health, Cognitive function, and Mental health. We are moving to Mindfulness.
Think.
I have been a believer in mindfulness practice for a long time.
I also usually suck at it.
When we say mindfulness most people hear meditation, and that is a big part of it, but more practically, mindfulness is a state of active, open attention to the present moment.
For many, mediation is the easiest way to achieve this state.
One of the biggest hurdles to overcome is the assumption that just because you sit down and close your eyes you can achieve it.
After about three seconds, when random thoughts start floating around in your head, it is easy to give up.
A wandering mind is natural. Just as you wouldn’t expect to walk into the gym for the first time and deadlift 440 lbs, you can’t expect to clear your mind on command.
The key is to recognize the thought or feeling and let it go without latching on to it. I have heard it described as observing the river of your mind and seeing all of the random thoughts as they float by but refusing to pull any of them out to examine.
Meditation is hard—but it does get easier
Another stumbling block is assuming that you don’t have time to meditate. I am always a fan of the bang-for-buck principle. What is the minimum input to achieve the maximum output? It seems (according to Peak Mind by Dr. Amishi P. Jha) that for meditation the magic number is 12 minutes. Would you get more benefit out of 24 minutes? Maybe, but not twice the benefit.
We can also practice mindfulness by focusing on our breath. There are many ways to do this. I first learned box breathing before an Iraq deployment and used it to focus while en route to late-night raids. I was able to reduce my heart rate, focus my thinking, and prepare mentally for the chaos that was to come.
A simple form of box breathing is the 4x4. Each side of the box is four seconds.
More recently I have been using my Sunday morning rucks as a form of walking meditation simply by staying focused on my surroundings. When I notice my mind wandering to the past or future I try not to blame myself or get frustrated, I just let the thought go and return to the present and remember what Thich Nhat Hanh said:
Live the actual moment. Only this actual moment is life.
If you want to read more about mindfulness and meditation, some great places to start are with the books
Peak Mind, 10% Happier by Dan Harris, Wherever you go, There You Are by Jon Kabat-Zinn.
Also, Check out
’s substack below.
Read. Frogman Mindfulness
by
When it comes to mindfulness, Jon has a great substack and podcast. Check it out.
Write.
All this talk of meditation reminded me of a story I tell in Tough Rugged Bastards about my attempt to introduce the first MARSOC instructors to mindfulness:
“I also attempted to work on the mental aspect by instituting meditation
practice. I brought in a meditation instructor who kindly volunteered
her time. This was my first foray into guided meditation,
although I have continued to practice it over the years and find it
incredibly beneficial. Although I could see that many of the instructors
were skeptical, they sat and gave her their undivided attention as she
explained the benefits of mindfulness practice and described the meditation
session we were going to perform. Following her brief lecture,
she requested that we all sit and participate in a closed-eye meditation.
She placed a rhythmic compact disc in the player, and we began. Once
or twice as I sat focusing on my breath, I heard the door at the far end
of the classroom open and close, but each time returned to focusing on
my breath. At the end of the session, I opened my eyes to discover her
and me alone in the classroom; everyone else had slipped out the back
door. You win some, you lose some.”
Repeat.
Words of wisdom from those who said it best.
“Perfection of character is this: to live each day as if it were your last, without frenzy, without apathy, without pretense.”
― Marcus Aurelius, Meditations
If you enjoyed this week’s T.R.W.R., please consider sharing it with a friend. If you want to enjoy the extra benefits and support my writing, consider becoming a paying member.
See you next Thursday!
Never tried proper meditation but mindfulness is one of the reasons I love road cycling so much. When I'm in the throes of a hard effort, my mind goes almost totally clear. It's pretty wild.
Ultrarunning was my gateway drug to understanding the power of pure exhaustion to slow my mind, be completely present and experience what the Celts describe as a thin place. Moving meditation as you practice while rucking has always been more effective for me. In Celtic tradition a thin space is a moment or a place when/where the distance between heaven and earth appears to collapse.