Useless Window Gazing

Hi. Welcome back to your Daily Mindfulness. In today's session, we're going to talk about something called useless window gazing. This is a term I got from the meditation teacher, Michelle McDonald, and she uses it to describe those times where we just need to do nothing, where we need to sit, look out a window, not meditate, not try to get somewhere, not try to do anything, but just simply be. And I think this is a powerful invitation for all of us as meditation practitioners, because even though meditation is our opportunity to reconnect to ourselves, to practice a little less doing and more being, sometimes it can still feel like something that we need to do, a practice that we need to attend to.

We need to be present. We need to be focused on the breath. We need to be attuned to our body. All of that is hugely important. That's why I'm a meditator and why I teach it.

But I've also noticed that there are times where I just want to do nothing. I've had a long day and the idea of going through my practice actually feels like a subtle form of oppression against my nervous system. And so this is where useless window gazing comes in. And it's where I'd like to invite you in as well. If you find yourself in that place at all throughout the day, throughout the week, or sometime throughout this year, instead of feeling like you need to do something, grab a chair, set it up next to a window and just look out.

Don't do anything. Let your jaw, relax. Let your body relax. Don't try to be present. Don't try to not be present.

Just be. That's the point of it. Useless window gazing. No agenda whatsoever. Let it reset your nervous system.

And I think you'll experience that you come back more fresh for all the other things that you're looking to do, including your meditation practice. So incorporate this into your day in a way that feels right for you. I look forward to talking to you in the meditation and until then take care.