Tim’s Mindfulness Dashboard
Week 1
Key Take Aways:
We have on Average 70k thoughts a day
Most of our thoughts are about the past or the future
We are oblivious to the bombardment of daily thoughts
Thoughts are often random and repetitive
Mindfulness is a tool we use to observe our thoughts as they arise
Mindfulness is a tool we use to bring us back to the present moment
Tim identified 51 thoughts in 5 mins (line in blue). This ranks Tim in the top tier and demonstrates excellent observation skills
Most of Tim’s thoughts are about the future, then observation, then the past. Time spent in the present is negligible.
Mostly positive and pleasant headspace with 21% in Amber and only 10% red in a 5 min period.
Week 2
Key Take Aways:
We live most of our day in the ‘Zombie’ mode
Thinking is directly related to chemical release in the body
Negative/anxiety thoughts turn on the tap to Cortizol and Adrenaline
Mindfulness is a tool we use to turn off the chemical tap
Awareness of thought is the first half to the mental push up. Bringing attention back to the breath is the second part
Constant negative thinking is an evolutionary gift and we should treat it with kindness.
Be the bouncer to thoughts in your headspace
Wax on wax off - repetition
Meditation is not chilling or relaxing, it is a concentration and observation exercise.
Week 3
You are not your thoughts - First and second arrow of thoughts
Bouncer of thoughts
Physical benefits of Mindfulness
Body Scan meditation
Mindfulness throughout the day - black and white squares
Developing states of flow - Concentration and memory
increasing presence throughout the day
Dwelling on the positive thoughts
Week 4
What matters most
The straight A conspiracy
Visualisation exercise - deliberate thinking
Introduction to your ‘real’ self
Developing habits
The pursuit of happiness
Observation skills
We have on average 70,000 thoughts a day. The key to Mindfulness is to be able to observe the thoughts as they arise. The more we observe, the less time we are lost in thought and the more that we can consciously decide to be in the present moment.
From the first week, Tim’s observation skills were extremely high, and as the practice deepened, his ability to observe thoughts increased.
Becoming more present
The guided meditations are the exercise we use to learn to be present. Tim is able to notice 51 thoughts in a 5 minute period, which means he has 51 opportunities to deliberately and with kindness, bring his attention back to the breath - This is highlighted in yellow.
The chart demonstrates that the more you bring your attention back to the breath, the more time is being created for presence. The aim of the formal practice is to repeat this as much as possible and increase the yellow ‘present moment’ section as big as it can go.
Reduce your daily suffering
The key thing to remember is that our thoughts are random - For Tim, this represents an average of about 25% of the day of involuntary negative thinking. This is a significant portion of the day.
Mindfulness gives us the observation skills to notice when a negative thought arises (which it inevitably will) and then the remediation tool to nip it in the bud and bring the attention away form thinking and into the present moment.
*This does not stop the negative thought from arising - but it reduces the amount of time you dwell on it
Tracking progress
The more we meditate, the more we are being present. It may not feel like it at the time, but every time we notice a thought and then respond with taking a deliberate breath we are being present. The longer we practice for, along with our increased ability to notice and observe thoughts as they arise, the more we are being present.
We spend less than a quarter of the day being present - alarmingly, we spend 0% - 1% of the day being present deliberately, on purpose. This is the life changing truth that will help to set us free from the chains of zombie-like living
Physical health - tap of chemicals
Negative thoughts (amber and red) trigger the release of ‘fight or flight’ chemicals in the body. This is great for life and death situations and times when we need to explode into action. It is important to note that these taps are turned on slightly when we have amber thoughts and more powerfully when we have red thoughts. This over time, affects our immune system, our physical health, and our blood pressure. We cannot be at our peak health if we are constantly micro-dosing ourselves with adrenaline and cortizol.
Remember, the thoughts are like punches/jabs - we can only evade or block when we can see them coming.
The more mental push ups and repetitions that we can complete within the formal daily practice, the more we are being present. (Path to reducing ‘intensity’ and to ‘take more in’)
Over a quarter of your thoughts are categorised by you as either Amber or Red. This extrapolates to over 25% of your average day is spent lost in negative or unpleasant thinking. Path to ‘Enjoying life more’
Just with the formal 10 minutes a day practice, we can already start to see its effect on how much of the day we are being present. This really starts to snowball as we apply this more and more throughout the day as ‘life is the real mediation’, applying the tools when we are not on cushion is the real arena.
