Life as meditation.

A simple form of meditation is sitting peacefully and watching your breath. A variation is counting breaths. Count on the out breath 1 to 10 and start over again. It sounds easy, but it can be difficult to maintain depending on how distracting the mind is.

But what this does (with practice) is bring you into the present moment. The simplest techniques can be the best techniques.

When you sit in formal mediation and watch your breath, your mind will probably wander. You then will catch it and bring attention back to the breath. It is a continual process. You lose the moment, get lost in thought, then bring it back. The same practice can be incorporated into everyday life. No matter what is happening or what you are doing, you try to stay in the moment as much as you can. Your mind will wander. You get lost in thought. Then you bring your attention back to the moment. It doesn't matter what you are doing.

For example, I drive a truck for a living. It's easy for the mind to wander when driving because after you get good at driving you can basically do it unconsciously. Have you ever been driving down the interstate and all of a sudden you realize ten miles have gone by and you don't remember them? You were lost in thought. Most people think driving is boring and the mind wanders.

I've turned my truck driving into meditation just by remembering to stay in the moment. My mind will wander. Then I'll catch it and bring it back to the moment. It's a continual process, but we get better at it with practice and slowly start to stay present longer.

(Cue the frightened responses about people driving trucks unconsciously.)