Taking the Zen Route
Designed by BearmoreWhen recurring thoughts are too much of your day.
Get over the looping petty thoughts before they take too much of your day. A long, quiet morning Burst: 35 minutes of Zen meditation, a slow breakfast with the paper, then wash the dishes as a final mindful act.
The runsheet
Thirty-five minutes of meditation
Open awarenessSit cross-legged on a black cushion next to a window and focus on the weather, the birdsong and the changing shadows outside. Greene (who this Burst was inspired by) doesn't aim for emptiness, but rather to stop engaging with recurring thoughts.
35 min activityBearmore’s thoughts on doing open awareness before nutrition
This can support the next activity because broad mindfulness slides into eating, perhaps making flavours more vivid without forcing a strict focus.
NutritionTea and breakfast
20 minA varied breakfast of turkey burger and oatmeal one day, eggs with smoked salmon another, sometimes sardines on toast, eaten slowly with strong black tea so the meal becomes a mindful part of his morning rather than something to be rushed through.
Bearmore’s thoughts on doing nutrition before reading (mindful)
This works well because the relaxed, satisfied feeling from a meal can carry into patient, engaged reading.
Read the paper
Reading (mindful)Read the print paper during breakfast, and stick with the actual physical newspaper despite it being less current than the online version, because it keeps you off screens.
15 min activityBearmore’s thoughts on doing reading (mindful) before tidying & cleaning (mindful)
This works well because the mindful state from reading can extend into cleaning with similar attentive quality.
Wash up
Tidying & cleaning (mindful)Washing the dishes is part of the morning ritual rather than a chore, with whole thing becoming more like a meditation than an everyday job.
10 min activityTime well spent.
1h 30m spent doing something good for yourself.
The breakdown
Burst evaluation
Wellbeing focus
About this Burst
This Burst respects the order, meditation first, eat slowly while reading the paper or a book, then wash the dishes as part of the ritual. Phones are kept away.