brushing the teeth

In this episode of the Mindfulness series, and in later episodes too, we will be looking at ways to improve our mindfulness. And of course, this we do by means of practising, practising being mindful, and also bringing as much awareness as possible into our life as to when we are being mindful and when we are not – simply noticing.

In terms of practising being mindful, there are really two categories of practice. One category are those day-to-day things that we can do either mindfully or in an absent-minded way. We can pick a few of these daily activities that perhaps we've been doing rather habitually, without much mindfulness, and we can make an effort to bring more mindfulness to those activities. I'll talk about one or two of the those in a moment.

First, though, I'll just mention the second category of practice: setting aside time to do a more formal meditation, aimed at improving our concentration and our mindfulness. In later episodes, I'll be giving some instructions for such meditations, but to begin with, let's look at some of the day-to-day activities that we can use as a way to practise being mindful.

Take brushing your teeth, for example. Most people brush their teeth, perhaps two or three times a day. And of course, it's one of those activities which can be done completely habitually. You can do it without bringing any mindfulness to the activity at all, because we have brushed our teeth so many times in the past, and it's quite a simple activity. It's very easy for us to think about other things when we are brushing our teeth.

Like with any such habitual activity, though, we can choose to bring more awareness to it, to be more mindful when we are brushing our teeth. And one reason I suggest brushing the teeth as a place to start is that it's quite a short activity, just a couple of minutes or so. So it's not too much of a challenge when we're just starting out with mindfulness. Very prolonged activities, of course, are going to be much more demanding, if we are to maintain mindfulness for those longer periods. So something short, like brushing the teeth, is a great place to start.

And the first thing to do is to make a mental note to yourself – okay from now on, whenever I find myself brushing my teeth, I'm going to do it mindfully, I'm going to bring as much awareness as possible to the actual activity of brushing my teeth. Then, hopefully, when you come to brush your teeth, it will trigger a memory of that commitment you have made to yourself.

And so, for the duration that you are brushing your teeth, try to bring as much awareness as possible to the activity. Picking up the toothbrush, just notice how it sits in your hand, the feel of it. Turning on and off the tap, listen to the water, the sounds it makes. Watch the form of the water as it comes from the tap. It's beautiful. And when you put toothpaste on the toothbrush, pause for a moment and really look at it. On the one hand, it's a very simple scene. You've seen toothpaste on a toothbrush so many times before. And yet, if you really look at it in detail, if you take in the form of the toothpaste, again, you might have a feeling of beauty, and you might also notice that the toothpaste will have a slightly different form to it every time.

The absent-minded habitual way of doing things implicitly assumes that it's an identical activity: every time we brush our teeth it's going to be the same. And yet if we bring enough awareness to it, it is not so. Every time we brush our teeth is unique. The way the water comes from the tap will be slightly different. The form of the toothpaste on the toothbrush will be slightly different. And as you brush your teeth, bring the awareness to the smell and taste of the toothpaste, to any other sensations in the mouth, the lips. Notice the feel of the toothbrush in your hand, as you are brushing your teeth, the way you move your hand, the dexterity as you switch from one side of your mouth to the other.

If you are in front of a mirror, you might like to look at your body. Perhaps if you have long hair, it is dancing a little as you brush your teeth. Perhaps other parts of your body are moving too. This is another thing to notice with anything such mindfulness practices. Our rational mind likes to compartmentalise things. The rational mind would probably say, only one hand and the mouth is involved in brushing the teeth. But if you pay careful attention to your body, you will probably notice that there are subtle movements throughout your body. And actually muscles throughout your body are participating in a very subtle way in maintaining your stance, as you are brushing your teeth. So things are not really as separate as our thinking mind likes to make out.

If you have been practising meditation, you might be able to brush your teeth without any thoughts, in words, coming into your head at all. They are not actually needed. However, for most of us, thinking has become such a habit in itself that we carry on thinking all the time: thoughts coming into the head, even when they are not needed and not useful. If this is more the predicament that you find yourself in, you might like to start by steering your thoughts onto the present activity. Make a sort of running commentary of what you are doing. Now I am putting toothpaste on the toothbrush, and so on. It's's totally unnecessary in one sense, and yet, it can be useful to bring the thoughts at least in line with the activity you're carrying out.

And if you pay attention, you will probably see that soon your thoughts will wander off. Perhaps the thought comes, ah, the toothpaste is nearly finished. I must remember to buy some more toothpaste. Oh, and when I go to the shop, I should also get some more milk, because that's almost finished, too. And you see, within a moment, the thinking mind has taken you away from the present moment, and away from where you are. Now you're in the fridge, in the kitchen, and in the shop, in the future. Just notice these things as the thoughts arise. And when you notice that your thoughts have wandered, bring your awareness back to the present moment and whatever you are doing.

It can be very useful to try to bring the awareness to sensations in the body or the senses, perhaps the sound of the water running from the tap, or the taste of the toothpaste. These senses don't really need thoughts to go with them, and they're always in the present moment. It's only the thinking mind that takes us away from being mindful.

And another tip to help with this practice of mindfulness is to see if you can enjoy the sensations, enjoy the feeling in the body as you are brushing your teeth. Probably the toothpaste tastes quite nice, the feeling of the freshness in the mouth. Perhaps the movements in your body are enjoyable to sense, to feel, or to watch in the mirror. The more we enjoy the present moment and everything it is offering, the more easily we will manage to maintain mindfulness as we go about our day. So see if you can enjoy brushing your teeth: all the small details of it.

Of course, brushing the teeth is just one example. It's a good place to start, but you can pick anything. It's useful if it's something you're doing every day. It could be making a cup of tea. You can bring mindfulness to it, filling the kettle, boiling the water, pouring the water into the cup. Just bring as much awareness as possible to whichever activities you choose.

Washing the dishes is another classic. It can be done so absent-mindedly, or with mindfulness. And one of the amazing things is when we can really bring mindfulness to these rather mundane activities, when we begin to see the detail, perhaps of the soap bubbles in the washing up bowl, we begin to see beauty everywhere. And this feeling of beauty is very enjoyable. Our life begins to become enriched by even these small daily activities. And the more we begin to appreciate them, the more easily mindfulness will come.

So give it a go. Pick one or two simple daily activities and try bringing as much mindfulness as possible to them. To begin with it will be difficult. You will have many thoughts coming and distracting you, and perhaps five minutes will pass before you realise: oh, I've been thinking about other things. When this happens, just notice it and don't judge it. Judgement is very counterproductive. Adopt a non-judgemental attitude to everything that happens inside yourself, especially when practising mindfulness.

Enough for now.