Contemplative Journal Assignment #3
Mindful Walking

  1. Find a clear walkway of about 40 feet. Ideally, this will be a fairly quiet and solitary location.
  2. Stand near the beginning of the walk space, and breath slowly for a minute, clearing and calming your mind.
  3. Pull your spine up gently; i.e., stand fairly straight (but not rigid or military-straight). Tilt your head down a smidge with you eyes looking down and away a bit.
  4. Begin to walk slowly and easily back and forth. At first, do this VERY slowly. Really, really slowly. Paying attention to your feet, really notice their movement and contact with the ground. Be aware of every sensation as your heel comes down, your foot rolls forward, and you push off. Notice the feel of the ground, the tightening and loosening of your muscles. You might pretend that you are “kissing the earth” (ThichNhatHanh).
  5. After you do this for a minute or two, you may fall into a slow rhythm or gait. That’s fine. Just keep walking very slowly.
  6. If you notice your mind wondering, if you find yourself thinking of something else or maybe looking at something in your path, that’s fine; just say to yourself, “Wandering,” and go back to being aware of walking and nothing but walking.
  7. If strong emotions arise, that’s also just fine. Notice them, and let them go.
  8. If you have trouble focusing, you can count your steps as you take them. This will help you to concentrate a bit. Once your focus improves and you are paying attention to nothing but each step, you can drop the counting.
  9. If you are sleepy, you can try increasing your speed. See if you can naturally find a pace that best permits you to stay focused. If you’re really sluggish and mentally spacy, you might try walking very fast.
  10. Keep your awareness on each step. If you like, you can also pay attention to your legs and other parts of your body.
  11. Record dates, places, and times in your journal. Also respond to these questions in at least a good paragraph:
  12. Describe your experience with a few adjectives: “soothing,” “difficult,” “interesting,” “wonderful,” “boring,” “weird”—whatever words work.
  13. Did you notice the ground under your feet? What did you observe?
  14. How did your feet feel as they moved slowly through each complete step? What was it like to really notice the muscles and bones in your feet?
  15. Did your mind wander—did you catch yourself thinking instead of feeling and following your steps? How often did this happen? Be completely honest; there’s no correct answer.
  16. Did you notice any general effects on your body? Can you describe them?
  17. Did you develop a pace that felt comfortable and conducive to mindfulness? Did you alter your pace, speed up or slow down?

Mindfulness proponent ThichNhatHanh says that, even though we think of “walking on water” as a miracle, for him the real miracle is walking on earth. With focused, calm awareness, this everyday activity can reduce stress and even sort of “illuminate” the experience of our bodies in simple movement.

It is also very interesting to actually see what your mind is doing. With continued practice, the clarity of this seeing will improve.

We can travel the planet via the Web and jumbo jets, we can land on the moon, split the atom, perform heart transplants. But can we actually walk, just simply walk, with full attention?

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