Formal meditation is great all by itself. But it becomes even greater when we can translate the skills we learn in meditation into daily life situations. I was reminded of this as I sat in my dentist’s office this morning.
The teeth cleaning:
Because I have a tendency to develop plaque and tartar, having my teeth cleaned has been, at times, an excruciating experience. But lately, I’ve discovered that I can make it a lot easier for myself (and, not coincidentally, for the hygienist) by focusing my mind on my body.
I do two different things: First, I scan the body for areas of tension and then consciously and gently relax those places. Second, in moments of noticeable discomfort, I find a place in body that is comfortable and focus my attention there as completely as I can.
Today, the place of comfort was the toes of my right foot. At other times, it’s been a knee, an elbow. etc. If I can’t find a place of actual comfort, I can always find a place that at least isn’t uncomfortable, such as my earlobe, and focus my attention there. I also check my breath from time to time, and, if it is a bit ragged or otherwise not steady and comfortable, I’ll modulate it to make it more comfortable.
The x-rays:
Having to bite down on those things and hold them as the x-ray machine gets the image can be genuinely uncomfortable. So, again, I practice with finding a place of comfort in the body and focusing my attention there rather than on the discomfort in my mouth. In between x-rays, I check my breath.
Hearing that I have three cavities that need filling:
I took this news in much greater stride than in the past. Having done formal equanimity and friendly kindness practices helped me simply accept. It also helped that I did a bit of friendly kindness practice as I sat in the chair, both at the beginning and toward the end of the appointment.
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Try these practices or ones like them for yourself. I’ll bet it helps.
