Vernon Howard on conscious sweeping as a spiritual exercise...

[Ajay0]

A short but insightful article by Vernon Howard on spiritual exercise....

"THE SPIRITUAL EXERCISE

A pupil asked his teacher, 'Please give me a spiritual exercise.'
Instructed the teacher, 'Sweep the floor.'

'But I'd like to have a spiritual exercise.'

'Sweep the floor while being aware of your sweeping.'

'But I always do it that way.'

'No, you sweep mechanically, with your mind a mile away. Anything
performed consciously is a spiritual exercise.'

The next day the student asked, 'May I have another spiritual
exercise?'

'Wash the dishes.'

True spirituality consists of doing whatever we do with a conscious
mind, a mind which remains where the action is."

- Vernon Howard (Inspire Yourself, p. 30)

 

[AgnosticBoy]

I don't consider that just a spiritual exercise, but also a normal way to increase the quality of life. There's too much multi-tasking nowadays and I think the same is happening mentally. I'm sure some multi-tasking is harmless. But usually the quality of work and learning will improve if you put your full attention into what you're doing. You'll be able to pay better attention to the details among other benefits.