http://www.notsobiglife.com/community/blog_view.php?t=323
A Timing Device to Bring You to Presence
by Sarah on 3.23.2010, 4:51 pm
A couple of weeks ago we received an email from two women who've invented a new timing device, called meaning to pause that I thought might be useful to those of you who are implementing some of the strategies for coming to presence that I describe in The Not So Big Life. The device is an attractive bracelet that vibrates once every ninety minutes, bringing you to awareness of the moment.
You may recall in the Your Turn exercise on p. 143 I suggest the following:
Quote: Every fifteen minutes, take ten seconds to pause and notice what is happening in your body and your mind.
You’ll need a timer with a repeat function to alert you to the fifteen-minute intervals. There are all sorts of watches and vibrating clocks available in the marketplace these days; a number of them are featured on the Not So Big Life website. (Click here, and scroll down to the Timing Devices topic toward the end of the page). You can even use an egg timer in a pinch, though if you are around others much of the day, it might drive them crazy in short order, so the silent variety of reminder is preferable.
Although this exercise sounds simple, its effects can be profound because it will bring you into the moment over and over again.
This new "meaning to pause" device is a perfect tool for this Your Turn exercise. Although it is programmed to go off every 90 minutes, in some ways this may be an improvement over the more frequent cycle I recommend in the exercise. I've been using my new meaning to pause bracelet for two days now and I find that I'm much less likely to tune it out (and forget to pause) because it is infrequent enough that one is much less likely to ignore it.
(If you've used the 15 minute exercise, you may know that a new conditioned pattern develops very quickly and you can easily start to tune out the reminder to pause. It really teaches you how quickly you can be conditioned, and simply tune out distractions! Quite an eye opener.)
In any case, I thought you might find this a useful supplement to your own Not So Big Life. If you do get one of these bracelets, or a different device, let me know what you discover as you use it.
Sarah
