Hi, I read somewhere that meditation should be brought into daily life as well. So I have started feeling conscious of my activities; be detached and remain observer to them. Recently there have been times when I was working that I felt gaps in my consciousness; I felt missing few seconds of senses and being absent at that moment. Also I 'forgot' doing certain tasks and was reminded by others about them. My experience seems opposite to what meditation is supposed to be. Help!
—Rishya, India
Dear Rishya, You have brought up a good question about how to bring meditation into daily life in the best way. It is an important principle for a sincere devotee to understand and act upon. Then our meditations can help our daily lives, and our daily lives can help our meditations!
My guess would be that you are letting yourself detach a little too much.
Therefore, while practicing the presence of God in daily life, it is very important not to let yourself “space out” in any way. You need to be fully present in whatever you are doing! It is possible to stay calm, centered, and grounded, while still remaining aware of the presence of God flowing through you in every moment.
In the future, when you find yourself, as you describe it, having “gaps in your consciousness, missing a few seconds of senses, being absent in the moment, or forgetting to do certain tasks,” one suggestion would be to stop (even if it is only for a few seconds), pray for help and guidance, and if possible, and do one or two quick breathing exercises to help you fully re-occupy your body/mind.
As you sincerely pray for help in this matter and with practice, you’ll eventually come to a place of balance and ease in everything you do.
