in PonderAbout.com post of 6/7/07, meditation
was defined as the intentional and sustained
focusing of attention

and it was noted that it is the object of attention
that differentiates the various forms of meditation

today's post highlights a form of meditation
where attention is focused on walking

at Wildmind.org, they write,

In walking meditation we use
the experience of walking as our focus . . .
and try to keep our awareness
involved with the experience of walking

at Buddhanet.net, Ven. Pannyavaro
provides these detailed instructions -

"Establish your attentiveness
by first noting the standing posture
and the touch sensations of the feet
at the start of the walking track.

Allow the eyes to gaze at a point
about two metres in front of you
on the ground to avoid visual distractions.
Then as you walk keep the attention
on the sole of the foot, not on the leg
or any other part of the body.

For the first five minutes you can note
just three parts of the step:
lifting, pushing, dropping.
Then mentally note or label each step
part by part building up the noting to its six
component parts: raising, lifting, pushing,
dropping, touching and pressing - concurrent with
the actual experience of the movement.

. . . it you find you have been walking 'lost in thought'
you must stop and vigorously note the thinking as
thinking, thinking, thinking. Then re-establish
your attention on the movement and carry on . . ."

for the full text of the above instructions
go to Buddhanet.net or listen to the soundtrack
of the video below

the images of this video are photos of trails
that walkers have posted on the net

i wonder if these people had, on their own,
discovered the essentials of walking meditation

and i wonder if they practice this form of meditation
as they walk the trails you'll see in the video