We are always trying to accomplish that difficult task of taking the mood and mental space we create for ourselves during meditation and carrying it with us into the rest of our daily life. After all, the only reason we have to stop and sit for meditation is because we have not yet reached the enlightened state of consciousness where all of our activities are meditative ones, contemplative ones, and add to our insights and enlightenment.

As you continue to focus on the quality of your sitting meditations, and as you become more and more habituated to meditation practice, you can begin to create other forms of meditation, to help you stay “tuned up” and aware of the spiritual essence and the mental and physical rhythms of life. During times when you are not able to stop and sit down for meditation, try to make connections to the process of meditation, and that will automatically and naturally help to keep your mind closer to the blissful state of consciousness experienced during meditation practice.

For instance, have you noticed how it is easier to focus on your breathing, or on one small object or spot in the room, to help to capture the mind and return it to the meditation state? Perhaps visualization of colors does the trick for you, or hearing relaxing music. These are things you can employ throughout the day to help extend your meditation mind beyond the meditation session.

There are athletes who practice meditation, and one such athlete is a famous female boxing champion. She is also a Buddhist, and every day she meditates and chants. Even though her profession is a violent and aggressive one, she claims that her meditations enable her to stay grounded and focused on her skill or art as a boxer, and to stay in touch with her higher consciousness. When she uses the “speed bag” that boxers hit to improve their hand-eye coordination and speed, she listens to the sound it makes, which sounds like a drum beat. As she hits it one way, the sound is one way, and if she hits it with a different impact or part of her glove, the sound changes. She closes her eyes and meditates on the sound of the bag in this way; she escapes the gym and boxing ring atmosphere and finds peace within herself.

Another extreme example is the basketball player who says that he goes into a type of meditation at the free throw line, and is able to transcend the noise of the screaming fans and the pressure of the game, as he visualizes the ball leaving his hand and swishing through the hoop. In this way, he continues to connect with his meditation session, at the time when most players are the most stressed and anxious.

In your own way, begin to find meditations. Maybe the sound of the traffic, the hum of the machinery where you work, or the click of the keys of your computer can somehow help to remind you of meditation. If you work in a restaurant and the cook hits a bell to let you know that food is ready to be served, then every time you hear the “DING” of the bell, you can let it break your thought patterns and remind you to focus on your breathing.

Be creative and use your imagination. After all, there is a whole universe out there, just waiting for you to connect it to the personal meditation universe inside yourself.