Sayadaw: That the mind has a task is the most important thing, then it’ll be awake or else it gets dull. Challenge the mind to observe.
To stay mindful continuously, one of my favorite games is to touch all my fingers together and pay attention to one of the touching until all the others fade and then I’d switch to the next one, training the mind to be disciplined and present.
It teaches the mind to be aware and stay centered.
I would listen to the various sounds in music and I would pick out an instrument and focus on it. Once I got one, I would move on to another just to keep mindful.
It always felt good because the mindfulness developed samadhi, stability of mind.
Yogi: And that is focusing?
Sayadaw: Yes, that is focusing. We sometimes need to do that for continuity.
At that time, there wasn’t so much wisdom in the mind and I had to rely on focusing to keep the mindfulness continuous.