#422 The Direct Physical Feel of Things

     In mindfulness meditation practice we constantly bring attention to the PHYSICAL FEEL of various objects of attention: the breath in the belly (hara, dan tien or tanden), posture, muscle tone, sounds etc. At the same time, we let go of words, stories (self-talk), concepts etc. We emphasize direct experience of just this moment, then just this moment, then just this ... To stabilize just this, we notice when attention has drifted off, accept this as a fact, and seamlessly bring attention back to just this.
     Perception - the act of contacting sense objects -  becomes as clear & obvious as when physically touching a solid object. Awareness comes back home to our bodies, filling it like sand fills a bag of sand. We stand solidly on the earth, sit firmly on a chair or cushion. Perhaps this is what "groundedness" refers to.
     There is clarity, simplicity, a lightness of being to directness. We are progressively letting go of the many barriers (boundaries, avoidances, filters, defences etc) we previously erected between ourselves and life straight-up. These barriers were necessary, but are now hindrances that we intentionally release.

       Wilber K. No boundary. Eastern and Western approaches to personal growth. Shambhala, Boston, 1979.

#49 Reality - Optimal Pacing vs Avoidance

     Some of us avoid newscasts because it's mostly bad news; many of us avoid keeping tabs on how much we can afford to spend; and most of us take great pains to avoid thinking of our own mortality. We'll deal with these ... "when the time comes." Our culture places a very high priority on avoiding discomfort now, pretty much as if there were no tomorrow (personal & national debt crises, climate change etc). We tend to postpone dealing with life's challenging realities. Gradual exposure is necessary and adaptive, however, avoidant behaviour is problematic.
      “early, familial life narrows and heavily mediates the world for the child without ever being completely impermeable ... adult life, too, still requires powerful forms of insulation from the demands of worldliness. Some have more stomach for complexity and difficulty than others, but all of us have myriad ways of simplifying and sweetening reality. Adult life is never perfectly worldly: at best, it amounts to an ongoing increase in our understanding of how to remove various sorts of blinkers & filters and in our capacity to tolerate their removal.”
        Higgins C. Human conditions for teaching: The place of pedagogy in Arendt's Vita Activa. Teachers College Record 2010; 112(2): 407-445.

     Identity style theory suggests that people who prefer to use a diffuse-avoidant identity style are ‘‘reluctant to face up to and confront personal problems & decisions’’. This has been found to predict problematic qualities (eg neuroticism), coping & decisional strategies (e.g., disengagement), and mental health outcomes (eg depression).
        Beaumont SL. Identity styles and wisdom during emerging adulthood: Relationships with mindfulness and savoring. Identity: An International Journal of Theory and Research 2011; 11(2): 155-180.

 

Painting: Mark Brennan at: www.argylefineart.com