#426 Zone of Learning - Between Can & Can't

     Agency is so important to us, as is the sense of making progress - we'll take anything but stagnation! And yet, unconsciously or consciously, we keep attempting to create a solid unchanging sense of self. Such a self-concept completely contradicts reality - which we experience as a constant flow of change.
     How often do we hear people - including ourselves - say, "Oh I can't do that - that's not me" or "I could never do that" or other ways of expressing a fixed, unchanging, unchangeable concept of a "self"? Of course when we hear someone else say it, it just sounds stupid. Except perhaps when it applies to ourself, we recognize the wisdom behind Henry Ford's famous statement: "Whether you think you can, or think you can't, you're right!"

     It's absolutely amazing how everything changes when, instead of desperately sticking to our rigid opinions, we choose to be curious, open-minded - psychologically flexible. We do need to remember that, strangely, it's easier to remain stuck in the certainty of something limiting, than to open ourselves up to the reality of constantly arising new possibilities! 
     We practice mindfulness because we know we CAN intentionally evolve our consciousness to more effectively meet life's many challenges.
      See: http://mindfulnessforeveryone.blogspot.ca/2012/09/181-healthy-maturation.html

#425 Arising Urges to Be a Squirrel

     I'm quietly working on something, then suddenly an urge arises to do something else. One moment I'm peacefully engaged in an activity, the next moment I'm slightly anxious - an emotion, then the urge to act by going off mentally and or physically. The actual nature of the "something else" could be anything at all & doesn't really matter - it could be planning a vacation, work on another project, what's for dinner?, need to urinate, what time is it?, desire for coffee ... 
     This is precisely what keeps happening - and we see it so much more clearly - during sitting meditation! We're sitting still, engaged in the act of observing the breath, then suddenly the focus of our attention slips off target, onto another topic. Why does this happen? The longer we remain on the new topic(s), the more momentum (energy) the stories we tell ourselves gather. This weaving of stories is mental activity, which in turn may prompt physical activity eg getting up & doing something, or it may remain in an intermediate stage of planning to do something. In sitting meditation, we train to let go of this "anxious quiver of being", and gently return to being peacefully engaged with what we've decided was appropriate activity for this set period of time ie properly engage with the process of meditation for the predetermined time period.
     Why are we anxious being peacefully engaged in appropriate activity? Why do we trust primitive squirrel-like random thinking/doing activity (analogous to randomly trying different number sequences to open a found combination lock) more than deliberate peaceful action arising from the much more evolved aspects of ourselves? Could it simply be that we're so used to using the old primitive part of the brain that we don't yet fully trust this newfangled prefrontal cortex?

     See "Trust": http://mindfulnessforeveryone.blogspot.ca/2012/04/119-trust-quality-5.html

Samer AIR   www.dpreview.com

#424 Strive for the "Sure Thing" - OR - Trust Open-Hearted Engagement?

     It makes sense to put more care, time & effort into a project, so it will turn out closer to what we hope for. Of course it's easy to go overboard, only to (re)discover that no matter how hard we try, we can't perfectly control things. "The hurrier I goes, the behinder I gets!"
     Interestingly, mindfulness advises focusing on the process itself, rather than the goal. In fact, (excessively) focusing on the goal is considered a major impediment to reaching it. Excessive goal-orientation is "driven" by greed, fear, anxiety or some combination of these unhealthy emotions, which virtually block one's ability to pay attention to the journey - the actual path to the goal.
     We optimally attend to what we're doing when we're fully engaged - our mind-heart-body is open to the actual process eg taking care of a little child or pet. Our focus of attention is almost exclusively experiential, with minimal narrative focus. There seems to be a direct connection of some sort between the silent depths of ourselves and that of the person, animal or activity. There's a sense of love, kindness or perhaps a primal recognition. It feels very still, peaceful, timeless and right - radically different from greed, fear or anxiety. 
     One may even say that open-hearted engagement is the antidote for greed, fear & anxiety. We know both ends of this spectrum, but perhaps have more experience with the latter. Can we trust the former to guide our lives? Our moment-by-moment way of being holds the answer. Can we observe what guides (or drives) our behavior & the quality of life that naturally arises?

Bob Kaune   www.dpreview.com

#423 What is This?

     There are at least 3 levels of reality: 1) the stories we tell ourselves about reality, from our default narrative focus of attention; 2) reality as we actually experience it directly, from our experiential focus of attention (mindfulness); and occasionally, 3) profound peace, silence, stillness that feels like home.
     Much of mindfulness practice is about noticing, accepting, then letting go of a wide variety of noises (self-talk, mental proliferation etc - mainly #1) that's interposed - like friction - between our awareness and #2 & 3.  
     Much of mindfulness practice is identifying & letting go of noise / friction, a process of simplification, of getting down to basics, the core of what we are, then living this mystery as cleanly & simply as possible. What is this?

Charles Baxter   www.dpreview.com

#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.

#421 Clarity is Surprisingly Fresh

     Sometimes we're swept up and carried away emotionally with the momentum of the moment. We may ascribe it to going with our feelings or with the flow, but in fact, we're just being impulsive, ignoring most of our other faculties or intelligences - often with negative results. "It seemed like a good idea at the time." It's a bit like getting a tattoo while drunk.
     On the other end of the spectrum, sometimes we get derailed by ignoring most of our other faculties or intelligences and instead of going with emotions, we rely entirely on linear thinking. We allow an insignificant detail, even a single word or phrase to completely turn us off an otherwise reasonable, convincing story or plan of action. All we can think of is how we find one particular detail completely unacceptable. One small item trips the fuse, and we can't go forward. This is an example of black-or-white thinking, being overly critical, using a legal-eagle approach out of context. Example: not being able to enjoy an otherwise wonderful symphony because we couldn't tolerate (our impression of) the first violinist's attitude.
     Mindfulness is somewhere in the middle of these two extremes. The equanimity that develops from mindfulness practice allows seeing external as well as internal events objectively, in perspective, in a balanced manner. Seeing things as if for the first time, with curiosity, with a "beginner's mind" are not slogans, nor even aspirations, but the natural results of mindfulness training. It's inevitable that we keep noticing & dropping distortions. It's inevitable that with practice, we perceive progressively more clearly. Our perceptions become more and more direct. Clarity is surprising and fine.

minzaw   www.dpreview.com

#420 From Anxiety to Peace

     At some point when we're learning to swim, we stop flailing wildly & hyperventilating, - and we begin to relax in the water, breathing slowly, deeply - both our strokes and breathing becoming infinitely more efficient and effective. We're no longer struggling against water, but instead, we're savoring the process of swimming. It's a huge experiential shift when fear mysteriously drops away, and we're embracing the whole experience - suddenly, we know everything's OK.

     Somewhat analogously in meditation, at some point - inevitably if we persevere in our practice - we stop relying on frantic mental / physical activity "to keep on top of things", and instead, begin to relax, trusting inner stillness & silence - innate wisdom. Wonderful.

katarina   www.dpreview.com

#419 Overview of Mindfulness

     "Mindfulness meditation, emanating from Zen Buddhism, has emerged as a nonreligious, popular, & accessible practice in teaching universal human qualities of focus, attention, and awareness in clinical and nonclinical populations. The concept and practice of mindfulness has gained popularity in the medical profession over the past three decades and has resulted in improved health, well-being, & quality of life. Mindfulness is a learned discipline that is not limited to any particular setting and its power is in the practice and many applications. The purpose of a daily mindfulness-based meditation, which may include a sitting meditation or yoga, is to simply practice witnessing and acknowledging whatever arises in the present moment without judging it. One’s attention is directed to anything real and tangible, such as the breath or a thought, feeling or sound without any attempt to change it. In this fashion one liberates the mind from unconsciousness and allows himself, in that moment, to live with the full extent of possibilities and greater opportunities for learning, growth, and change.

     Many professions, including occupational therapy, support and accept the growing body of empirical research on the use of mindfulness primarily as a way to improve the health and well-being of clients. Mindfulness-based stress reduction is one of the most well-researched stress management programs. Kabat-Zinn, the pioneer in creating the program in 1979, has been instrumental in promoting the growth and acceptance of mindfulness to more than 5,000 medical patients and has demonstrated its efficacy. In 2007 alone, 70 scientific published articles supported the increasing interest in mindfulness."
        Gura ST. Mindfulness in occupational therapy education. Occup Ther Health Care 2010; 24(3): 266-73.

valenttin   www.dpreview.com

#418 Cognitive & Emotional Changes from Meditation Practices

     "The contemplative traditions from which commonly taught meditation practices have arisen are clear in identifying affective qualities as central targets of the contemplative practices. Kindness, compassion, and equanimity are all regarded as qualities that can be cultivated and enhanced through mental training. Indeed, the cognitive changes that are also hypothesized to occur with mental training, such as improvements in certain components of attention, are viewed in these traditions as building blocks and tools to facilitate the most important types of transformation, which are in the emotional realm."

       Davidson RJ. Empirical Explorations of Mindfulness: Conceptual and Methodological Conundrums. Emotion 2010; 10(1) 8–11.

Val Bueno   www.dpreview.com

#417 Appreciating & Even Prioritizing QUALITY - Stillness & Silence

     How does it feel when we're about to do something that gives us a quick fix - like eating a chocolate bar (instead of a healthy snack) when we're hungry, or rushing a job to get it over & done with (instead of doing it with appropriate care)? Isn't there a building momentum to approach & complete the act, as if starting to descend from the highest point on a roller coaster, or as if pulled by a powerful magnet?
     When we're being self-centered, grasping for "short-term gains" - we're much like addicts reaching for their addictive substance of choice - big pull, brief elation, big let-down, and we're worse off, knowing we've just added to our own (plus likely our loved ones') "long-term pains".

     In contrast, how does it feel when we're about to do something that's not about us, but for the long-term benefit of others? When we're about to do the right thing? There's no momentum, no magnetic effect. We make wise, mature decisions from a place of stillness, a place of silence. We can feel this stillness.

     Isn't it sad that we become addicted to the "excitement" of brief highs, despite, & even because of their brevity, inevitability of crashing & other hangovers? Why does it take so long for us to let go of cheap thrills? We seem to have to gradually, intentionally learn to appreciate, and very slowly prioritize, peace & mature judgment.
     Quality is a very slowly acquired taste for most of us. Mindfulness practice is a direct way of increasing the pace of this critical - yet mysteriously avoided - experiential learning. Of course we still have prioritize this practice over our habitual momentum-driven distractions.

     See: http://www.johnlovas.com/2013/10/self-concepts-sense-of-momentum-or.html
     and: http://healthyhealers.blogspot.ca/2013/10/uncomfortable-being-still.html 

#416 What's Lost? What's Gained?

     People sometimes express concern that they might lose some vital, characteristic aspect of themselves through meditation. This is natural, but unnecessary.
     So what do we loose in the course of mindfulness meditation practice? As we progressively perceive more clearly, we also notice the ways in which we habitually get in our own way - how we tend to unwittingly handicap ourselves eg cynicism, doubting our (actual) abilities, etc. 
     By noticing, accepting, then letting these internal noises or frictions go, we struggle less & less against ourselves, and thus function with greater ease & efficiency. The sense of struggle, "divided self" progressively diminishes, as we approach stillness, inner silence, a sense of "non-doing." Our perceptions become cleaner, fresher. Because we now see it more clearly, ordinary life becomes interesting and satisfying. Our interest in chasing after distractions diminishes. Our focus shifts from "me, myself & I" (egocentric) to other people (allocentric) & the environment (ecocentric). We are maturing as a human being - homo sapiens sapiens - we're slowly becoming wise.

RUcrAZ   www.dpreview.com

#415 Can You Predict the Future?

     The logical answer of course is no. And yet, don't we all act as though we could?
     We briefly catch sight of someone, and immediately categorize them in all sorts of ways (education, socio-economic status, morals, IQ, etc etc) - is that not predicting the future based on minimal data? Prejudice, stereotyping, racial profiling ...
     Someone starts saying something, and we immediately know the rest of the story. Our listening shuts down, and our own self-talk takes over, as if we had a more concisely packaged version of what's being said (but are now failing to hear). Is this not also predicting the future based on minimal data? Premature closure, narrative (vs experiential) focus of attention, jumping to conclusions ...
     But perhaps the most limiting, most damagingly handicapping of all our pseudo-clairvoyant misadventures is our total and utter ineptitude at predicting our own potential as human beings.
     Three concepts should be considered: levels of consciousness, iterative learning, and experiential learning.  
     Einstein said “No problem can be solved from the same consciousness that created it.” Looking at it another way, your 6-year old self joyfully beating your mother's cooking pot with a wooden spoon could not possibly understand, and thus could not possibly predict, the sublime pleasure you now (perhaps) derive from listening to classical music.
     There were many steps between your 2-year-old and current musical sensibilities. At each step, you changed as a person (levels of consciousness & changing brain anatomy & physiology), and with these changes, your perceptions kept changing stepwise - iterative learning. 
     Experiential learning is another way of looking at levels of consciousness and iterative learning. One can read forever about a lived (mind-body) experience eg climbing Everest, yet remain quite naive about it. A classic example is the qualitative difference between reading about meditation versus practicing it - there's really no comparison. See: http://healthyhealers.blogspot.ca/2013/06/intellectual-glass-ceiling-it-most.html
     Practicing mindfulness meditation, one learns that one's consciousness continuously evolves, and as it does, one is constantly surprised by how one's life improves. One cannot predict how it will improve, nor even adequately describe the improvements, particularly to non-meditators, for the reasons above.
     But it's important to understand that we all can evolve our own consciousness via meditation practice, cannot predict what it's going to be like, and others cannot give us a detailed description of what we'll experience. It's best to keep letting go of old ideas - they distort the absolutely unique present moment. Why not experience each moment's fresh surprises?

Exchanging Atoms Timelessly

#414 Mindfulness is Mainstream

     88% of American college students who responded to the 2013 National College Health Assessment survey said they felt overwhelmed by everything that they had to do, and 49% said they felt that things were hopeless. And these 'emerging adults' have yet to face the real responsibilities and challenges of adult life!
     Life is moving faster, it's more complicated, more interconnected, less controllable and experienced as far more stressful than ever before. And we have fewer traditional resources to help us cope and promote resilience (extended families with stay-at-home Mom, stable small town communities, community of faith, etc). More about the significance of "community": http://www.johnlovas.com/2013/10/what-really-matters-in-community.html

     Mindfulness practices are helping to fill this critical void in our private lives, health-care, education, law, the arts, management, government, and now the military:
     "The U.S. Marine Corps, known for turning out some of the military's toughest warriors, is studying how to make its troops even tougher through meditative practices, yoga-type stretching and exercises based on mindfulness.
     Marine Corps officials say they will build a curriculum that would integrate mindfulness-based techniques into their training if they see positive results from a pilot project. Mindfulness ... emphasizes active attention on the moment to keep the mind in the present. 
     Facing a record suicide rate and thousands of veterans seeking treatment for post-traumatic stress, the military has been searching for ways to reduce strains on service members burdened with more than a decade of fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan. 
     Marine Corps officials are testing a series of brain calming exercises called "Mindfulness-Based Mind Fitness Training" that they believe could enhance the performance of troops, who are under mounting pressures from long deployments and looming budget cuts expected to slim down forces."
     Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/life-style/health/u-s-marines-learn-meditate-stress-reduction-program-article-1.1245698#ixzz2hz5r5zmy

     See also "Mindfulness Goes Mainstream" July 20, 2012 PBS video (~9min): http://www.pbs.org/wnet/religionandethics/2012/07/20/july-20-2012-mindfulness-goes-mainstream/11881/

#413 Patiently Learning to Tolerate Ambiguity

     We sit down to meditate, setting our timer to 50 minutes. Our intention is to let go of thoughts, let go of all our concerns of the day, concerns for tomorrow, concerns from yesterday. Just this is enough - just sitting. And then interesting thoughts come up, one after the other.
     We notice the thought, gently accept it, gently let go, returning to kindly embracing just this sitting. Just this sitting is enough. Allowing the physical feel of the present moment to fill our perceptions. We don't interpret or make a story out of these physical sensations - we perceive them directly as simple, constantly-changing physical sensations. We feel simply & directly (experiential attention), we don't interpose stories (narrative attention) between the sensations and our bodies. Another interesting thought, we notice, gently accept, let go, returning to just sitting.
     We repeat this process tens, hundreds, thousands of times per sitting, becoming increasingly patient, tolerant and persistent. Our patience, tolerance and persistence establishes new circuitry in our brains, like water wears a new channel in rocks - gentle, but relentless, unstoppable. Yes our brains secrete thoughts AND yes our awareness becomes increasingly more stable, still and calm. Thoughts & self-talk become quieter & quieter, less & less intrusive.
     Persistent intelligent training invariably, inevitably, undoubtedly enhances mindfulness.

#412 Failing to Embrace Reality, We Miss Out on Miracles

     Most of us miss out on innumerable "ordinary miracles" each and every day. Why? Because we're in a self-absorbed trance, running from ghosts from our past, chasing after fantasies of future happiness, all the while ignoring the wonders of our one rare and precious life.

     We miss truly seeing our loved ones changing in real time, we miss nature's endlessly mysterious beauty, we miss even our own physical presence on this precious earth - life passes us by, yet sadly, most of us have never really lived. The stories below illustrate our propensity for sleepwalking through life:

     "New Yorkers who love a good bargain missed a golden opportunity Saturday, when the artist and provocateur Banksy, whose sly graffiti art adorns collectors' walls, opened a sidewalk kiosk in Central Park to sell his work for $60 apiece.
     His first sale came hours after opening, when a woman bought two canvases for her children. She negotiated a 50 percent discount on the pieces ...
     The offerings included small and large canvases, including a version of "Love Is in the Air." A limited edition of that work sold for $249,000 at auction this summer."
http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2013/10/14/234023611/collectible-art-at-street-prices-banksy-sells-pieces-for-60?utm_content=socialflow&utm_campaign=nprfacebook&utm_source=npr&utm_medium=facebook

     In January 2007, virtuoso Joshua Bell performed incognito, on a violin worth millions of dollars, at a metro station in Washington DC. This was an experiment organized by the Washington Post. His performance received very little interest from passersby.

#411 Concepts, Autopilot & Living Consciously

     Why do so many appreciate the concepts of mindfulness and ethics (a critical though seldom-mentioned component of mindfulness), yet so few consistently put these into practice? Is it because we tend to process concepts in real time, but our behavior tends to run on old scripts? The longer we actually practice mindful living - actually bringing mindfulness concepts into daily practical life - the more clearly we experience the radical difference between our usual autopilot trance, and alert, real-time life.

     "... ethical choice cannot be captured completely in general rules because of the nature of ethical life. As with navigation and medicine (analogies Aristotle uses to make his point), “it is a matter of fitting one’s choice to the complex requirements of a concrete situation, taking all of its contextual features into account”. Ethical practice requires the application of general principles, but only insofar as they fit the particular situation at hand. There is not, and cannot be, a general formula for all occasions. Ethics requires, rather, the cultivation of the wisdom to be responsive in a morally imaginative way to the particulars of therapeutic encounters. One does not 'arrive' at being an ethical practitioner, code book in hand. Ethics is an ongoing demand that is always present, never-ending, and often confusing."

         Austin W, Bergum V, Nuttgens S, Peternelj-Taylor C. A Re-Visioning of Boundaries in Professional Helping Relationships: Exploring Other Metaphors. Ethics & Behavior 2006; 16(2): 77-94.

#410 Direct Engagement with Life

     Whenever our immediate perception of what's in front of us, or within us, is less than 100% accurate, then our response - our behavior - has to be proportionately inappropriate. Most of the time, our perception is distorted by our emotional attachment to memories of past ups or downs, which in turn project cravings or fears into our future. In this manner, our perception of reality ie what's actually happening right now, right here, is distorted - partially or completely hidden from us. We're continuously reliving past fantasies or nightmares (even though our memory of events is continuously revised ie is inaccurate). So quite literally, most of us live in a trance most of the time.
     The sooner we become aware of this terrible waste of our "one brief & precious life", the more seriously we practice to become mindful - to wake up to seeing things as they are, and behaving appropriately, kindly.

     See: http://mindfulnessforeveryone.blogspot.ca/2012/06/141-reminders-to-prioritize.html

Dale Chihuly   http://www.chihulygardenandglass.com/

#409 Quick Simple Categories versus Reality

     Many of us are more comfortable making quick either-or-judgments than exploring subtle shades of gray ie we tend to see things as either black or white. We quickly conclude that we like or dislike something, can or can't do a task, etc. Dichotomous thinking is our default autopilot mode. We may even identify with such ambiguity intolerance - "that's me, that's who I am, always was and always will be."
     Gradually we learn that virtually nothing is black-or-white. Extremes are perhaps only concepts, with infinite real shades of gray in between. Even two apparently polar opposites can be present and true at the same time eg we each have a number of subpersonalities, one of which may resemble a vulnerable child, and another a wise grandparent. Clearly, concepts and models of reality are but very rough sketches. Our growing psychological flexibility allows us to break free from the corner we may have boxed ourselves into, and to increasingly embrace reality as it is. We begin to realize that ambiguity intolerance is an adaptive over-simplification of an enormously complex, constantly changing world. And we ourselves are infinitely more complex than a pattern of likes and dislikes. 

#408 Deterioration AND Improvement - BOTH Predictable

     Many try hard to avoid dealing with existential realities: constant change, aging, sickness & death - considering these to be "downers." When we do consider these, we often think of these happening to others, as if we ourselves were immune. Our physical & cognitive deterioration, and eventual death is of course inevitable, regardless of how we deal (or refuse to deal) with it. If our worldview is essentially materialistic, then avoidance (though proven ineffective as a long-term strategy) is somewhat understandable.
     Far more difficult to understand, however, is the common tendency to doubt our capability, and thus ignore direct responsibility for elevating our own level of consciousness, and thus quality of life. 
     Both of the above tendencies are irrational, problematic, and egocentric. A rational, effective approach is ridiculously simple conceptually, yet a challenging behavioral shift - releasing our grip on our ego is similar to quitting smoking. We tend to behave strangely, even self-destructively, when self-concern (egocentricity) dominates, be this conscious or subconscious.
     We're social beings. Egocentricity, though common these days, is unnatural, unhealthy, and guarantees unhappiness for the individual, his associates, and environment. Training ourselves to gradually shift from being egocentric towards being allocentric and ecocentric is, quite literally, a wise move. 
     See: http://mindfulnessforeveryone.blogspot.ca/search?q=wisdom
     and: http://healthyhealers.blogspot.ca/search?q=allocentric

Evgenia Arbugaeva   http://pdn30.pdnevents.com/gallery/2013/index.php?contest=arbugaeva