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Last edited by Empty_of_Clouds; December 21st, 2022 at 03:19 AM.
For me, mindfulness is hard work. For 3 years I had a 10 mile mountain loop I walked. It took some effort to pay attention and not allow my mind to wander.
I’m coming from the work of Ellen Langer.
“It is not primarily our physical selves that limit us but rather our mindset about our physical limits.” “Mindfulness can encourage creativity when the focus is on the process and not the product.” “Social psychologists argue that who we are at any one time depends mostly on the context in which we find ourselves.”
EoC, you might enjoy John Vervaeke’s work.
"A truth does not mind being questioned. A lie does not like being challenged."
For me, mindfulness is directly linked to living in the present. This has nothing to do with religion or meditation. Perhaps the OP has other interests, so maybe I shouldn't have participated. My bad.
Working outdoors, with long hikes to collect samples, I sort-of-ly practiced kinhin (chinese: 經行 jingxing), walking meditation. In a temple or monastery, during sesshin, for both practical and spiritual reasons, periods of sitting meditation (zazen) are alternated with walking meditation (kinhin).
Rather than packing camp gear, several days food, fuel, etc. I chose to do ultralight solo hikes to the five wilderness sites, some around 30 miles in a day, mostly above 10,000 ft. For rests, I chose favorite viewpoints, took deep breaths, and tried to empty my mind of thoughts, dreads, and all. I noticed that I did get into a flow state or deep rhythm where movement seemed effortless. It was a rare sort of pleasure.
The last year of that work, I calculated my field travel at 1600 miles on skis and over 4000 on foot.
Not sure why I didn't find supreme, perfect enlightenment.
Maybe it was the pizza and the beer afterwards.
Empty_of_Clouds (October 1st, 2022), Yazeh (October 2nd, 2022)
If mindfulness and living in the present is the goal, doesn’t matter when or why!! If you don’t remember making supper, you’re not in the present.
4000 miles on skis?
I got interested in Zen Buddhism through Gary Snyder, a poet who spent years in Japan studying languages and religion. I also made friends or corresponded with several translators of Buddhist texts. I didn't fit in with formal practice (sesshin) but my brother spent quite a lot of time at Zen monasteries and retreats in California and Washington State.
Doctrinally speaking, I tend to follow the Soto school (small, brief insights that accrue over time) rather than Rinzai (one big ka-boom). Most westerners prefer Rinzai: more dynamic.
Last edited by Chip; October 1st, 2022 at 04:31 PM.
Empty_of_Clouds (October 1st, 2022), Yazeh (October 2nd, 2022)
Listening to my diesel truck to and from work (JDM radio doesn’t work)
Yard work while smoking a cigar
Fishing
Weight training (at least the lighter sessions)
Evening walks
Disc golf/hiking
Reading, copying, speaking, and praying scripture.
Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.
Empty_of_Clouds (October 1st, 2022), Yazeh (October 2nd, 2022)
Sorry EOC.
Some are removing self centered musings to focus on nature.
Others on the body whether it be breathing, or coordinated movements, pushing beyond physical fatigue through mental focus. The ability to go beyond the body with the mind is spectacular (out of body experiences).
Others allow room for thoughts to surface and be worked through (that otherwise would be lost due to distraction).
Last edited by Bold2013; October 1st, 2022 at 09:07 PM.
Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.
Empty_of_Clouds (October 1st, 2022)
The lasting effects of walking meditation have been to reduce the need to hurry or be on time to everything. That doesn't mean I'm always late, but I don't fret as much. My power of observation has been enhanced by (paradoxically) learning to focus less on each thing, one-by-one, and broadening my visual range to take in entire places. That lets me notice (and focus) on things that I'd otherwise miss, especially wildlife. I've got a strong natural ability to recognize patterns, and an acute awareness of things that don't fit.
It also gave me an ability to look ahead and note hazards and difficulties, and anticipate my response. So I seldom blunder into a mudhole or trip on a down limb, or that sort of thing. It's as if my brain rehearses moves in advance, unconsciously, without diverting my awareness.
The spiritual benefits are not so easy to sort. First among them are confidence and freedom from irrational fear.
Last edited by Chip; October 1st, 2022 at 11:25 PM.
I've come across this skill for white water paddling, motorcycle riding, and bicycling. The idea is to look where you want to go and not where you don't want to go. Yes, animals get hurt and step in holes just like humans.
Yazeh (October 2nd, 2022)
The terrain I was in doesn't really lend itself to running.
The analogy that fits best is mapping: my unconscious mind built a map of the route ahead, giving cues to my body on what to do at any point. Imagine a continuous map rolled on two spindles. As it unrolls, you see it, and then it is stored on the second spindle.
Since I followed the same routes many times, I could picture them, step by step, marker by marker, both consciously and in dreams. A fork in the path, a lightning-struck pine, a particular slanting boulder that glimmered with mica crystals. After a few years, I'd worked out shortcuts so I could reach my sampling sites by hiking mostly off-trail, updating those internal maps. The only times I had to think where to go were those when I explored a new route.
Not long ago, thirty years on, I looked online for photos taken on the trails I'd hiked. I was surprised that I could recognize each place well enough to pinpoint it on a topo map.
With experience, one learns what works in a tight spot, enabling quick reaction. Running whitewater, I look ahead, pick a few markers, and sort of let my mind go blank, doing the moves without really thinking about them. Time seems to slow down until I'm past the crux. Same with climbing rock and ice. If you think too hard, you'll choke.
New Zealand has some beaut mountains. We stayed a while at Arthur's Pass and had some grand drives among the South Island Alps. The maritime weather was different to what I know: there'd be an ice storm raging above our heads, and avalanches booming down, while we got a light drizzle.
I grew up landlocked. Didn't see the ocean until I was 17 or so.
I learned to sail in NZ and kept on with it here, on the local lakes with a light wood skiff.
Hazards aside, I trust deserts and mountains and snow and ice and fast rivers. But sailing, and the ocean, still arouse a sort of dread in me.
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