I’ve long been a fan of Elisha Goldstein’s work on mindfulness because, more than any author on that topic, he seems to communicate the practice in a way that doesn’t totally overwhelm me and make me want to run the other way. With Forrest Gump.
I know this isn’t a very sophisticated image, but I keep going back to Homer Simpson in the Simpsons movie on his roof trying to hammer down the roofing, and the cameras zero in on the nail as he says to Bart, “Steady …. Steady … Steady …” and then he whacks the hell out of something: his eyeball instead of his thumb.
I can’t help but compare that image to how I do meditation. I start out right: easy … easy … but then I somehow getting really turned around. Kind of like my son David who, for Halloween this year, was Bart Simpson. But his mask was so thick and suffocating that he couldn’t see a thing, ran straight into a tree, and spent the rest of the night passing out candy instead of begging for it.
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Excellent post, Therese.
You mind wandering points made me laugh. It’s very common for a beginner and even those seasoned in meditation.
I would say our task is not to suppress the thoughts, but to watch them and forgive them and be honest with ourselves and understand that maybe we don’t truly want peace and quiet – at least not right now.
However, even attempting the meditation or mindfulness shows some willingness to bring that peace into our lives.
Yup. I’m with you, Therese, if “mindfulness” practices don’t help you be more “mindful” (aware of yourself and the reality of the environment around you in the moment), what good is it?
I’ve been studying “the human attention system” for some time now. One of my awesome teachers in Dan Siegel (eg. The Developing Mind, The Mindful Brain), and 3 or 4 years ago I heard him mention the Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) 8-week class and how successful it is in “changing the brain” to be more mindful and have less stress.
I just finished the class and HIGHLY recommend it to anyone who wants to be more “in charge” of their attention. I’m sure Elisha would agree. Last Friday I heard him give an awesome introduction to Jon Kabat-Zinn who developed (or helped develop) the MBSR program.