As I was a piano student for several years, I listened and reflected back a bit to those days. Thank you to Mrs Kirkland and her dog Jack! Music is an inspiration and entertainment along with so much work and effort for the musicians! Enjoy your concert!!🎶
I'm hearing a new chant for the next street protest, "F# Elon!"
I love your daily life study and intention of attention. What I struggle with is the suggestion that if you're not noticing, you're not doing it, that is, being mindful. I think quite the opposite is true.
As with seated meditation, when you find yourself thinking "Wow, I'm doing it," you ain't doing it. Similarly, I don't think we extract meaning and purpose like rare earth minerals, rather we create meaning by acting with purpose. And that purpose can be as mundane and repetitive as pushing a rock as long as your attention is on the rock, not on how you're feeling about pushing the rock. It's that separation of the Self from the task at hand that I take issue with. It feels like watching and judging oneself from the outside in (self-consciousness) rather than acting from the inside out (being). I'm all about being in the moment, less thrilled with minding the moment, if that makes sense.
Dave, I love your reflections. And, as usual, I think we are often saying the same things (even as you claim to push against). The hour of consciousness is about recognizing the possibility of the moment and making a choice (less about feeling than meaning, whatever that means to you).
You often refer to the moment we realize we're meditating that it ceases to be true. I think it's more nuanced than an either or. The meditation I do is more about noticing when we wander from the present moment (usually through the breath), which requires being conscious of it, and then coming back - not necessarily achieving a certain state. And, the "Wow, I'm doing it" part, may take you out of the moment, but it has value of its own - it's a glimpse of what's possible.
The piano tuner may or may not have been "practicing" but in the witnessing of his work, I overlaid my story and found meaning.
There is no implication of judgment from my end (sounds like a projected story).
This is a juicy topic that deserves deeper exploration.
ps. Where did you get the "if you're not noticing, you're not doing"? When I read that back, I did not recognize it as part of this piece. This is about nurturing more mindfulness in daily life - I often use the word aspirational since it's a practice in process. What happens when we are more mindful of our actions, words, and thoughts?
Juicy topic indeed. Worthy of more than a dashed of reaction to what I thought I was reading. My comments come with their own context that is better shared in conversation so we can get at the nuances of our respective experiences. Based on your reaction, I believe I am speaking to my understanding of mindfulness and not your definition and intention for this piece. Being more mindful of our actions and words is something different from my understanding of mindfulness as a meditative practice. So we're likely speaking at cross purposes here. We should revisit in person. Looking forward to the opportunity and the concert.
Interesting “thank you Sherry”
As I was a piano student for several years, I listened and reflected back a bit to those days. Thank you to Mrs Kirkland and her dog Jack! Music is an inspiration and entertainment along with so much work and effort for the musicians! Enjoy your concert!!🎶
I love picturing you at the piano!! Hope all is well! Will let you know how it goes xoS.
I'm hearing a new chant for the next street protest, "F# Elon!"
I love your daily life study and intention of attention. What I struggle with is the suggestion that if you're not noticing, you're not doing it, that is, being mindful. I think quite the opposite is true.
As with seated meditation, when you find yourself thinking "Wow, I'm doing it," you ain't doing it. Similarly, I don't think we extract meaning and purpose like rare earth minerals, rather we create meaning by acting with purpose. And that purpose can be as mundane and repetitive as pushing a rock as long as your attention is on the rock, not on how you're feeling about pushing the rock. It's that separation of the Self from the task at hand that I take issue with. It feels like watching and judging oneself from the outside in (self-consciousness) rather than acting from the inside out (being). I'm all about being in the moment, less thrilled with minding the moment, if that makes sense.
Great idea for a chant!!
Dave, I love your reflections. And, as usual, I think we are often saying the same things (even as you claim to push against). The hour of consciousness is about recognizing the possibility of the moment and making a choice (less about feeling than meaning, whatever that means to you).
You often refer to the moment we realize we're meditating that it ceases to be true. I think it's more nuanced than an either or. The meditation I do is more about noticing when we wander from the present moment (usually through the breath), which requires being conscious of it, and then coming back - not necessarily achieving a certain state. And, the "Wow, I'm doing it" part, may take you out of the moment, but it has value of its own - it's a glimpse of what's possible.
The piano tuner may or may not have been "practicing" but in the witnessing of his work, I overlaid my story and found meaning.
There is no implication of judgment from my end (sounds like a projected story).
This is a juicy topic that deserves deeper exploration.
ps. Where did you get the "if you're not noticing, you're not doing"? When I read that back, I did not recognize it as part of this piece. This is about nurturing more mindfulness in daily life - I often use the word aspirational since it's a practice in process. What happens when we are more mindful of our actions, words, and thoughts?
Juicy topic indeed. Worthy of more than a dashed of reaction to what I thought I was reading. My comments come with their own context that is better shared in conversation so we can get at the nuances of our respective experiences. Based on your reaction, I believe I am speaking to my understanding of mindfulness and not your definition and intention for this piece. Being more mindful of our actions and words is something different from my understanding of mindfulness as a meditative practice. So we're likely speaking at cross purposes here. We should revisit in person. Looking forward to the opportunity and the concert.