This entry counts for both days 112 and 113. I missed yesterday’s journal entry since I got quite involved writing my review of Ego Is The Enemy by Ryan Holiday. I encourage you to check that out. I’m really diggin his books. This morning I started Obstacle Is The Way. So far, so good. In today’s post, I’ll be covering items from both days. I’ll begin with a very powerful experience I had on my hike yesterday morning.
Zero ; Triple ; M: 174 ; C: 136 ; P/U: 80 ; W: 5 mi
Health R.O.S.
- Weight: 203.2
- BMI: 27.5
- Fat %: 20.8
- Water %: 57.8
The Power of Releasing Focus
On yesterday’s hike, after my habitual recitation of The Four Agreements, I began to practice a walking meditation. The purpose of this type of meditation is to experience sights, sounds, smells, and tactile feelings (such as temperature, the breeze on your skin, etc) without using any words to describe these various stimuli.
The idea here is simple: let all of this sensory information permeate your consciousness as if you were experiencing it for the first time, as an infant would.
I soon discovered, however, that something so simple in concept is anything but simple to do in reality. No sooner had I quieted my mind than a flood of labels rushed in to fill the void: rock, fencepost, hummingbird buzzing, pepper tree, leaf blower, footsteps, highway noise, etc.
This powerful torrent of words was almost too much. I’m sure they were always there. I guess I just never noticed how noisily they coursed through my mind, until that moment.
What If I Thought Like a Dog?
I bit shocked at how difficult I found it to walk along without the use of words, I looked down at my dog. I wondered how she experienced the world around her. Afterall, while she certainly understood a couple hundred highly relevant words (those related to food, tricks, names, and so forth), I doubted she used any words to describe the world around her. She just experienced it – nose first.
I thought it might be useful to emulate a dog’s perspective (other than the sniffing butts & peeing on everything parts).
Letting go of all words, I tried to process images first. I quickly darted my eyes from thing to thing. My strategy was to not allow my mind to rest on any one thing long enough to formulate a thought about it. No thought hopefully would mean no word.
This was difficult at first, but after a few minutes, I noticed a curious thing. As soon as the words disappeared, my immediate surroundings, a small leaf covered clearing in a eucalyptus grove, opened up immensely. I’m not sure how to articulate what I experienced. I can only say that the trail I stood on and the trees encircling the space suddenly felt enormous. I could see infinity contained within the leaves and rocks on the ground before me. And I could see it in the space between the trees and other objects.
I had the odd sensation of standing in the center of a massive bubble that bowed and flexed all around me.
Infinity Exists In All Things
When I stopped focusing on any single thing, I suddenly saw everything. Moreover, I experienced the infinite space in and between all things. With my mental filter disabled, it all came rushing in at once. A powerful rush of shapes, colors, and textures was followed by a cacophony of noise: cawing crows, buzzing hummingbirds, the distant hum of traffic, a car alarm, muffled conversation, a school bell, and a far away lawn mower.
Without words, I processed great quantities of visual and auditory information all at once. I then noticed a cool breeze blowing across my face. It tickled the tiny hairs on my forearms and shins. Not to be forgotten, the scents of sage, chaparral, eucalyptus, and dog urine crammed themselves into my field of consciousness.
To be honest, the flood of information was overwhelming. I worked hard to stay with it, making 4-5 attempts to get back in flow throughout the rest of my hike. In the end, I was left both invigorated and exhausted. The powerful expansion of space I had experienced by virtue of disarming my mind’s filter was unexpected. Without words, an immensity was unleashed where the finite was at once infinite.
Just as I’m coming to appreciate the power of focus and flow, I am blown away. Blown away by what may be learned when we fully release our focus entirely. I wonder how I may come to master this walking meditation.
Drinkie’s Powerful Persistence
On my ride home from the office, I called an old friend I hadn’t spoken with in years. I just did it on a whim. And I’m glad I did. We caught up for thirty minutes or so. Now she’s planning a shindig get together for one of the night’s I’m visiting over Christmas. I’m looking forward to that. I’ll get to potentially see lots of folks from Christmas past. And honestly, it’s been way to long since I’ve seen most of them.
When we hung up, I was parked in front of the supermarket. I needed to run in and pick up a few things for my wife. Before long, I found myself at the end of the cavernous beer aisle. I was itching to pick up a six pack of IPA.
As I stood there awkwardly, it occured to me how funny it was to be there. And how funny that I would so quickly forget the lackluster binge drinking experience just a few nights ago.
I invoked RAIN and within a few short moments, turned and walked away.
Drinkie is a persistent little sucker. But this time I got the upper hand. He may have seemed powerful up in the mountains last Friday night. But tonight I had the power and I shut him down completely.
The struggle, it seems, is day to day.
The photo in the header was taken in Tombstone, AZ on a trip with my daughter
