Is constant mindfulness necessary (or even a good thing?)

Over on his fascinating blog, Daily Life as a Spiritual Exercise, Rick Hurst asserts a couple of things I found interesting in his latest post, "The Fine Line between Meditation and Hypnosis".

The first thing is that the difference between meditation and hypnosis is that meditation "leads us to full awareness of the present moment where Reality lives where hypnosis does the opposite. It puts us asleep to the present moment".

The second is that it is dangerous to be asleep to the present moment, and that the dangers are best illustrated with the example of a mother, in charge of watching a small child, who prefers to distract herself watching TV rather than actually watching the child, and therefore doesn't see him ingesting pills, thinking they were candy.

I'll look at each of these in turn below, because they each prompt very definite responses in me (and hey, what's a blog for if not for writing about responses you've had to things?)


The Difference Between Meditation and Hypnosis

I've actually asked myself this question before on my personal blog back in 2006 when I was first playing with hypnosis audios.

The answer I came up with (for those who find the mind-dump I wrote there a little too rambly) was a little fuzzy, but basically seemed to boil down to the concept that I used a given hypnosis session for a particular purpose. That purpose could vary: it might be to change a behaviour, to change an attitude, or to change a belief; but there was always an "in order to" about it, and it was always about changing something specific. Meditation, on the other hand, for me, was an end in itself. I might occasionally meditate upon a specific state with the aim of experiencing that state more often (which I grant you, is a kind of change). I might also start a journeying with the aim of finding the answer to a question I'd been struggling with too. But for the most part I meditate to meditate.

Rick's answer: that meditation is always about connecting with the present moment, doesn't work for me - probably because my definition of what meditation is seems far broader than his. I include under the umbrella term 'meditation' practices like breath counting, journeying, mantra meditation, mindfulness meditation, guided meditation, and visualisation. I'm not certain, but I think it's likely that Rick has a far more specific definition of meditation.

Under the definition I work with, of course, breath counting and mantra meditations are still meditations, and are all about narrowing your focus to a single object or concept. I suspect that, as such, Rick would say that you're cutting off awareness of all the other things around you; and therefore, opening yourself up to all the dangers he mentions in his example. As for guided meditations, journeying and visualisations? They're absolutely about letting go of where you are physically at a given time and letting your imagination take flight. Clearly then, these would be practices to avoid if you want to stay grounded in the present moment.

The truth about language is that it is subjective. The symbol is not the thing, the map is not the territory, and any given word is simply a symbol for the meaning we intend to encode within it. The dictionary definition of Term X is a description of the most common shared meaning for a given collection of syllables: it's not an absolute prescription of that meaning. Acknowledging this is what makes it OK for me to say "you and I have a different understanding of 'Term X' - but as long as we can both describe what we mean when we say 'Term X', and agree on a meaning for the duration of this conversation (or if I can accept that by 'Term X', you mean something I'd encode using 'Term Y', and then silently substitute Term Y for Term X in my brain) we can still communicate constructively".

So in this case, I'll accept that, for the purposes of communicating using shared terminology, under Rick's definition of meditation, many of the things I would class as meditation are, in fact, something completely different - some other kind of technique. Does that therefore follow that all these these techniques (which don't involve connecting with the present moment, and in fact involve deliberately divorcing myself from it, however temporarily) are dangerous?


Is Constantly Mindfulness Necessary (or even Desirable)?

I suspect that at this point, the differences between Rick's worldview and mine move from merely semantic to deep level conceptual. Rick seems to be making an absolute statement: being in a state of mindfulness is always a good thing; and being in a non-mindful state is always a dangerous thing. I did query this, and I'm not totally sure (at what point does disagreeing with someone and questioning them on on their blog become being argumentative?), but the impression I received was that yes, I'd understood Rick's statement correctly.

This doesn't gel as being true for my experience. Absolutely, there are times when it is necessary to be mindful: driving a car or looking after a small child are prime examples. But do we need this level of mindfulness every minute of every day? Is it so dangerous to allow ourselves to rest, to dream, to imagine, to fly, and to explore what's inside us? Aren't our inner worlds every bit as valid as territories to explore as our outer? And assuming, of course, we have taken responsibility for creating a safe spot for ourselves in the real world, in which everything we would usually be responsible for being aware of is being taken care of; isn't it perfectly permissible to let go? If not, surely we're being irresponsible by simply choosing to go to sleep every night?

In my understanding of the way the world works (such as it is), different paths work for different people, and the one that works best for me is one of balance. There are very, very few things I can say work best all the time. For the most part, the biblical concept of "a time for everything and everything in its time" has seemed to make sense to me as 'the middle path'. To move from the general to the specific, this means to me that, like everything else, mindfulness has its time and place, and that there are times when it's not only permissible, it's desirable to switch off.

I'm not sure - I'd love to hear Rick's take on whether I've understood what he was saying correctly - but I think in this case, it's fair to say that my 'balance in everything' clashes fairly solidly with the 'mindfulness in everything' stance I perceive from Rick's post. I acknowledge that not everyone lives in the same kind of 'balance in everything' subjective world that I do, and if Rick's world is one of absolutes where mindfulness is always right, that's fine too. It would be a boring world if we all saw things the same way.

I have to say, though, that concept clash or not, I'm grateful to Rick for prompting me to think hard, not just about the differences between meditation and hypnosis; but about the deeper questions around mindfulness, consciousness and practice, and what's desirable for me.

I'm also curious to know what other readers think. What are your definitions of hypnosis and meditation? In your understanding, are they diametrically opposed to each other, or are they simply different techniques, perhaps techniques that can even support each other? And in your understandings of mindfulness and spirituality, what's the "right" blend of mindful awareness of the world around you, vs awareness and exploration of the worlds within you?

Looking forward to hearing back from you!

Blessings




Starfire

As promised: "Winds of Change" meditation audio review

In my last post, I mentioned trying out Dragon Rising's free trial "Winds of Change" meditation audio, but failing to get anything out of it. This was not necessarily because of any problem inherent in the audio itself, so much as the fact that I have a persistent dry cough at the moment that's showing no signs of going away; and my meditation session was constantly being interrupted as I doubled over into coughing spasms. This is not going to make for a relaxing meditation session in anyone's book, so I figured it would make sense for me to call it quits that particular evening, and try again later.

OK, well, this morning, I tried again; and you know, I think I like the audio. It's not so much what I'd usually think of as a 'guided meditation' - it's more a description of a scene (and an incredibly vivid, imagery-laden, poetic description at that), that leaves me not so much with the impression of having undertaken an inner journey, as just with an intuitive sense of possibility and.. hope, I guess.

It started purely with the sound of a rainstorm; and that seemed real enough to me that I could feel myself, walking along a road, caught in a flash summer downpour - feeling the rain splashing on my skin, and my clothes plastering themselves to my limbs. Slowly, the storm eased and stopped, the music kicked in, and Sylvia Hartmann's vocals began to describe the sensation of feeling the wind approaching. Her words wove complex images of the places the wind had blown before it reached me, and I found myself totally entranced by it - caught up in the descriptions of sights and sounds and smells.

Looking back on it, I think that I enjoyed this audio mainly because I was in the right frame of mind for it at the time; and because I found it easy, when the storm sounds started, to just slip into trance state. It occurs to me that there was no deliberate lead-in into relaxation or trance-state - that state where your conscious mind with all its judgements and comparisons is... not completely quiet, but at least quieter. So perhaps if you're not used to doing this for yourself, you won't get so much out of the audio - I'm fairly certain that If I'd just been listening to it in normal, waking headspace, I would have been left with a kind of 'OK, so what exactly was the point of that?' reaction.

As it was, I did enjoy it, and I'm seriously thinking about buying the full audio to try it out - at least I am once I've finished listening through all the free and trial audios I've collected!

Blessings, and I hope your meditation practice is going well.



Starfire

Meditative fast food analogies: In the Starfireverse at least, guided meditations are like "Subway"

I listened through another of the Dragon Rising meditation audios last night. I'm not going to review it today, because (due to constant convulsions of coughing that will throw a damper onto my focus in *any* meditation) I'm not 100% sure of my reactions to it. I'm going to aim to listen through it again this weekend, and then I'll write a review once I've been able to give it a fair chance.

I also reinstated my Meditainment.com membership earlier on in the week too: something I'd let lapse a while back because I'd already downloaded all the files they had, and they hadn't put up enough new content to make renewing worth it to me. When I went back this week, however, I discovered there was enough new stuff on the site that I'd happily join up again - so you can expect to start seeing some of their guided meditations reviewed over the next little while as well.

That's not, however, the purpose of this post. That honour is reserved for an amused thought I had as I was finishing writing up my responses to the Dragon Rising "Winds of Change" meditation in my offline meditation diary last night.

It occurred to me that that meditation audios are, for me, very much the equivalent of eating semi-healthy fast food (e.g. a "Subway" wrap, for example).

• Work involved: They don't require me to actively think or prepare myself (kind of like Subway comes to me ready-prepared without requiring me to actually do any work to create it)
• Short-term effectiveness: They're good as far as they go, but they rarely have the inner impact of a journeying I design myself or that I spontaneously drift into; or a pure mindfulness meditation (kind of like Subway's not bad as fast food goes, but it's still not as good for me as a balanced meal I prepare myself)
• Long-term effectiveness: They're fine every now and then for fun and enjoyment, but they're not really going to take me closer to my meditation goals, especially if I do nothing else for my practice but use them (kind of like Subway's fine occasionally, but wouldn't be so healthy if it was all I ate!)
• Unnecessary expenses: They're not cheap. OK, they're not horrendously expensive, either; but if my goals are to meditate regularly and to improve my meditation focus and 'stamina', they also cost money I don't have to spend to move me closer to my goal (kind of like the way that Subway costs more than making the equivalent thing on my own would, and is totally unnecessary for me to have a balanced diet - it's basically an extra expense)

I know it's a bizarre analogy, but I've realised that this is what guided meditation audios are for me -a kind of guilty pleasure that I'm not really guilty about. They're fun things I play with that benefit me through the pleasure they bring me, rather than necessary tools of my meditation practice.

I know for some people, though, they're a critical tool without which they couldn't practice at all. And others don't use them at all, finding them too structured, or just generally annoying. That's fine - it takes all types.

How about you? Do you use guided meditations at all? If so, what part of your practice do they form? If not, what *are* the tools you use?

I'm interested to see just how different the responses I'll get to this question are.

Curious blessings



Starfire

How (and whether) I interpret things is MY choice: Mindful Communication

I had a conversation last night that had the potential to turn into something even more unpleasant than the situation that had prompted it. The details are fairly personal, but were prompted by a situation that involved a conflict that goes back a few weeks.

I'd sought out the conversation because I'd become aware that the other person involved had things they felt they hadn't been able to say, and for the sake of a mutual friend, I wanted to give them a forum to say what they felt needed saying.

I'd decided up front that I wanted to approach the conversation mindfully. Before I made the call, I sat down and decided what I hoped for it to achieve, and listed any points I wanted to make if the other person wanted me to do anything other than listen and hear them; and any responses I wanted to be able to give to any points I suspected the other person would make themselves, if they wanted responses. At the top and bottom of the of the list, underlined and in bold, I wrote my purpose in calling: to provide a forum for the other person to say what they wanted to say, and most of all, to *listen*.

I acknowledged to myself that I was specifically not calling to mend fences, or try to make everything OK, or make the other person feel better. I let myself really experience the fact that I was *not* attached to the outcome. My task was simply to hear, stay calm, and walk away afterward.

So I did all this preparation, only to find that when I called the other person at the time we'd agreed to discuss the issue, that they'd asked a third party to put across their point of view for them, so it wasn't actually them I was talking to.

That came as a surprise, and I became aware that there was a part of my mind (something off behind a gauze curtain somewhere, that I could just see a shadow of from the conscious part of me that was actually *having* the conversation) that was working - semi-consciously, on how I was going to choose to interpret that.

One interpretation was that the other person, who'd apparently told a number of mutual friends that they thought I owed them a huge apology behind my back, wasn't willing to make the effort, even when I gave them a forum for it, to face me themselves and ask for it.

Another, just as valid, was that the other person didn't trust their own ability to stay calm and rational; and because they wanted the discussions to be productive, and to avoid making them even worse than they were now, they'd chosen to ask for help in communicating.

Or yet another interpretation was that my communication skills were so bad, and this person thought of me as being so scary that they were terrified to speak to me on their own.

There were, of course, other interpretations available, but those were the three that came immediately to mind. One of them directly supported my goals in seeking the conversation in the first place, and, perhaps not coincidentally, was something I would find myself having to respect in the other person. The second interpretation? Well, it allowed me to feel 'right', but really didn't have a lot else going for it. And the third somehow at once made me feel powerful and yet hurt / misunderstood.

Now, in the past, I would have felt a need to decide on which of these interpretations I wanted to work from before I felt ready to carry on with the conversation (always assuming that I'd even been mindful enough about the communication situation to acknowledge that there *were* multiple interpretations of the other person's action available). And I would have expected to judge myself on how easy I found it to accept the interpretation that best supported the goals of the conversation.

But interestingly enough, that's not what happened.

What happened, there behind that gauze curtain in my mind, was that the part of me that was looking at the various interpretations available stopped, said "Huh. Look! There are multiple ways we can look at this." And then it shut up, and let me get back to the conversation.

I realised I didn't have to know which of the interpretations was "true" to continue listening, and even saying what I needed to say at various points in the conversation. All I needed to do was hold in mind the fact that multiple interpretations were possible, and that I didn't know or need to know which one (or combination of ones) was true.

And it helped that the person I did speak to had excellent communication skills himself - it was actually a huge relief not to have to be the sole voice of calm that was responsible for keeping the conversation on track. So from that point of view, the discussion really was far more productive than it probably would have been had I spoken to the other party in the conflict. It might well not have been, however, if I'd either consciously or unconsciously chosen either of the less helpful interpretations for why I was speaking to him, and then taken part in the conversation working from that filter.

There are a lot of lessons I'm taking from this. But one of the most vivid right now is that being mindful of my interpretations of another person's actions or words can make all the difference when it comes to constructive communications.

Thoughtful blessings




Starfire

Self Enquiry Questions:

(Note: the questions are borrowed from a post by Lucid entitled "The New Year is Up and Running"; and the image is an LJ icon by MysticMirth)


I may yet post another, more general version of my answers to these questions from Caitlin Matthews in my personal journal. In the meantime, though, I wanted to explore my answers to them specifically as they relate to my meditation and mindfulness practice, and especially as they relate to my 2008 year theme of 'Stable Foundations'. So... here we go then.


The Questions

The questions below originally come from Caitlin Matthews' "Celtic Devotional", and run as follows:

1. What am I endeavoring to manifest now in my life?
2. How can I change my thought patterns to empower my goals?
3. What old connections can I release now, for my highest good?
   
4. What wisdom is seeking to reveal itself to me at this time?
5. What new idea has seeded itself this winter, and how can I best nurture it to fruition, as the Earth nurtures her seeds?
   
6. What are the imprisoning fears that I feel ready to release?
   
7. What part of me will awaken as the rebirth of Spring arrives?
   
8. How can I best focus on my blessings this season?
9. How can I turn negatives into positives?
   
10. How can I make the best use of this lifetime?

And the answers?



1. What am I endeavouring to manifest now in my life?

I'm trying to create a stable foundation of regular, if not daily, mindfulness and meditation practice. This doesn't have to involve sitting, but can do. It's about building a base where being mindful of what is - both within me and around me - is the default position. It's not about stopping thinking or imagining or telling myself stories; but it is about mindful awareness of the fact that I'm both doing it when I do it, and that it is my choice as to whether I continue to do it, or choose a different way of being.



2. How can I change my thought patterns to empower my goals?

OK, this is a somewhat harder question, but still a valid one:

• I can stop making excuses or creating blame. Things are what they are, and I need to work with them from there.
• I can stop comparing myself to others. I know intellectually that everyone's on their own path - just because someone else seems to be able to meet a challenge with ease, it doesn't automatically follow that I should be able to.
  
• In that vein, get rid of that damn 'should' stick. I know 'should' is one of the most profoundly unhelpful word in the English language - but it's also one of the harder ones to eradicate. I can still work on doing so though.

3. What old connections can I release now, for my highest good?

Oooh, interesting question. What connections do I need to release? I'm not sure about this one - it may require more thought.



4. What wisdom is seeking to reveal itself to me at this time?

Interesting... when I try to follow the answer to this one back through to my intuition, the answer I get very strongly is 'you already have everything you need... quit stalling and put it into practice already!' And I know the voice I hear it in as well. Ooookay, thank you Scathach, grand high butt-kicker and failproof reality-checker in the Starfireverse!



5. What new idea has seeded itself this winter, and how can I best nurture it to fruition, as the Earth nurtures her seeds?

OK, in this case, I'm going to change the seasons around a little, given that it's High Summer down here in the southern hemisphere in the Land of the Long White Cloud. Instead, I'm going to ask what seed has been growing into a seedling over the spring, that's getting ready to fruit now?

And I think the answer there is this blog. I sat with the idea of it during a fairly stressful second half of 2007, and finally started it up back in December. Ideally, it's going to be a tool to support my own practice, while letting me connect with other people who have similar interests, and help me support and offer resources to other folks' practice too.

As to how I can nurture it? Keep posting. Remember to make a note, when I meditation, of any topics that might make good blog posts. Remember to keep reading other related blogs, and posting links to articles I've found helpful and/or inspirational.

*pauses*

*thinks*

Yeah, that sounds about right :-)



6. What are the imprisoning fears that I feel ready to release?

Hmmmmm, imprisoning fears? That I can't keep anything (whether it be regular practice, or regular posting) going long-term. That I'm more of a 'flash in the pan' kind of person - I go wild with something when I first start it, but enthusiasm rapidly wanes, and eventually I just give up again.

I guess the way to deal with that is to look at those areas in my life where I have kept things going long-term. My relationship with the lovely Gryphon (the wonderful man to whom I'm married) - my Communication degree studies - my love of reading and learning. So it's not true to say I can't keep things going long term, and fearing it isn't helping me achieve what I want.

I'm not quite sure what I'll do with the realisation from there though.



7. What part of me will awaken as the rebirth of Spring arrives?

I'll look at this one as 'what part of me awoke last spring', and answer it as the part that wants to integrate my spirituality and mindfulness practice within a balanced whole 21st century person, rather than trying to constantly separate out time and space for it off to one side, apart from 'real life'. It's not that I believe I shouldn't be able to take time out sometimes... gods know I need that... but more a recognition that I want to be spiritual and mindful within the main part of my life as well...



8. How can I best focus on my blessings this season?

By refusing to be complacent about them... by taking time out at the end of each day to look back and recognise the areas I've been blessed in that day. There are so damn many of them, after all ;-) I think my gratitude journal may need to come out again. Plus, taking the time during my walks to work, or moments on the PC to just breathe and recognise that, yeah, I'm a very blessed person, and I owe it to myself to recognise and be mindful of the fact.



9. How can I turn negatives into positives?

By looking for the lesson, looking for the blessing, or just accepting that somehow, either letting go or dealing with the situation is making me into a better person.



10. How can I make the best use of this lifetime?

I'm still working on my answer to this one. But honestly? I'm not sure there's anything different I need to be doing (at least, not right now) than I am. I'm learning what it means to be myself, and what it means to be the best me I can be.

I'm being as open as I can to new and different ideas and viewpoints - trying them on, seeing if there's value for me in them, and trying to let them go if there isn't. And I'm trying to be there for my friends and family in balanced ways that don't involve me breaking myself. I'm developing myself into the best communications expert I can be through my studies, because I believe that's a gift I have that lets me contribute to others AND make a living while I'm at it. Plus, I'm trying to create this meditation resource site to contribute to my own practice and the practice of others.

There may be a better use I can make of my life that will reveal itself to me presently. For the meantime, however, I'm reasonably content with the use I'm making of the time I'm given now.



And those are my answers.

Hmmmm... I think I'm going to make a note in my task list at the end of this year to look through these and see if my responses have changed a year down the track.

*soft smile*

If nothing else, it'll be interesting!

Thoughtful blessings




Starfire

Medition Oasis' "Aliveness" Meditation, and finding stillness between breaths

Last night I tried out my latest podcast download from Meditation Oasis, a guided meditation called 'Aliveness'.

I tend to find that how much I get out of the Meditation Oasis meditations depends hugely on how I am before I start them. Sometimes I find them wonderful - easy to sink into and amazingly relaxing; other times, if I'm not starting off in the right state, I just find myself drifting through them - my mind half listening to Mary's voice, half ticking away on whatever it is that it's ticking away on .

Last night, unfortunately, was one of the latter sessions. I enjoyed the concept of a meditation about aliveness and feeling alive (especially since, down here in the Southern Hemisphere, it's the height of midsummer, and everything around me is all-but glowing with life), but I didn't find myself sinking into this one at all... the words happened for me more as a lecture from which I was trying to learn something than as a meditation I was experiencing.

One thing my mind did catch on, however, that felt valuable to explore further was the concept of stillness. I think for me, a meditation feels successful (if indeed, the word 'successful' is appropriate when talking about meditation) if, at least once during it, I've felt my mind still and centre. It doesn't have to stay still the entire meditation (in fact, if I'm honest, the times it does so are few and very far between), but generally, the longer and more frequently the periods of stillness over the course of a given meditation session, the more relaxed I feel afterwards, and the more 'successful' that session feels.

I have different techniques to find those moments of stillness - some seem to work only when I start meditating in a relatively calm state at the outset, others seem to be a little more versatile. One of the 'tried and true' methods that works for me, apparently no matter what mindstate I start off in is noticing the periods between the end of one breath and the beginning
of the next.

See, my natural breathing rhythm seems to involve a brief pause between finishing an exhale and starting to inhale again. One breath doesn't doesn't just follow another - there's a moment that stretches out just as long as it needs to before my chest expands again to take in more oxygen. In those moments, everything seems to just... quiet... stop... hang... waiting patiently and timelessly for the cycle of breath to start again in its natural rhythm. And my mind is one of those things. Just in that moment between breaths, whatever thoughts were happening in the background of my mind seem to suddenly, naturally, still with no actual effort on my part.

I'm not sure when I first noticed this tendency, but I know it happens reliably enough that when my mind is disturbed or upset, I can use it to actively find stillness that I often can't access through any other technique. Simply resting my attention on the space between breaths is all it takes - I notice that I'm pausing, and the stilling seems to take care of itself

Hearing Mary talk about stillness in this meditation makes me curious to know how other people find their moments of stillness during mindfulness and meditation. How do you find yours? Do your moments just happen, or are there specific techniques you use in the same way that I use focussing on the moments between my breaths? Do you find some techniques work no matter what mindstate you start in, while others are only suitable when you're starting off calm already?

I'd love to hear your thoughts.

Blessings



Starfire

Mindfulness and hiking: Oxfam Trailwalker Test Walk

I haven't had a chance to mention it in this blog yet, but I'm sort of potentially signed up for the Oxfam Trailwalker event in April of this year: walking 100km in a 36 hour period to raise money to combat poverty around the globe.

It's a big task, and I'm not sure if I'm (or the rest of the potential team is, for that matter) honestly up to training for it in the time we have left. Yesterday was meant to be the test walk that would determine whether the four of us who think we might be up for it really are or not.

NB: The reason we need to figure out a definite 'yea or nay' now is that it costs $600 to enter a team in the event, with a commitment to raising a further $2,000 for the charity. The deadline for that payment is in a couple of weeks time, so by that point, we really need to have a an accurate idea of whether or not we have a chance of completing it.

Based purely on the results of yesterday's walk, I'd say "no, we're not", although, for reasons mentioned within that post, that may not be an accurate assessment. So we have a second test walk planned next weekend. And meanwhile, I'm getting to reflect back on the walk yesterday and look at the role mindfulness played in it for me. In particular, I'm reflecting on how the act of walking and pushing myself physically created moments of mindfulness I hadn't actually gone looking for.

From the outside, it might appear that there was little mindfulness involved anywhere. The team I'm walking and training with are a boisterous lot, and rowdy conversation accompanied much of the walk. But honestly, there were long stretches of track where I was either on point, or tail-end charlie, and thus slightly removed from the conversation and more able to focus on what existed around and within me. Especially in the harder, steeper bits where each step required focus to ensure it was landing on solid footing... well, mindful being-while-walking was something that just kind of happened without being deliberately chased: an interesting experience.

And I do find it interesting. More and more over the past couple of years, I've been experiencing mindful interludes at times when I haven't specifically been looking for them. They've been like gifts (although I'm not sure about gifts from whom) in the moments they've occurred. It's not, you understand, that I can't find usually find mindfulness when I seek it out through meditation or just being - but somehow, the mindful moments that occur spontaneously seem to be far deeper and richer than the ones I've actively look for (do I but notice the spontaneous ones when they occur, anyway).

Perhaps that's where the interesting bit lies. The deliberately-sought moments are more consistent and reliable now, but they're not as bright and rich and beautiful. Meanwhile, the spontaneous ones feel as thought they're somehow more of everything... but they can't be relied upon. They come when they will and last as long as they will before fading again.

Perhaps wisdom is in realising that both types of moments have their value, and that neither suffers from not being the other? Perhaps they even complement each other. Or perhaps the spontaneous moments are a model of what the deliberately sought moment could (or should?) be; a destination to aim for, using consistent practice and self-discipline.

Or it could all mean something else entirely... What do you think? How do your spontaneous mindful moments relate to those you deliberately seek? Where do you think wisdom lies for you?

Blessings



Starfire