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Notice you’re alive more often than never

Exercising my attention through mindfulness practice never fixes anything, but it changes how I relate to everything. I don’t mean how I think about things. I mean the capacity to relate to moments without constantly futzing with them as they play out.

I’m not smarter or wiser or more productive than I was before I started out. I don’t feel more spiritual. But I have noticed a gradual erosion of something within me that I hadn't even realized was there.

I’m not aware of this difference all the time, but when I am, it feels like I’m experiencing whatever is happening more completely.

In those moments, what thins out is something that makes uncomfortable moments worse and chokes the life out of comfortable ones — something that makes me identify with unpleasant emotions and downplay pleasant feelings. What gets weaker is the automatic tendency to either reject what is happening right now or to try to improve it.

How do you set the stage for this kind of erosion?

By sensing instead of making sense more often than never.

Notice what it’s like to see what’s in front of your eyes or hear a sound for a handful of seconds. Briefly redirect your awareness toward a physical or emotional sensation whether it’s comfortable or not.

Invite the impulse to make sense of whatever you’re noticing to hang out in the periphery for a bit.

This shift of awareness isn’t difficult. It can actually seem so effortless as to be pointless — like doing a single push-up. What makes it a challenging exercise is the urge to make sense prefers to drive instead of going along for the ride — even temporarily.

But just as repetitions of push-ups reliably build muscle, collecting repetitions of sensing over making sense will begin to change how you relate to the messiness of your life.

It’s actually been a relief to discover that mindfulness doesn’t solve my specific problems. It takes the pressure off. What it can do, with consistent practice, is change the way we inhabit the steady stream of problems we will encounter as long as we’re alive.

When we go down this road, we’re exploring a perspective Joseph Campbell pointed out when he wrote, “People say that what we’re all seeking is a meaning for life. I don’t think that’s what we’re really seeking. I think that what we’re seeking is an experience of being alive, so that our life experiences on the purely physical plane will have resonances with our own innermost being and reality, so that we actually feel the rapture of being alive.”

May you experience vitality and resilience in 2020, and may you practice inhabiting your life more fully just as it is right now.

Daron

Note: If you’re looking for more tips on how to establish or reinvigorate your mindfulness meditation practice in 2020, check out this thorough list from my friend Michael "Tasshin" Fogleman. It grew out of a Twitter thread that caught my attention because he mentioned my work.

Our personal spins on teaching meditation seem very similar even though he's a dedicated monastic and I'm doing my best to make a monastery of sorts out of the messiness of modern life without identifying as Buddhist.

The Monastic Academy where he lives is raising money to complete their new meditation hall. "It will be a beautiful place to train. Because of its large size, it will also allow them to host more people and run multiple programs in parallel." I hope you’ll read about the project and consider helping them out.

Strengthening your attention in a distracting world.

Guests on The Art of Attention podcast share their strategies for cultivating focus, self-regulation, and resilience. Hear from experts who are exploring ways we can inhabit our lives more fully and compare notes with people who practice deciding what to pay attention to.

Thanks for helping spread the word about The Art of Attention. Please leave a review on iTunes, follow us on Twitter, and share your reflections on Facebook.

Winter workshops

The following sessions will be held in the Amelita Mirolo Barn (4395 Carriage Hill Lane, Upper Arlington). Sign up for one or two – or all three to get a thorough introduction to the basics of my attentional fitness approach to mindfulness.

Exercise Your Attention with Mindfulness
Tuesday, January 14, 2020
6:00 PM – 7:00 PM

Physical exercise strengthens the body. Mindfulness strengthens attention. Discover how training your attention—with or without meditation—can develop capacities for relating more effectively to the challenges of daily living.

Recharge with Mindfulness
Tuesday, February 11, 2020
6:00 PM – 7:00 PM

Most of us need circumstances to be comfortable in order to relax. With practice, however, we can learn to detect and savor rest in the midst of ordinary life. We can also learn how to “reboot” by taking mindful breaks from our constant thinking, planning, problem-solving, and remembering.

Connect with Mindfulness
Tuesday, March 3, 2020

6:00 PM – 7:00 PM

Research indicates that empathy exercises change the structure and functioning of our brains more quickly than concentration or relaxation exercises. In this session, you’ll learn an exercise that helps support empathy, compassion, and resilience.

Practice groups

These free practice series sponsored by Mount Carmel Health are a great opportunity to practice mindfulness with others, compare notes, and ask as many questions as you want.

Mount Carmel St. Ann's (My Time)
First Friday mornings, Jan. 7 through Apr. 3, 2020
10:00 AM – 11:30 AM, 500 S Cleveland Ave, Westerville

These practice sessions will be held on the first Friday of every month (1/7, 2/7, 3/6, and 4/3). The January session serves as an introduction and will end at noon. Join us for as many of the sessions that you're able. Call 614-234-5433 to register.

Mount Carmel Health Living Center
Thursdays, Feb. 13 through Apr. 23, 2020
3:00 PM – 4:00 PM, 777 W State St, Columbus

These practice sessions will be held every other Thursday (2/13, 2/27, 3/12, 3/26, 4/9, and 4/23). Registration is not required and walk-ins throughout the series are welcome. Call 614-234-4660 to learn more.

Chez Baxter
First three Wednesdays of every month
7:00 PM – 8:30 PM

If you live in the Columbus, Ohio area, I hope you'll check out the free practice sessions I host in my home. They're usually the first three Wednesdays of every month, but please check my website for exceptions.

Upcoming practice session dates:

January 8, 15 (skipping 1/1)
February 5, 12, 19

Sessions include guided exercises, practice in silence, and discussion. All experience levels and meditation strategies are welcome.

Email or call (614) 284-9618 for address and parking details.

Follow Nathan Pyle's Strange Planet on Instagram and buy his new book for someone in your life who appreciates a reliable source of laughter.

See also: Listen to Music, Observe Emotions

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Keep in touch between newsletters:

Listen to The Art of Attention on WCBE.org, iTunes, SoundCloud, Spotify, or Insight Timer
Follow me on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and LinkedIn
Look for my guided meditations in the Brightmind and Insight Timer apps
Request a 15-minute chat to discuss mindfulness coaching in person or by phone, Skype, or Zoom
Recommend an attentional fitness workshop where you work