Through the Trees
"The forest knows where you are. You must let it find you."
Dr. Jon Kabat-Zinn, who's PhD from MIT lies in molecular biology, used this statement during his guided meditation which took place during a symposium amongst his peers. This isn't some meditation work shop, though he has conducted many of those. It's a medical conference for psychotherapy, working with individuals ranging from cancer patients dealing with the pain and nausea of treatment to borderline personality disorders trying to manage their anger and irrational outbursts. The main treatment, which used empirical, peer-reviewed studies to grow from a small clinic at UMASS to a system 200 hospitals strong, is simply mindfulness. Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) to be exact.
While this article is an exceptional example of how science and spirituality are becoming fast friends, the part that interests my more consciousness-minded side is the idea that moments slow down time. Don't get this confused with the old adage, "Time flies when you're having fun." The article briefly mentions Ray Kurzweil, who's new theory states how "our internal sense of time is calibrated by new and unpredictable events that we perceive to be noteworthy. The more of these novel events in our lives, the slower time seems to pass." Apparent in everyday life, this idea has consumed western culture to malevolous ends. I have no illusions keeping me from saying I'm addicted to these milestones. But then again, isn't everybody? Look around at all the drama, fighting, lusting, etc. that exist in our day-to-day lives. I would spend this entire post (and subsequent, follow-up posts) analyzing the disease, but what about the cure?
This is why Dr. Kabat-Zinn is such a celebrity amongst the medical circles (and not simply psychology, either). Imagine taking all the aspects of these noteworthy events, the concentration of the situation, the focus on the details, the attitude and intrigue of the individual, the mindfulness, and applying them to every day moments. Here. Now. No, seriously, right now. I'm not saying that reading my blog should be reason enough to place down one of your own milestones of mindfulness (of which you have an unending supply), but I am saying that every moment should be reason enough. Ram Dass said "Meditation is watching the itch instead of scratching it." Image what an itch feels like? Who would scratch away such a "new and unpredictable event?" This is very similar to the quoted statement from Dr. Kabat-Zinn: "When you pay attention to boredom, it gets unbelievably interesting."
To sum things up, Dr. Kabat-Zinn prescribed a rigorous (imagine that...sitting and being mindful described as rigorous) plan in which his patients meditated for 45 minutes a day for eight weeks. You don't have to go overboard with it, though. Simply practice being mindful on the way down the elevator (nobody's talking anyway, right? Feel the play with gravity) or while you brush your teeth. Soon, moments of mindfulness will find their way in more and more. Eventually your entire life slows down while allowing you to experience the big stuff more profoundly, and keeping you from sleeping through the more "boring" stuff, too.
"Why meditate? To live in the moment. To dwell in the harmony of things. To awaken." - Ram Dass
Post Scripts...
Dr. Jon Kabat-Zinn, who's PhD from MIT lies in molecular biology, used this statement during his guided meditation which took place during a symposium amongst his peers. This isn't some meditation work shop, though he has conducted many of those. It's a medical conference for psychotherapy, working with individuals ranging from cancer patients dealing with the pain and nausea of treatment to borderline personality disorders trying to manage their anger and irrational outbursts. The main treatment, which used empirical, peer-reviewed studies to grow from a small clinic at UMASS to a system 200 hospitals strong, is simply mindfulness. Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) to be exact.
While this article is an exceptional example of how science and spirituality are becoming fast friends, the part that interests my more consciousness-minded side is the idea that moments slow down time. Don't get this confused with the old adage, "Time flies when you're having fun." The article briefly mentions Ray Kurzweil, who's new theory states how "our internal sense of time is calibrated by new and unpredictable events that we perceive to be noteworthy. The more of these novel events in our lives, the slower time seems to pass." Apparent in everyday life, this idea has consumed western culture to malevolous ends. I have no illusions keeping me from saying I'm addicted to these milestones. But then again, isn't everybody? Look around at all the drama, fighting, lusting, etc. that exist in our day-to-day lives. I would spend this entire post (and subsequent, follow-up posts) analyzing the disease, but what about the cure?
This is why Dr. Kabat-Zinn is such a celebrity amongst the medical circles (and not simply psychology, either). Imagine taking all the aspects of these noteworthy events, the concentration of the situation, the focus on the details, the attitude and intrigue of the individual, the mindfulness, and applying them to every day moments. Here. Now. No, seriously, right now. I'm not saying that reading my blog should be reason enough to place down one of your own milestones of mindfulness (of which you have an unending supply), but I am saying that every moment should be reason enough. Ram Dass said "Meditation is watching the itch instead of scratching it." Image what an itch feels like? Who would scratch away such a "new and unpredictable event?" This is very similar to the quoted statement from Dr. Kabat-Zinn: "When you pay attention to boredom, it gets unbelievably interesting."
To sum things up, Dr. Kabat-Zinn prescribed a rigorous (imagine that...sitting and being mindful described as rigorous) plan in which his patients meditated for 45 minutes a day for eight weeks. You don't have to go overboard with it, though. Simply practice being mindful on the way down the elevator (nobody's talking anyway, right? Feel the play with gravity) or while you brush your teeth. Soon, moments of mindfulness will find their way in more and more. Eventually your entire life slows down while allowing you to experience the big stuff more profoundly, and keeping you from sleeping through the more "boring" stuff, too.
"Why meditate? To live in the moment. To dwell in the harmony of things. To awaken." - Ram Dass
Post Scripts...
posted by J.B.P. at 2:31 PM
2 Comments:
By the way, this story and other extremely interesting findings in science that match up synergistically with spirituality can be found at Science and Theology News. Though it uses the term "theology", I haven't come across any specific denomination or even religion, which is why I refer to it in my preferred nomenclature of "spirituality."
Jeffery, I got your reply on mny blog. I'm so happy to read about your choice to go to NIU. I certainly am unawares of the overall benefits of one program or the other (versus Tulane's) but if nothing else a change of scenery might be useful to you. I will be in Atlanta, GA/Hilton Head Island, SC visiting Alex between Thursday of this week (July 21) and Tuesday of the next week (July 26). My birthday is July 27 and I always go fishing on my birthday (which you are welcome to join me if that sort of thing interests you and I'm inclined to think that it does not..but I could be wrong) but I have no evening plans, coffee? A sampling of fine ales? Call me or post on my blog to let me know the dates you'll be available. I can't wait to see you again, have a safe trip home.
~Megan
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