Moment of Mind April 2022

Moment of Mind

Mindfulness involves noticing our moment to moment lived experience without editorializing.
This month of spring (or fall if you’re in the southern hemisphere) I thought I would share a few simple reflections for whatever noticing shows up over there on the other side of the screen. Perhaps you could skim them and choose one that most resonates. Or if none do, notice what shows up in your mind as an alternative direction of exploration of what’s alive right now?
I invite you to notice where there are flows inside and all around you? At the cellular level, the level of organs, the level of waking and sleeping, the level of receiving and releasing, the levels of water and air, the level of digesting….
Or you might notice, where do the mix of elements of your body mirror the mix of elements of the environments you visit – on land, inside, outdoors, in the sky, below ground, on water?
Or perhaps you might wander into noticing the pauses, moments of stillness – at the upper end or lower end of the breath, investigate any closed-in fear that holds breath at bay, or explore the edges of the easy lull at the end of a big sigh?
And last, if you have not already let your senses take you on a walk or roll…wander around the neighborhood or sit and let your senses direct attention as your body speaks to, listens, and is in communication with, the more than human world.
I’d love to hear what you notice, these invitations inspired after being reminded to move the body by brooke smiley through the Embody Lab. 

much love,

Tia

Love for Your Inner Science Activist Nerd

A couple of months back I mentioned in a prior newsletter how much I appreciate different teachers condensing the basics of mindfulness into a simple map for guidance. All of the maps distill practices into basic ingredients. I realize I’m mixing metaphors here. That’s because applied mindfulness for me is its own process…like cooking, like exploring new locations, or creating. It’s not an end point or an end goal.

It’s presence in motion.
Or the space combined with everything experienced within.

This week I listened to a summary of one of those mindfulness recipes/maps from a neuropsychologist, Dr. Amisha Jha. Dr. Jha learned it from researching what was most effective in getting mindfulness to “stick” with various populations who have high levels of distraction and stress at the same time. Her research does what folks who like to look for things that improve performance love: it provides reliable, consistent, replicable evidence. According to her work, folks who work in very high demand, highly stressful (often traumatizing) jobs such as firefighters, military, and emergency management do better at concentrating, managing emotions, and taking less on the job stress home with regular mindfulness practice. You can read more in her book Peak Mind. 

Dr. Jha was a guest on Brené Brown’s podcast recently in an episode called Finding Focus and Owning Your Attention. I recommend giving it a listen in part because I think she does a much better job than most at unpacking aspects of how our brain directs and uses attention (there’s a lot to it and I tend to confuse people when I try and explain it, still a learner here!). 

As a sneak peek her simple map/recipe is as follows. As with any mindfulness practice you can do this sitting or in repose position, or even take a pause while you’re standing. I’ve added some adaptations based on my experience with trauma-informed practice. Focus – she likes to start with directing attention to your breathing, wherever it feels most vibrant or prominent to you. Once you find that space, or movement, or temperature, this will become where you return focus. If focusing on breathing sensations is challenging for you, you could move your hands out in front of you in sync with inhaling and exhaling and watch them, or rest them on your belly and let them open/close or rise and fall instead. Notice – notice as you pay attention to the breathing as it’s happening there may also be mind chattering, or your body might want to move about, or emotions may wander in. All you’re doing is noticing this. You’re not trying to control it, chase any of it away, force it, or judge it. And when those impulses happen that’s a great thing to notice. Noticing is the first step toward not being driven by it. Redirect – if/when your mind starts fueling the thinking, or the mind makes meaning of feelings/emotions….you can redirect attention back to that vibrant part of your breath or movement above (I like the metaphor of it being like a train and if you watch it go by the train just moves on, if you hop into it is when the identifying with it and editorializing, embellishing, and poking at thought-feels begins) Repeat – do this however long you want. tart with a minute and build up to longer durations. You could try it out in places that feel safe and borderline boring – like when you’re waiting in line, in the morning or at night related to sleep hygiene. I don’t find the “focus more!” “perform better!” findings as compelling as many do, it’s just not why I do these practices. My experience has consistently matched what I read in studies. And, at some point my practice shifted from exploring meditation as a way to get somewhere. Those effects are nice…and the bigger reason for me is seeing over time the behind the scenes aspects of what’s going on underneath all that chattering of the mind. The awareness in which everything is experienced.

Get Your Park Groove On

I’m deviating from my usual section of a park and going with a hike in a national park/scenic area instead. 
Eagle Creek in the Columbia Gorge suffered an intense fire back in 2017 so it’s been a few years since I had been by (note it started by a teenager making a poor decision – and yet the press on this left out the part about colonialism and ongoing fire suppression from European ignorance…the history of Indigenous land management that would have prevented this got completely ignored). 
And, if you haven’t been it’s worth the visit. I have fond memories of this hike from being a teaching assistant for many Water in the Environment classes. This is one location I would visit with college students for sampling water and identifying insects. The instructor focused on teaching about macroinvertebrates, the tasty insect morsels that fish nibble on that are indicators of water quality. Salmon would spawn here except there’s a fish hatchery right below the trail hike – and this is where they are released from, they can’t make it very far up the creek (bummer, I know).  They still do their dance though as far up as they can.
The reason I like this hike beyond the views, and the continual birdsong, especially during the spring is because of the wildflowers!!! It was raining and hailing the day we went so I have no great images for you of their twinkling beauty. If you feel any kindredness to elfin and fairy ways though you’ll feel it as soon as you set out. They are tucked in along the rock walls, coloring the hillsides, and waving their little bellshaped heads with each rain drop.
The hike is a gradual grade and they’ve put in some new trail supports since before the fire. The main caveat is  that this is *not* an accessible trail – it involves cliff sections with steep drop offs (including metal lines bolted to the rock walls) so take a note on that. I clutch the side in those sections. Still worth it.

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