Monday, February 23rd, Week 1 Class
Arriving Early
I get there about 15 minutes early and go in 5 minutes before the class is scheduled to start. The fact that this is a mindfulness course has me actively paying more attention to what's going on around me and how I am feeling than I normally would. I mainly notice how hard I work to avoid eye contact with anyone as I look around the room. I am not comfortable here yet, with this group of strangers around me, and I suddenly, somewhat strongly, wish I was not here at all for reasons I cannot articulate. That only lasts a brief moment, but I want things to hurry up and start. A number of people are clearly missing when the doors auto lock at 6pm. The instructor waits and everyone trickles in over the next 5-10 minutes.
Poetry Reading
The instructor tells us that he likes to start each session by reading a poem, he likes poetry. The poem will be something he feels is relevant. We're encouraged to see if we have any response to the poem. If not, that's ok. Today's poem is
The Life of a Day by Tom Hennen. I close my eyes and listen, though my mind is distracted - thinking about what will happen over the next couple hours - and I am struggling to pay attention at first. I do hear something that resonates though (copied from the link above):
Quote:
For some reason
we like to see days pass, even though most of us
claim we don’t want to reach our last one for a
long time. We examine each day before us with
barely a glance and say, no, this isn’t one I’ve been
looking for
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A lot of things I do on most days revolve around future appointments, engagements, work deadlines, sometimes to the point that I feel like I'm really just "skipping" a few days here and there to get to the next checkpoint.
Auto-Pilot
We have a general discussion on the topic of auto-pilot. Two examples given involve driving a car, first the actual function of driving. Paying attention to the road, mirrors, surroundings, all done fairly automatically, and this isn't a bad thing. Auto-pilot is natural and serves us well. The other driving example is something that has happened to all of us most likely, when you're driving along and zone out completely and snap back and notice you've driven past 5 exits on the highway without even realizing it.
The instructor asks us for examples where we notice ourselves on auto pilot. One person talks about zoning out while her young kid tries to tell her a story and not really paying attention because there are 100 other things going on. Auto-pilot to get through the work day is a common theme. A number of other people have thoughts that they share, I don't remember them.
Discussion of 7 Pillars of Mindfulness
We briefly discuss an overall definition of mindfulness. A non-judgemental, passionate way to pay attention to the present moment. There is a bit of a philosophical mention of this. We have goals for the future and we work for them. We can learn from our past, but the only moment we have is this moment right now that is happening. The only thing we can actually experience is what's happening in the present.
The 7 pillars of mindfulness was a handout that was our "homework" for the orientation week, I wrote about it above. We went over each one a little. Non-judgemental remains at the top of the discussion. Beginner's Mind remains a pretty abstract and foreign concept to me. There was more specific discussion here but I don't remember a ton of it.