Flute in the Woods: Tools to Support Mindfulness

The Story

I recently came across a photograph of myself on a backpacking trip with friends. We had hiked several miles downstream one late fall weekend to a favorite spot of the kayaking locals. It rained the whole time we walked, and by the time we got to the cave where we planned to sleep we were grateful for the warm fire and shelter of the tons of rock overhead.

The next day as we hiked back out of the gorge, we stopped at vista to watch the boaters make a run over a substantial waterfall.  Together we dropped into silence, watching each kayaker summon the courage to run the falls.  As each slipped into the current, shooting the falls, we would join the gathered boaters in a tremendous cheer for the beauty and courage displayed!

Later the three of us took time to sit quietly on a rock in meditative contemplation. After a few minutes of breathing and prayer I decided to bring out one of my flutes. The photo is an image one friend took of me as I allowed the music of the rain, the cave, the woods, the trees, and the boaters, to flow through me, in a celebration of the magic of the weekend!

The Technology

Taking time in the woods is one of the ways I enjoy practicing my mindfulness with and without technology.  In many cases I leave my devices at home or in the car, intentionally unplugging for a set period of time.  While I often take my iPhone along for safety sake when I hike, I generally only pull it out for an occasional photograph.

So how do we create the more mindful space for ourselves in the day to day business of our work and home life?  How can we create some of that quiet, sparking, magic in the moments that feel more usual, busy or routine? There are several ways in which I have begun to explore using my technology to intentionally support my mindfulness practices.

Mindful Magazine has a new subscription service called Mindful Interrupters. Each day in my inbox I receive a short, one line suggestion for becomming more present in the moment.  I have also begun to explore apps to support my practice.  Currently my favorites include: a meditation timer, meditative music, and a new free app called Stop, Breathe & Think, created by an organization called Tools for Peace. My next plan is to try some software called Freedom that allows you to lock out the internet for a set period of time, allowing you to bring full attention to the work on your computer.

Connections

The connections between my flute, mindful apps, and other supports are that they help me to practice bringing mindfulness to each moment. While many believe that mindfulness is mainly practiced "on the cushion" - and it certainly can be - the purpose of meditation for me is to help me locate joy into each moment, through quiet and open attention. Looking for ways to involve my tools into this practice is one way I help myself to cross pollinate the practice, to make it more automatic and authentic.

Author John Kabat-Zinn defines mindfulness as, “paying attention in a particular way: on purpose, in the present moment, non-judgementally.” By bringing space to the moment, stopping habitual routine or thinking, I become increasingly able to feel peace and joy. Victor Frankl once wrote, "Between stimulus and response there is a space.  In that space lies our freedom and our power to choose our response.  In our response lies our growth and our happiness."

Taking time to walk in nature, to make music with friends, to watch others engaged in sports - all help me to be present in the moment. Connecting my technologies to the same purpose is allowing me to explore presence in the times when I need to be or choose to be plugged in. Breaking my technological habits, making mindful choices of what to use and when fits well with my personal goals for increasing my mindful awareness.

Meditation image courtesy of Pixabay: www.pixabay.com

Frozen in Our Tracks: Dependence & Planned Obsolescence

The Story

This week the temperatures have been the coldest on record in my area. Sub zero wind chills have necessitated school cancellations and adjustments to nearly every one's routines to compensate.  This includes the various feathered and furry creatures who congregate at the bird feeders outside of our home.

Last night, with a new dusting of snow, I noticed how pristine and clear the various animal tracks were on the driveway. I was curious to see if I could identify those who had gathered earlier to partake of the seeds and suet. I was able to identify various bird prints, squirrel, and deer prints on the driveway.  Beneath the feeder, however, it was harder to identify individuals as the mass of impressions looked more like the remnants of a dance party!

Seeing all of the tracks initiated a series of questions in my mind. What responsibility do I have to ensure the animals come to the feeder continue to have seeds to eat? What would happen if the seeds ran out? (I've read elsewhere that birds who get used to a feeder can actually starve if you do not continue to put out seeds for them to eat.) I also thought about the tracks and about whether they make particular birds or creatures more vulnerable to their predators.

The Technology

The other day during the cold snap my iPhone went on the fritz - the "swipe to open" feature was not working. This challenge meant I was unable to answer incoming calls or to access any of the apps or data stored on my phone. In my previous "New Snowfall: Fresh Start" post I shared the story of a friend's iPhone quitting and explored the possibilities for starting over with a clean slate. Now needing to heed my own advice, I decided to mindfully explore the problem with curiosity.

I first stopped at my phone carrier's local office. The young staff woman worked through a set of checks in order to determine that the issues were related to hardware (as opposed to the troubles being the responsibility of the service provider). She was helpful in suggesting several options for getting help locally. I then went to a local coffee shop to read through the Mac Forums to learn more about the problem, and to see if I could resolve it myself.

After unsuccessfully trying some potential fixes for the issue, I decided to visit the Apple Store. I booked an appointment online and arrived to a space that felt very different than any of my prior visits. I was greeted by multiple workers who were focused on selling me a new device, prior to attempting to diagnose and repair my malfunctioning touch screen. My question to the "genius" assigned to my case about her knowledge of the term "planned obsolescence" produced a confused look and then our subsequent move to a table where it said " it would be quieter." After some discussion I did choose to purchase the phone replacement - and to subsequently rethink my current relationship with smartphones in general, and with Apple specifically.

Connections

Synchronously this week, a friend posted an image on Facebook that commented on the disappearance of pay phones. According to the Pew Research Center 56% of adult Americans now own a smart phone - with those not owning a cell phone at all, down to 9% of the population. Smartphones are not only popular, they are enticing, creating what I would call an addiction in their affordance of access to a constant diet of amusement and information.

In many ways, the birds and squirrel's extreme reliance on the bird feeders this week is like the challenges I had with my iPhone. Many of us have become accustomed to having a smartphone and no longer pay for a land line - hence the disappearance of the pay phone. When my phone was out of service, while I had other devices to get to the internet, I had no alternatives to respond to my incoming calls.

In other ways the two stories are different. Where the birds and squirrels I'm supporting this winter still retain their wild ability to forage for food (I hope!), I believe we humans may be on the verge of becoming frozen in our tracks. Without pay phones or land lines, we are easy prey for the phone companies and cell phone creators. When our "food source" mysteriously disappears, we are forced to purchase plan upgrades and replacements - at what feels to me to be an alarming rate.

I recommend its time for a thoughtful responses - to encourage the creation of new options other than upgrades and purchases. I would enjoy hearing about your ideas in how we might proceed. I'll share my responses as I mindfully construct my own steps forward.

Phone booth image courtesy of Pixabay: www.pixabay.com

Christmas Decorations: Is One Way the Best?

The Story

Its the week after Christmas and I've begun to think about taking down the holiday decorations. As I was out for a walk this morning, I decided to take a closer look at my neighbors' selections this year. Throughout the town home community there are still many remaining signs of the holiday.

Some of my neighbors appeared to favor the simple, adorning their decks with strings of white lights. Others displayed bows, flags, ornaments and wreaths. And a select few seem to love everything about the holiday, placing a wide variety of signs, symbols and colors around the perimeter of their dwellings.

In the habits of decorating I also noticed patterns related to individuality and collaboration. In some cases, the decorations were unique, individual and singular. Some neighbors appeared to have collaborated in color scheme or theme. In at least one case, an entire group of homes had created a unified display of bows and lights for their combined unit.

The Technology

In working in education for over twenty-five years, I have seen the many different ways that we engage with and utilize technology. Often times humans employ a large group mentality. We use the technologies that are given to us, in the ways that we are directed by those in leadership positions. This style of useage often creates results that are more uniform and predictable.

For many years, as a member of the International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE), I saw another familiar pattern. At the annual convention, presentations often focused on creative uses of technology - on what was perceived as new or "hot." This stance had the impact of creating a group of users who based their practices on replicating the popular or innovative.

The third means of engaging with technology might be defined as highly individualized. In this stance, technology users are more intuitive, unique, and less status driven. These sorts of individuals engage with the technologies of their choosing in the manner which best fits their lived situation.

Connections

The two examples this week have many similarities. They both contain clues into understanding ourselves and the ways in which use experiences to relate to one another as human beings.  Each example illustrates how we each choose to collaborate with a group, replicating the ideas of others, or maintain our individuality.

In thinking about these three categories, I began to think about why we seek to describe and compare our lived situations in the first place. I believe one of the reasons is a common desire to understand and make sense of our world. Creating categories supports our understanding in the same way that metaphors provide us cognitive frameworks to connect to our prior knowledge to new and novel situations. 

I believe, however, that there is a potential challenge to consider in our over use of categories and descriptors.  So often I see myself becomming trapped in a particular way of seeing, being and knowing - of assuming that the way in which I perceive or "decorate" my world is the only or best way to do things.  As we each begin the process of taking down Christmas decorations, I invite us to examine the motivations behind our particular way of doing things. In this New Year, may we each find ways to become more mindful of our use of technology to connect with others and retain our individuality.

2014 image courtesy of Pixabay: www.pixabay.com