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I thought I would begin to feature some of the "pages" on this blog; below is my "Wake Up!" page, which I first wrote while I was teaching mindfulness-based interventions to graduate students at Avila University; it was intended to help them understand some of the reasons that meditation might help some of their clients, and also for them to use as a hand-out or instructional tool for clients:
To what’s going on
Around you
AND
Inside your head
If you pay attention to what is going on in your mind, you will find that there is a near-constant stream of chatter. Our brains seem to be talking, and engaging in commentary, all the time: sometimes about the past (“I really wish I had not done that!”), sometimes about the present (“this is really nice!” or “I hate this!”) and sometimes about the future (“I hope I get the job!” and “I am so scared that I will fail.”).
This “chatter” represents normal brain function; it is simply something that the brain does, when it is not occupied in deliberate problem-solving. The brain generates thoughts, emotions, impulses, and physical sensations. However, most of us are unaware of most of what the brain is “saying,” nearly all the time! Instead, we let it go on, chattering outside of our awareness, while we go off into autopilot. If we are not actively making an effort to pay attention, many of our complex behaviors (driving to work; walking down the hall to the mailbox; eating meals) occur while we are in a sort of autopilot state. This does not necessarily mean that we are functioning poorly (any outside observer would say that we are doing just fine); but if we are in that autopilot state, we clearly are not living fully. And we may also be putting ourselves at risk for various problems such as depression, anxiety disorders, and impulsive and compulsive behaviors (including addictions). We may find, upon reflection, that our lives simply are not what we would like them to be.
There are any number of patterns into which internal chatter might fall. For some people, brooding about the past is prominent. I might endlessly and repetitively recall and re-hash episodes from my past, critically judging my decisions and my behavior, maybe even wallowing in regret and self-hatred.
Another pattern involves the future: I might be a chronic worrier, constantly bringing into mind scenarios in which disasters and catastrophes will likely take place. This can be accompanied by a constant effort to problem-solve or problem-prevent: “What will I do if this happens? What if that happens? How can I keep either of those things from happening?”
One very important pattern that appears in all of our
mental landscape falls under the heading of “habit.” We all are aware
that we have behavioral habits; we also have mental habits. Our
capacity to develop habits is, overall, a very positive thing; we could
not function efficiently if we had to think through every step we take
in life, constantly “reinventing the wheel.” However, the negative side
of habit-formation is clearly evident, as well. Many of our habits
would be readily identified as “bad habits.” Our brains are structured
in such a way that anything that is repeated often enough becomes a
sort of a preferred, or even “default” option. If I am accustomed to
taking a certain route when I drive home from work every day, then it
takes a certain amount of effort to change my route. That driving route
has become a (benign) habit. By the same token, if I have begun a
pattern of eating a bowl of Cherry Garcia ice cream after dinner in the
evenings, then it will take some effort to refrain from eating it on
any given evening, and I will feel a strong urge to buy more of it when
I go to the grocery store.
These patterns, mental and behavioral, can lead to serious problems:
- Brooding contributes to depression
- Worrying contributes to anxiety disorders
- Habit makes unhealthy behaviors more difficult to avoid
The tricky thing about these patterns is that they tend to go on outside of our awareness. We can see the outcomes that naturally arise out of the patterns (in unhappiness and in behaviors we don’t like, but can’t seem to control); but we fail to see the mind-states that contribute to these outcomes. We tend to be mystified by our own behaviors and emotional states. We feel as if they are outside of our control.
But, what if we shift our focus away from the outcome to the cause? What if we begin to develop the habit of awareness of our own mental functioning (especially our thoughts, emotions, impulses, and physical sensations), and develop our capacity to detach from counterproductive patterns, before they have a chance to manifest themselves as significant problems?
As it turns
out, we can exercise our human capacity for freedom by deciding to
develop our ability to direct and re-direct our attention. Since we
know that our mental habits are contributing to unhappiness in our
lives, the arena for choice becomes situated within our minds. We can
let these patterns continue to go on chattering, outside of awareness
(in which case we have no control over them); or we can pay attention,
so that when they are operative, we can gently detach from them, and
redirect attention to something more worthwhile.
How do we do that? As Jeff Schwartz says, “Attention must be paid.” One way that many, many people have successfully brought a greater degree of freedom into their lives is called mindfulness practice, which is a sort of umbrella term that covers a variety of practices or types of meditation. This can involve formal, silent “sitting meditation,” sometimes for long periods of time; and it can involve “everyday” mindfulness, when we remember to pay close attention to a particular activity. For example: Washing the dishes, we deliberately notice all the thoughts, sensations, and emotions that arises during the period of time that we are doing that task.
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