Mind the Beginner

What does coffee taste like?

How does the sun feel on your skin?

What’s it like to ride a motorcycle?

There are whole libraries written about these and other experiences trying to tell you what things are actually like without you have to experience them. Thousands or even millions of bloggers trying to tell you how awesome life is. But there is a problem there. Although it’s fascinating to read about other people’s experiences, or even to watch (hyper)realistic fiction on TV so you can join in the feelings, it’s not the same. Watching (or reading about) successful people and how they made it -while amusing- gets you nowhere. Time is spent living through other people and every once in a while you’ll hear “I wish I could do that” or “I wish that happened to me”.

You can never truly and accurately convey an experience.

A long time ago while training as a therapist a few people with disabilities were asked to help us understand things. Among them was a woman, blind from birth. One of the most intriguing questions asked was “If you dream, what do you dream about” Have you ever thought of it? Of course someone who lost their sight during life could still be able to dream images, but what if you’ve never had those images in the first place. The answer made sense: She dreamt conversation, sounds, smells and touch. All the other senses were there. She would feel the sun on her face, smell fresh spring air and heard birds sing.

Later on another question came to mine, but that later was many years later.
“How do you know when you are dreaming and when you are awake?”

Welcome to the matrix

It’s the classic “blue pill or red pill” here. How do you know that what is in front of you is reality. To cut that one short you will never know for sure that what you believe you experience is reality. This blog, religion, your body, it might all be a figment of your imagination.

Another thought that came up was how could you explain that woman what the sun looked like or what the color red was. In this example most people would easily understand that you can’t possibly convey that experience to the other, simply because there is no reference.

That blind woman could not argue with you that an apple is red or the sun golden. She had no reference, she never experienced it.
Now on to other examples, the most important being a religious experience. Can you tell someone what you experienced if they never experienced it and so have no reference? You can’t, you simply can’t… and still, there are so many out there who try constantly to convey that experience. Don’t they know you can’t pass experience on?

Enlightenment is in the eye of the beholder

You can’t argue about experience… ever. If someone experiences something a certain way, that’s their experience and you will never share that experience. If you believe it’s the same dive deeper.

This is Zen at it’s core. Every experience is unique, nothing is ever the same. Sure, you can refuse to dive deeper and claim that the experience is the same, but that would be superficial and almost an insult to your knowledge. Especially after reading this blogpost.

Deep down on some level everything is unique. Just because you haven’t had a religious experience involving an Aztec God doesn’t mean he isn’t there. Just because you’ve never had a near death experience doesn’t make the claim less legitimate.

• Experiences of all kinds are unique and personal
• You can’t convey an experience on it’s deepest level
• Nobody knows the truth, however you might experience it
• You will (probably) never know if your experience is the truth

It’s the experience of this truth that Zen Buddhists try to reach. They call it Satori or “Gaining insight”. That is, experiencing the truth through an intuitive knowing, a direct experience. But as soon as they logically try to capture it, it’s gone. As soon as you apply a filter you kill the truth. You can’t share it in any way. In the end, all you can do is invite other people to share an experience with you in real life, it’s the closest you’ll ever get.

What experience would you like to share?

“If you just believe in yourself everything will work out”. How often have you heard that one before?

You can’t count the times? Neither can I.

Whenever we believe in something, who is the is that believes? Well, it’s the “we” who believe right? But who is we, or for that matter, who are “you” and who am “I”. We, you and I are just projections of our being, and we call it our self. Self is something we create in our own mind, it’s just an idea in our heads.

Believing in self

There is an idea in our head that’s called self. A creation of the mind, and yet we unquestionably believe it. Somehow when you put it that way, it doesn’t seem that good an idea any more now does it?

Let’s continue with the mind warping.

Excluding the actually experience of the present moment, everything is just a concept. None of the mind games like believing and self can actually relate to our real being. This is because we project our beliefs, assumptions and identity onto the self. Not onto the actual being.

Who is this self?

Our sense of self comes from what we’ve accomplished in life, what we do and don’t do, what we believe, what we own, even our name is part of the self. They are all concepts, ideas in our mind. Ideas and concepts are the fabric of self. Turning that round we can say that our sense of self is fabricated from concepts, ideas. Who is self? Self is a fabrication.

Let’s have a quick look at our self shall we?

As an example, do you know the moon orbits the earth? If you’ve paid a bit of attention in school you’ll answer this with “yes” right away. A good perception of the world, your concept and the truth can see eye to eye. Great!

Moving on to a different concept, consider something more personal, something about yourself. Isolate this idea for a moment and let it linger in your mind for a while. Savour it for a moment. Notice how quickly you can confirm the idea? After all, it is about you. You know what you’re talking about when it comes to yourself.

What happens when you don’t believe

Now consider something that you don’t believe. The earth is flat! Yeah right, that’s not true and you can’t understand anybody believing that it is true. You don’t identify yourself with this concept. Correctness is you, not correct isn’t you and it never will be. That’s something for “others”. You’ll have no part of it, you won’t go there. (And you wonder why it’s so hard to admit you are wrong.)

All this, this answering of questions, confirming or denying ideas happens within a heartbeat. It’s so fast in fact, that you won’t notice it unless you know what to look for. But it’s very significant. Because if it’s true or not is not the issue, it’s just one of those concepts that you’ve formed in your head. They relate to you, me and us but not to the being.

Believing or not will change you, it will not change the being. It’s just a concept, nothing more.

This blogpost is a follow-up on my last blogpost on which Alan Perlman from over at the 9 to 5 alternative commented:

Many people–myself included–understand that there’s a third pillar, but may not know how to attack it. I’d like to hear your thoughts on this.
Like, once you recognize the third pillar, once you know you need to act in the present and to change certain things, how do you do it? What’s optimal? – Alan

A quick refresh: There are three pillars in personal development, three choices you have right now:

1. Flee the present
   
2. Passively accept the present
   
3. Act in the present

Now we have those clear again  (if you want to read more: the three pillars of personal development) lets dive right in.

Optimal ways to act right now

The very first thing that comes to mind is something Carl (R Nelson, over at Drop of Change) tought me a long time ago. He called it the 3-2-1 Method and it’s actually as effective as it is simple:

When confronted with an issue which will only take a moment to resolve yet which you are reluctant to do get in your head for a few seconds.

Count down.

3…

2..

1.

Then do it. Say it. Write it down. Type it. Send it.

This is by far the simplest tactic around and works wonders. Coupled with a tactic taken from “getting things done” which is to do something immediately if it takes two minutes or less will get you through all those little things throughout the day that need to be done.

In that we have another clue how to tackle acting in the present.

Take the smallest possible steps

A topic I’ve written about a lot, like presenting you with 8 steps to reclaiming responsibility. I’m a huge fan of keeping things simple, always looking for ways to make a step even smaller. So small in fact that you can take those steps within two minutes. And you immediately do those things that take two minutes or less.

The problem with being reluctant to act is have steps that are to big to take. If I ask you to write a book in a year, would you?

Or would you postpone the task because writing a book is just to much.

Now what if I asked you to write a short story of say, 1000 words. That’s not to hard now is it? Write a short story every day and let each story continue where the last one ended and you have a book in a year.

Small steps, they might be boring. You’re just writing a short story, not a book. You’re just writing a few lines of code, not a complete program and you’re not making an online income, you’re just making a single sell. Totally boring but take enough steps… Do I have to spell it out? Every single step is getting you closer. You know that feeling when you tick something off your to-do list? Maybe a quick picture will help you recall that feeling:

Do you remember the feeling?

Feels good doesn’t it, checking a box, finishing a task. Some people even write down extra tasks on their to-do-list just so they can experience the feeling of checking the box. With huge steps, you get to check a box once in a while. That is, if you ever finish it. With small steps, you get a lot of boxes to check and chances are you will.

So what is optimal?

Once you recognize that you have to act in the now:

• Identify the act to be done now
• Cut that act up in the smallest possible steps
• Stop procrastinating and do those small steps. (It takes you just a few minutes after all!)
• If you have a hard time getting over procrastination, apply the 3-2-1 Method

And if you doubt this approach, remember that My way is the Best Way

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What is personal development all about? Did you ever wonder what it is that has people all fired up and wanting to change their lives? The brief answer to that would be “You have control over your own life, you just have to take it”.

But taking control means taking action in one for or the other. This blogpost gives you the three options you have this very moment. The -only- three things you can do.

Keep in mind that you are living in the present, it might be stating the obvious but it’s a key factor in taking control. You can not change the past nor can you change the future. You are living right now, right here. You read the first few lines of this blogpost in the past, and now too, this line has become past. Can you unread? Can you skip ahead a few seconds and know what you are about to read without ever having to actually read it? Of course not.

It’s stating the obvious but it I can’t stress it enough: This very moment is the only moment there will ever be that you have any direct influence on. Yes you can influence the future, but the only way to do that is to take action in this moment. If you;re not going to take action now, then when?

The first pillar

I’ve asked you to look around in a lot of previous blogposts and I’m going to ask you again. Where are you right now, not only physically but also mentally, professionally. Who are you right now?

After you have looked at yourself and your surroundings ask yourself if you are happy with this very moment. Do you like where you are? Or would you rather escape into some fantasy world about the future or daydream about how great the past was (”One day I will …” or “When I was your age I …” ). Postponing action to some future when things will be “better”.

As I said, you have exactly three things you can do in this moment. The first one is what I just hinted at: You can escape the present moment into either the past or future, perhaps even some alternative reality you have fabricated in your mind. The present is not a place where you want to be so you flee it.

Almost everyone flees the present, through daydreaming and fantasy or reminiscing about the past. Perhaps even the near past “I wish I was back in bed, it was to early this morning” or looking forward to the near future “I’m looking forward to having this blogpost online and reading your comments”.

There are more destructive ways of fleeing the present, in the form of addictions in all their disguises. Numbing the senses with alcohol or drugs, or even with medication like anti-depressants because the present is just to depressing and you don’t want to deal with it. Roughly 10% of US citizens is using anti-depressants and any given time. A further 8% of US citizens abuses alcohol. So that’s at least 8-18% of the population fleeing reality. I can’t find numbers on drug abuse but all included I can imagine one person in every five uses these extreme measures to flee reality.

Your first pillar: Flee the present

If you run away from the only moment you can influence, you can’t develop. Clearly not the best tactic if you want to change your life or develop your person.

The second pillar

Look around again, is there anything there you want to change? No? Wonderful! You completely accept the current position you are in. You’re content with life as it is at this moment and you don’t want to change anything.

You’re one of the lucky few who are content with the present. You have no urge to flee it or do anything to change it. Either that or you can’t bring yourself to take action and to stop whatever it is you are doing right now and do something else.

On rare occasions it’s true that you are completely content and wouldn’t want to change the moment. It’s far more likely though that you don’t have the guts to do something because the present is safe. You’re current situation -though not desirable- is a safe place to stay. You’re keeping the status quo because you’re unsure about what would happen if you took action. It might all blow up in your face, things could go terribly wrong and you would loose whatever safety you have right now.

Your second pillar: Passively accept the present

If you’re content, you don’t have to change anything. You don’t have to develop. All is well and you like the status quo. Enjoy it while you can because you never know how long it will last. Rest uneasy, nothing is permanent.

The third pillar

The third option should come as no surprise. The first to pillars don’t have much to offer when it comes to personal development. It’s all coming down to this last option you have.

Look around once more, are you content with the present moment? Are you getting everything out of life that you want? Are you living the dream life? No! There is more to be done, things that could be better or different. You don’t flee the present but you’re not happy with how things are going right now.

Your third pillar: Act in the present

This one pillar is at the core of the entire personal development movement. Being unhappy with how things are going and wanting to change your life. The other two pillars are constantly trying to lure you away though. They are the easier options, there is no work involved, you just have to sit there and do nothing. And that is exactly what you are doing most of the time, just sitting there letting life pass you by, second by second. Those seconds will never come back, that moment is gone forever and the current moment isn’t the same.

Yes it’s frightening once you realise it. Your entire life is this moment, and it’s only in this moment that you can act. If not now, when?

Inspiration comes from the strangest places these days. I was reading a Terry Pratchett book “A hat full of sky” in wich a creature of sorts stalks a witch. It’s not able to die, not able to forget and not able to be unaware. It’s terrified of this world and just wants to die. It can’t cope with the continuous flood of its senses.

Boredom: the feeling you have when you’d rather be somewhere else than right here, right now.

Two of the greatest skills humans have according to this creature are being able to die, and being able to be bored. So what’s so special about being bored? If you look around you (as I often ask you to) you will notice only a hand full of things of what is actually going on around you. As I’m sitting here in a terminal room at uni I see my screen, hear my keyboard en have the lingering taste of coffee from the sip I just took.

But only after giving it some thought can I hear the terminal fans blowing, other people talking, pages being turned and the person next to me breathing softly while using the scroll wheel on his mouse. With even more effort I can hear more fans, people walking outside this room, the air conditioning and a myriad of noises coming from the corridor I can’t define.

Sensory overload

Imagine you couldn’t block out all those sounds, smells, and other sensory bombardments. How would your day be? Would you be able to concentrate on a single thing? Maybe not, you’d have to block out the rest to do so. But on the other hand. Would you ever be bored? Every second of every day presents you with new things to sense, new things to learn.

You’d go crazy. You would never get any rest because you can’t block out the sounds in your bedroom while you are trying to sleep. Everyone has those nights when they lie away and something in the background -just barely audible- is humming or making some other noise. It drives you crazy and the sound starts to grow into a deafening roar you can’t not hear. But look on the bright side, at least you’re not bored. You’re tired, cranky, and irritated, but not bored. You now have the joy of discovering all kinds of new (and probably irritating) sounds and sights while you’re trying to sleep. You will become aware of every little discomfort in your body and just can’t find a comfortable position.

You have all kinds of feelings, but you are definately not bored.

Shoulder surfing

A quick intermezzo here, the guy sitting next to me tells me he has ADHD and because of this he likes to learn while listening to music. Loud music probably judging by his long hair and band-shirt. The music allows him to block out all those other noises because they just aren’t loud enough to be heard anymore. I can’t imagine learning with loud music but if it works for you, who am I to try and stop you. Rock on!… or something like that.

Back to our blogpost.

What is boredom?

A while back I wrote a bit about being bored while driving. While you might think that taking things very slow is boring it rarely is. What am I saying, taking things slow never is boring. As long as you don’t block out all the senses. Going for a ten meter walk can be an adventure if you let it. Typing a single sentence is a journey across a keyboard. How can you ever be bored with all these things going on around you?

My interpretation of boredom is quite simple: It’s the feeling you have when you’d rather be somewhere else than right here, right now. If you’re bored you’re not experiencing what is going on right now. Because if you were, there is so much to discover and learn from this very moment that you wouldn’t be bored anymore.

Give it a go. The next time you’re bored, know that you are blocking out all kinds of experiences of the present moment and start experiencing them. Time won’t go any faster but moments will no longer pass in a blur. You’ll never get that time back. Time is a one way trip after all. You’d better make every second count. And if you’re bored, your missing out on all kinds of experiences.

How often have you heard the line “Fake it until you make it”? It’s a very common phrase used to create confidence and to make others perceive you as something you’re not. A better version of you or something. And now don’t get me started on what “better” is.

And that is exactly my problem with this. Why would you want to hide who you truly are from others? Claims of being authentic are nice and all, but why do you need to tell others you are authentic. It’s the same as me telling you I am a blogger. You have eyes don’t you? You have a brain, and you can think for yourself. I don’t need to tell you anything about me being authentic. Likewise why would you need to tell others what you are about or cover up who you really are.

Being Authentic

I could go on endlessly about authenticity but that’s exactly what I want you to stop doing. I don’t want you to fake anything or boast with all kinds of claims about who you secretly want to be. Being yourself is much more powerful because you no longer need to spend energy in pretending to be someone else you can use every bit of energy you have to good use in being who you are!

Stop faking

Who are you, and what have you done with the real you? How long have you been pretending to be someone you’re not just so people would like you or believe you. Wait a second, in order for people to believe you you have to lie to them? That is what faking it means, no matter how you look at it, it’s nothing more than a big lie. A means to an end you might say in defence. A great way to build confidence if you don’t have any yourself, or to get out of a cycle you’re in. Just pretend it’s not there right?

Reality check

Pretending is not reality, pretending is not the truth. As long as you present you will never realize what’s inside of you waiting to come out. Be authentic but do not make claims about it. Just keep your mouth shut and be who you actually are, we all have eyes and a brain, we’ll know the truth when we see it. And if we don’t, that’s our problem, not yours. Be you.

Who are you?

A strange word; knowing. Both in English and in Dutch (my native tongue) there is no word for the opposite of knowing. We just make due with something like “not-knowing,” immediately identifying it as in inferior to knowledge. It’s a simple fact of the Western world, we highly regard people with knowledge. So you’re constantly hiding the gaps in your knowledge, the things you do not know. Other words for not-knowing that are commonly used are dumb, stupid, ignorant and the list keeps going on. Not one word in the list is a simple flat “not-knowing” without the negative bias. You’re going to get one of those labels as soon as the word gets out that you don’t know. We value knowledge, not the absence of it. It’s of no use to us so there is no word for it. How stupid is that?!

The only thing I know is that I don’t know anything – Socrates

Where does knowledge come from? What is the source of knowledge, did you ever care to think about that one? Where does a painting come from, how did it start? How about this blogpost. Before it came to be, there was nothing there. A blank canvas, an empty screen with no words on it. That is what not-knowing is, total freedom to go in whatever direction you want. Once I start typing a blogpost it’s slowly taking form and the screen is getting filled. With each and every word committed to screen the possibilities become less and less. I’d have a hard time writing about speedreading in this blogpost now wouldn’t I, it would seem out of place. Now if only I had a blank screen.

Ode to the blank canvas

Freedom of thought can only be had with the blank canvas. Once you start adding stuff you’re committed and bound. These bonds are a part of every day life, you even treasure them, boasting with everything you know and keeping quiet about what you don’t. People would most certainly shun you if you confessed about not knowing. It’s a terrible state of mind to be in. Right?

By design, the modern human mind craves knowledge, especially in places where we can find none. When faced with an absence of information, we’ll make up something – we will believe and assume. This tendency appears to be universal – in every culture, some form of belief arises to fill in the lack of absolute “knowledge.” Every subculture with a set of beliefs clamors  to have the last word on the subject, claiming themselves the guardians of the Truth. Many of the different factions are willing to go to war over their inventions, but none is willing to confess that they simply don’t know what the truth is.
- Peter Ralston, The book of not knowing, 3:11

Not knowing definitely is a problem in the world these days, but why is that? Why is it that if you already filled your cup you’re applauded but if you offer an empty cup, than you’re looked down upon.

Believing or knowing, empty your cup

I’m going to give you an assignment to do:

1. Take a quiet seat somewhere and let anything and everything come to mind. There’s is a lot in your mind so expect a flood of things.
2. For all those things, ask yourself if those things are just beliefs or something you actually personally experienced. You’ll quickly discover that a lot of things you “know” are nothing more that beliefs.

Two very simple examples: The North Pole is cold and it’s hard to breathe on the summit Mt. Everest. Have you personally experienced these? No you haven’t, and still you claim to know these two statements to be true. For that matter, did you ever experience the earth not being as flat as was common belief in the Middle Ages?

These two are extremes and you can quickly recognize the belief factor. Accepting these two isn’t to hard, but getting to grips with not-knowing a lot of the things you belief is very frightening indeed. Suddenly the earth on which you built your life starts sliding, it’s not even sliding, it’s simply no longer there. *POOF* It’s hard to build a house on no-ground so the gaping hole is filled with beliefs.

A single exposed belief can cause a cascade effect that shatters your beliefs and your house falls down. Not-knowing is frightening isn’t it? But not-knowing does have one huge benefit over believing: It’s always the same, always true. It’s not going to go anywhere. And it’s your blank canvas! Shattering beliefs leaves you with the possibility to actually start experiencing and knowing. What’s worse, believing or not-knowing?

Admit it, you don’t know a fraction of what you believe you know! Empty your cup and enjoy.

A blind man left his village and followed the winding path through the forest. He was on his way to see his friend in the neighboring hamlet. After his arrival, the two friends spent many happy hours together. At last, it was time for the blind man to return to his village.

“Here,” his friend said, “it is already nightfall. Take this lantern with you.”

“Lantern? What good is a lantern to a blind man?” he asked.

“It is to avoid accidents. It will help other travelers on the narrow path see you coming.”

With this thought in mind, the blind man took the lantern; thanked his friend, and went on his way. While plodding along the meandering path, he enjoyed the cool, fragrant mist which enveloped both him and the sound of chirping crickets. However, imagine his surprise when nearly home, he suddenly collided with a huge man.

“Fool! Why don’t you watch where you’re going?” the big man shouted.

“Why didn’t you see my lantern?” asked the blind man.

“Lantern? Oh, yes, . . . Well, the candle is out!”

An interesting story, but you might wonder what the significance of it all is. Well, see the lantern as the Truth, it enlightens everything around it. All is good until the lantern gets handed down the line for the ones recieving it can’t see the lantern for what it really is. Claiming to carry the truth but it’s no longer enlightening. Is it the same latern anymore, having lost it’s function?

Exactly this is what happens all around us, we get something handed down but don’t know what it really is. We just assume it’s right (a burning lantern) and blindly we follow it, never seeing that the lantern in fact is no longer enlightening us. What’s more we tell others that it’s the lantern of Truth and hand it down to them, further and further it goes, but what is actually passed on?

Assuming that what we are being told is the truth is all around us. If we didn’t assume things teachers would have a very hard time trying to teach. All we can do is assume they are right. But should we always take it for the truth? Who says the ones teaching us know the Truth? Sometimes it’s better to experience for yourself. Nobody can teach you the taste of coffee, the pain of hitting a wall or the loss of subscribers because of a sales pitch. Some things you’ll just have to experience for yourself in order to know what is and what isn’t true.

Question what others claim to be true and experience for yourself, it truly is the best way to learn and it makes a far greater impact. The best lessens in life are learned this way.

Nan-in, a Japanese master during the Meiji era (1868-1912), received a university professor who came to inquire about Zen.

Nan-in served tea. He poured his visitor’s cup full, and then kept on pouring.

The professor watched the overflow until he no longer could restrain himself. “It is overfull. No more will go in!”

“Like this cup,” Nan-in said, “you are full of your own opinions and speculations. How can I show you Zen unless you first empty your cup?”

Have you ever heard of value rigidity or conceptual rigidity? You encounter them either in yourself or in others every day of your life. It’s where your opinions and perspectives preclude you from seeing things in a new light or appreciate something new. Incapable of letting go of your cherished view of the world or some part of it you reject anything that does not fit in according to how you look upon things. Like the professor, your cup is full and you’re not inclined in the least to empty it so something new can fit in. Preconceptions rule your view, you’re stuck.

Does this sound like you? It might not, maybe it reminds you of somebody you know. Value rigidity and conceptual rigidity are the products of a closed mind. Keeping an open mind helps prevent or perhaps overcome these issues. That is, if you’re bothered by them at least. It might be that the closed mind has become a refuge, a safe haven where you feel (or that person you know feels) comfortable and getting out of that safety into an uncertain world would be terrifying.

In Pirsig’s “Zen and the art of motorcycle maintenance” The story is presented of the old South Indian monkey trap as an illustration of value rigidity. The trap consists of a coconut or small box with a hole that is bog enough for the monkey’s open flexible hand to fit through, but to small for his clenched fist. The trap is baited with whatever food it is the monkey would find appealing and the trap is fastened to a tree or stake. Of course the monkey has no problems with getting his furry little hand into the hole and grab the food, but getting that clenched fist out, well, let’s just say we now have a very confused and frustrated monkey with his hand stuck in a hole. The obvious solution to the Homo Sapiens monkeybrain would be to let go of the food for the moment and find another way. Evolution wasn’t to kind on our little furry friend though and he just can’t wrap is head around it. The food in his hand is to important to let go, no matter the cost. Enter our South Indian friend, exit monkey and enter monkey stew…

Now this story might seem silly but it’s something that happens in a daily basis. Have you ever attended a class where beforehand you “knew” that it would be boring? Perhaps even an entire course that has you feeling depressed beforehand just because what you’ve been told by students who have already taken that course. In a few weeks the new semester will begin at my university and we (my fellow students and me) have already started to size up the courses, trying to figure out what to expect. Combine this with my rigid idea that I’m allergic to math and things get ugly. Especially when it turned out that there are not one, but two courses labeled “math” that I will be taking. Panic is slowly flowing into my thoughts as the semester closes in for the kill. But still I can’t let go of the old idea that math is evil. For over ten years now, my math-cup has been full. Letting go of what you think you know will allow you to experience what’s really going on. How do you know something is no good if you haven’t experienced it first hand without preconceptions?

The first step in dealing with rigidity is awareness. I hope you saw that one coming a mile away as it’s the first step in solving just about any problem out there. You can’t solve a problem if you don’t know it’s there, obviously. To expand solutions to these issues, you have to expand conceptual boundaries. Sometimes the expansion of conceptual boundaries requires reducing value rigidity. Narrow-mindedness might stop you from seeing the solution because it’s outside of your current views. You know value rigidity or conceptual rigidity is present when you hear something or read something that sets off a mental alarm and you feel your mind racing, picking up arms and getting ready to brawl. Now you actually have a choice right at that moment – if you are aware of your mind getting ready – either you let your mind run wild, or you let yourself relax and examine what it is that set off the alarm. Examine it without prejudging.

No expectations, no preconceptions, no rigidity. The open mind is supple and alert, ready for anything because anything can happen. The closed mind is rigid, tense and brittle refusing to acknowledge things that can happen that are outside the box.

Sitting there attending a lecture my mind starts to wander. Thoughts go all over the place and I think of anything but what is going on right here. Right now…

Does that sound familiar? If you’ve ever attended a lecture where the lecturer just wasn’t connecting with you I’m sure you can relate. Being in two places at one time or two times in one place is a constantly recurring problem that distracts our attentions to the here and now. We think about what we have to do after this lecture, or some place we’d rather be. This last thing is so important to us humans that we even have a word for the feeling of wanting to be anywhere else but here: boredom.

While you were reading this section of the blogpost, was that all you were doing or was your mid wandering a bit and were you still thinking about those few very boring lectures where you literally fell asleep and dreaming of coffee.

A good lecturer has the skills to keep you right there and then. One of my teachers in particular has this down to an art-from although he doesn’t believe so himself. What sets him apart from the others is that he doesn’t use powerpoint and a beamer to give his lecture. Blackboard after blackboard gets filled with usefulness and you better write it all down because you know you will need it on your exams. Other teachers use powerpoints so there is no essential need to write things down. After all, the slides will become available online after the lecture. Soon the mind starts wandering because the opportunity is there. Nothing is growing in front of you, it’s just instantly there and complete, no need to think, let alone trying to understand where things are going.

In short, your energy is constantly being divided between the present and some other time. The Zen solution to time-place dissonance, and all other problems related to, like anxiety and worry, is simple: Do only what you are doing in the present. Brilliantly simple and yet so hard to do. Maybe if we put it in other words: “Thought for today: No matter where you go, there you are.” A simple truth and something that has resulted in life-long studies and constant attempts of reaching this state. Sometimes also called mindfulness, a very popular phrase these days.

The quiet open mind

Going back to that lecture and boredom. You’re sitting there in that bench and there is no place you can go right? You have to be there, it’s either compulsory or you convinced yourself somewhere in the past that you needed to walk in to this classroom and attend this lecture. So there you are, craving coffee perhaps and desperately letting your mind wander. How about this thought: “As long as you have to be there, be there!” Think about that one next time your mind starts to wander.

An open, quiet mind approaching the task at hand enthusiastically. Knowing that whatever the task, you need to stick with it until it is done. The doing is more important than what gets done. After all, there is always more to be done so if you get your satisfaction from getting it done you will constantly struggle for the next fix. If you get your fix from the doing, your fix can be almost constant, only the finishing of the task gets in the way but shortly after you get to do something else. What bliss.

You get the most out of things if you actually are there while doing them. A fantasy or a dream of course will not give you that same satisfaction. But the trap of fantasy and dream is all to easy to slip in to, especially if you’re bored – that is – your mind is screaming it doesn’t want to be in this place you are right now.

It’s especially hard to stay focused if something goes wrong while you’re focused. A huge programming error that forces you to discard the code you wrote in the last two hours and start fresh. (although I doubt you’ll feel refreshed.) It will leave you with a reluctance to put in another two hours. What if you make another mistake and need to discard the code again.

Making mistakes and having hours of work reduced to uselessness is a fact of life. Everybody has that problem. It’s what you do when that happens that’s the interesting part. Do you give up and start daydreaming? Or do you realize that the task at hand is yours and you can get great pleasure from the doing. A programming error sucks, most definitely. But the act of programming itself (if you enjoy such things) is something to be enjoyed.

No matter where you go, there you are
No matter what you do, do it the best way you can
It’s not like you have anything else to do right now