Rediscovering Photography: My "Flow" Activity

On Saturday, I had the wonderful opportunity to attend a mindfulness workshop through the Karuna School in Lincoln, Massachusetts led by Daniel Rechtschaffen.  He talked about how life moves so quickly.  We get shaken up like snow globes and our minds keep going.  Mindfulness is the practice of letting our minds relax, befriending and taming our minds with discipline and care, with sweet dedication and steadfast determination.

One of the mindfulness practices Daniel discussed and had us practice was meditation.  As an asthmatic, traditional meditation practices of focusing on my breathing often do not work for me.  In fact, they can be some of the most stressful activities!  So I was very excited when Daniel taught us some breathing actvities that linked movements with breathing.  Shifting the attention from the act of breathing allowed me to relax and opened my lungs right up!

Another type of mindfulness Daniel discussed was the mind in motion-- being in the zone as with sports or a favorite activity.  A workshop participant mentioned the idea of "flow" (when one is thoroughly engaged in an activity) which Daniel said was the same idea. 

Photography is a "flow" activity for me.  When I take a camera in my hands and take pictures, especially outside, I become totally absorbed in the momeny-- my focus completely tuned into the light, the shadows, the colors, the composition.

For the past three weeks, there has been no photography.  My computer, sent away to be fixed, has left me without my store of pictures on iphoto.  Last week, my friend Grace called me out on my flimsy excuse for not taking pictures-- telling me that I still had iphoto on the "loaner" computer that I've been using and that I could store my photos on my memory card.  Very true, I thought.  As a result, I've carried my camera with me for the past few days-- without actually using it until early this afternoon.  Something about the bright fire orange red leaves called out to me in the front of my school building....

as well as the last few leaves left dangling on another tree...

Then as I drove to a meeting across town, more magnificent trees called out to me, literally bursting with color.  So I pulled my car over to the side of the road and began snapping again....

Driving home from my meeting, the world seemed suddenly more vibrant.  Inspiration struck and drew me towards one of my favorite spots, a place that I have not visited for far too long, Spy Pond.

You can't get much more New England than this-- rowing crew on a pond with the beautiful fall foliage!

According to Daniel, the world isn't boring.  The world is miraculous and we are the ones who are shut down if we feel bored.  He says that boredom is a smokescreen over the present moment when your connection to the magic of the world is severed.

Until my photography expedition this afternoon, I did not realize how "bored" I've been the last few weeks without my camera.  As Daniel says, "The more mindful you are, the more wonder there is out there."  Driving around this afternoon, the New England fall landscape appeared magical and wondrous.


Questions to Ponder:

1.  What is your "flow" activity?
2.  How do you feel when you're engaged in your "flow activity"?
3.  When do you feel in the zone?

Mindfulness Exercise: Eating a Raisin

Today I had the wonderful opportunity to attend a day long mindfulness workshop through the Karuna School in Lincoln led by Daniel Rechtschaffen.  During this workshop, I learned some new mindfulness exercises for myself and my students, some new breathing exercises, and some new ways to engage in meditative activities even when my asthma/allergies are bothering me (and yes, they did flare up today in the middle of the workshop!)

One activity today that I got a lot out of involved a raisin.  Perhaps it was because we had been engaging in quiet activities leading up to it, but my senses seemed to be heightened, enhancing the experience.

In writing this blog entry, I debated whether or not to write about what I experienced during this activity.  Ultimately, I decided not to because I do not want to superimpose my experience for anyone who wants to try it on their own.

1.  Take two raisins-- place one in each hand.   Roll them around, feel them with your fingertips. What do they feel like?   Squish them a little bit.  How does that feel?

2.  Close your eyes.  Put the raisin up to your nose.  Really take in the smell.  What does it smell like?  Put the other raisin up to your nose.  Does it have the same smell as the first one or do they smell different?

3.  Place one raisin on your tongue. Close your mouth.  Roll it around with your tongue  and move it around your mouth.  Pay attention to the way your tongue moves.  What does it feel like?  What do you taste?


4.  Eat your raisin slowly.  Notice the way your jaw moves, your tongue moves.  What was it like to eat the raisin?  What did it taste like?  Repeat the same thing with the second raisin.  Was the experience the same?  Did the two raisins taste the same?


As I participated in this activity, I was surprised-- learned things and experienced sensations that I did not expect to.  This is an open invitation to anyone who would like to try this.  Go to your cupboards, your cabinets, your shelves, your local grocery store and open up a box of raisins and eat one as if for the first time.  Feel free to leave a comment about your experience.  I'm also curious about what this activity is like for other types of food.  If anyone tries something else, I'd be interested in hearing about your experiences too.