You know those moments when you're utterly captivated?
Perhaps you hear a beautiful piece of music, or find yourself immersed in the sights and smells of a new city, or encounter, for the first time, an incredible living creature in the wild (like a Joshua tree!).
In these moments of being, we tend to be pulled into our senses, directly taking in the world. The stream of self-narration - along with its worry, fear, and judgement - tends to go quiet. We're here, and we want to be. We're not trying to get anywhere else, or be anyone different. It's a lovely way to be in the world. But, of course, it's not always like that.
For me, at least, I have so many moments of wanting things to be other than they are. If I break a glass, or discover plaster falling from my ceiling, or find my writing isn't going as well as I'd hoped, I don't like it. I push against it, wishing things were different. In that state, I tend to lose touch with my senses, and get lost in turbulent thoughts - this adds on an extra layer of struggle as I don't want the thoughts either. As you've likely noticed, it can feel a lot harder to turn towards these difficult moments. To be here, and want to be.
And so, that's why we practice. To learn to be here, more often. To catch the delightful captivating moments. To meet the difficult moments with the supportive and kind attention that we're learning to cultivate. To be here, as we can, for these rich and varied moments of our lives.
In this month's Mindfulness & Creativity session, we'll practice with these moments of being, bringing attention to our senses. I'd like to have some fun with this, and invite you to bring an object that inspires your curiosity and interest. It could be a toy, a plant, a piece of art - anything you like, but ideally, something you can touch. Along with our meditation practice, we'll explore this object and the creative possibility that may be found in our moments of being.
I look forward to seeing you on Sunday!
Hannah
P.S. This month's theme is borrowed from Moments of Being: a lovely collection of autobiographical essays by Virginia Woolf.
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