Aimless Walking: An Allowing Practice for Your Wandering Mind
A 正念 practice for mind-wanderers that emphasizes wandering and spaciousness over concentration and focus.
- By Stephany Tlalka
- September 22, 2017
- Focus
正念 has experienced a wandering backlash. Every few years, a study or a Goop “wellness protocol” (pick your poison) seeks to recalibrate our relationship to the present moment. Fifty per cent of our time is spent with our head in the clouds, they say. Too much of our time is spent watching our favorite bands lovingly compose songs from Game of Thrones accompanied by an orchestra, they say.
But what if I told you the pioneer of 正念 himself regarded an inquisitive brain that followed its natural instincts not as the enemy of 正念, but as another form of practicing awareness? It’s practiced as part of the Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) curriculum as a technique called choiceless awareness, which roughly translates into being open to what unfolds in front of you, what emerges in your mind.
Aimless wandering is also one of those practices.
Going Nowhere as a 正念 Practice
In the video below, Editor-in-Chief Barry Boyce takes us on an aimless walk. On a park bench between locations, he provides some insight into why we can meander down a park path admiring trees, bother strangers for plantain chips, and call this random cluster of activities a 正念 practice—one that some meditation teachers actually consider more advanced.
Stephany Tlalka: One of the key definitions we talk about is “正念 is the practice of paying attention to the present moment, on purpose, non-judgmentally,” but here we are engaging in a practice that is intentionally letting the mind wander.
The mind has a capability to focus and it has a huge capability for spaciousness. Why 正念 practice, particularly in the beginning, pays so much attention to focusing in the present moment is because our minds get caught up in thought loops that we can obsess over and we are not present for what’s around us.
当我们允许自己有一点宽广时，这也是一种存在的状态。你不必专注于任何特定的事物。
当我们允许自己有一点宽广时，这也是一种存在的状态。你不必专注于任何特定的事物。你有一种自然的轻松和自然的觉知在背景中，正如 Jon Kabat-Zinn 在 MBSR 后期所教授的 无选择觉知：你真的别无选择，只能觉知，所以你可以让你的心自由地游荡，因为你基本上是觉知的。我们相信觉知是根本的，而焦躁的分心是对它的强加。它掩盖了觉知但没有消灭它。
_如何区分漫无目的地漫步或行走与 正式冥想，即坐下来练习5分钟、10分钟或20分钟以上，以及像刷牙时带入正念这样的日常正念实践。_
让我们谈谈日常的正念实践，比如洗碗时的正念。所以当你开始觉得 哦，这是一项任务。你让自己的思绪飘走，它可能会抓住第一个可以痴迷的东西，不知不觉中，你已经不再洗碗了。所以这些都是使用你正在做的事情作为回到你所在时刻的锚点的机会，回到你的身体和心灵。在 静坐正式正念冥想 中，我们倾向于使用呼吸作为锚点。
但是这种实践，漫无目的的漫步，更多的是关于信任基本的觉知已经在那儿，并且不需要被工作。所以你给自己一个机会通过只是闲逛和存在来刷新你的思维和生活，跟随下一件事。
漫无目的的漫步更多是关于信任基本的觉知已经在那儿，并且不需要被工作。它强调宽广性多于专注或集中。
漫无目的的漫步更多是关于信任基本的觉知已经在那儿，并且不需要被工作。它强调宽广性多于专注或集中。正念总体上包含正念 和 觉知，在我使用的术语中。觉知是一种更大的东西——对周围的一切都觉知，而不仅仅是 关于你。这是关键。所以当你四处走动时，你会放松对自己焦点的关注——你只是开始注意到事物并朝它们走去，享受它们并欣赏它们。
一些人会说这是一种更高级的实践。也许在某种程度上是正确的，但它也是一种任何人都可以在任何时候进行的实践。我会说它属于自然正念和觉知的范畴，不是你必须认真去工作和努力维持的东西。它绝对不能替代基础的正念实践；它是对其的补充。