Tuesday, October 25, 2016

The smile on a dog ...


I borrowed the title of this epigraph from an old song that's knocking around in my mind; that's just how I feel today, like a smiling dog.

There's a lot of talk out there about motivating yourself by working on your self-talk -- you can do it!  Have an attitude of gratitude!  and so on...   But I feel best and work best when my thoughts are quiet.

I don't mean the quiet of meditation, at least not exactly.  I mean the quiet of focus.

There is more than one kind of focus, too.  For example, there is focused intent.  This might be closest to what the Flow masters talk about.

There is the focused awareness.  Not holding onto anyone thing.  This is more like meditation, but meditation is not necessary to get there.  I most often get this when walking down a street or hiking down a trail.

But focus, by which I mean attention without words, can go beyond the dichotomy of awareness and intent. A kind of focus is felt when considering the behavior of others. Often, I feel this kind of focus when watching others:  the play of children, an act of kindness between two strangers.

On another level, a kind of focus appears in the joy of physical activity.  Running down a trail for the heck of it, instead of trying to meet a distance or a time. Jumping.  Dancing.

At bottom, because of the lack of inner words, it is ultimately un-self-conscious.  But saying it is the state of no self or ego, is incorrect too.  The self is there, but supercharged. Powerfully Present.

#Awareness #Intent #Meditation

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