A Brave Face of Mindfulness

These days, when I take the lead in conversations, the topic often moves to meditation; and especially to mindfulness; and especially to its neurological correlates and to their roots in evolutionary psychology.

The vocabulary can be daunting but the underlying concepts are straightforward and easy for most people to accept.

Each of the following bullet points is easy to grasp but together they lead to a potentially empowering  conclusion .

• Your mind and your brain are two ways of thinking about the same thing – your mindbrain.
• Your mindbrain is modular – different parts of it have different jobs to do.
• The mindbrain modules evolved to ensure the survival of our ancestors (going back at least to  fish)
• The basic structure of your mindbrain is genetically hardwired (your nature) but the details are added by your environment (your nurture). Eg you are hardwired to learn a language but the actual language you learn depends on where you grow up.
• The mindbrain’s first job is to receive the information sent from your various sense organs  (ie eyes, ears, nose, tongue, skin and various other internal sense organs that tell of body posture, muscle tone and progress with the various life processes (eg feeding, breathing, urinating etc).)
• The mindbrain’s second job is to match incoming information with similar information held in memory (hardwired or learned) and therefore decide how best to react or respond.
• Note that you can react very quickly without thinking (by using your intuition or instincts); or you can respond more slowly and after much thought (by using your intelligence).
• When the mindbrain reacts or responds to a wide range of stimuli we say that it is conscious. An analogy. Imagine consciousness to be an iceberg. We are consciously aware of only the tiny tip that sticks above the surface. Most of what happens in the mindbrain is not known to the self conscious part -  it is thought of as the unconscious.
• Another analogy. Imagine a table in the middle of your head. It is your attention centre. The unconscious throws thoughts and feelings on the table. They capture your full attention but they do not last long before being replaced by the next package from the unconscious.
• If you stop to think it seems as if the mind has a mind of its own and that you are not in control.
• Another analogy. Imagine yourself to be a non-judgmental witness who watches the thoughts and feelings entering and leaving the attention centre. This creates two versions of ‘I’ – a supposed unconscious I who generates the thoughts and feelings and, a supposed conscious I who is the witness that calmly notices.
• To cut a long story short we can say that liberation or enlightenment follows the growth and development of the witness.
• The ephemeral nature of all thoughts and feelings is realised and this includes the notion of the calm witness. The effortless renunciation of world views follows automatically.
• We are conditioned by nature, nurture and chance to be this way rather than that. But nothing is set in stone. By taking thought we can be re-conditoned. It is never too late to change your mindbrain
• It is possible for you to change your self but it helps to have a teacher and a community of like-minded souls.

I have chatted with several people recently. Good people. Energetic and systematic. Shakers and movers. They make things happen. They have long to-do-lists.

But most of them are so busy that they have no time to stand and stare – and neither are they inclined to have any – they get bored very easily. They have no appetite for just sitting, for simple being rather than for phrenetic doing. They do not have the patience for stillness.

My first impression of such people is normally of amazement and admiration. Where do they find the energy, how do they stay motivated? What is the basis of the self discipline needed to keep all their projects in line? They are truly the Good and Great and my Elders and Betters (although they are not often my elders these days!)

My second impression of such people is often of compassion and concern. This follows periods of deep chat and sharing from the heart. They often admit to having serious problems with relationships amongst family (parents, partners, progeny), friends (male and female, long standing and new) and in the workplace (power politics and issues of competence and trust).

In many cases the busy-ness enables non-egoic distraction from the gruesome ‘stuff’ in which they are immersed. They become workaholics and are adept at putting on a brave face.

I know because I have been there and done it several times in several countries. I worked busy, medium-term contracts then took time out to reflect on what had been going on – both professionally and personally. In my forty working years eight were on retreat.

During all that time my mindfulness practice ebbed and flowed. I am presently three years into retirement from paid work and the mindfulness practice remains hit or miss; but it is now far enough advanced that the hindrance that is doubt rarely commandeers the attention centre. Mindfulness is thus the sermon that bears preaching and the gift I recommend to ameliorate the ‘stuff’ behind the brave faces.

"It takes a lot of practice to unlearn umpteen millennia of human conditioning. This is where [Zen meditation] is helpful. You sit there very quietly, and very still and allow yourself to be exactly as you are. Then, each time you get up and reenter the world you do so a little bit quieter and with a little bit more stability."
~ Brad Warner