Advice on meditation from, um, Upworthy

What’s the opposite of clickbait? Someone shared this article with me on Facebook, and I actually agree with it. The Upworthyish writing style doesn’t seem appropriate, but the points are good.

I sort of discovered these “mindful pauses” for myself: standing on the train; sitting at my desk wondering what to do next; lying in bed at 2 a.m.

But, as Krop says, “[t]he hardest part isn’t actually completing the mindful pause itself; it’s remembering to do it in the first place.” He’s the expert, but I wonder if linking these pauses to specific moments in the day is actually a good idea.

Self-mastery

TrainingPeaks, as so often, has an interesting blog post on “How Swimming, Biking, and Running Cultivates [sic] Self-Reliance”. (What TP should perhaps improve is their copy-editing!) I’ve often thought that what draws me to endurance exercise is self-mastery—especially mastery over my demons.

The notion of definite, objective standards of accomplishment is interesting, because many of us do live in a world where it’s unclear if you’re doing a good job, or why.

Meditation, labelling, paying attention, not being bored …

Just read another at-least-half-decent article on meditating: “Neuroscience of Meditation: How to Make Your Mind Awesome”, by Eric Barker. Over the last few years I’ve tried to meditate, but I always forget to do it today, now, soon. It gets put off, and then not done.

The most important thing, to me, tho’, has been paying attention: instead of being bored, or having my mind (“Lefty”, in Barker’s word) bring me down with “monkey thoughts”, it’s just been to observe, to note, to absorb. If I do that—waiting for a bus, on the bus, wondering what to do next—then I feel lighter, readier, more decisive.

So, slowly, ever so slowly, well into my sixties now, maybe I’m figuring it out. Or part of it.