Monthly Archives: September 2012

Setting Context For Circling Lab (Part 1)

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At The Integral Center, I facilitate our Circling Lab, Circling Fundamentals, and Circling Happy Hour.

Circling is shorthand for what we like to call Intersubjective Meditation.

I like to start off our Fundamentals class with some basic distinctions on what makes this practice “Intersubjective” as well as set some context for the practice.

First off, let’s take a basic look at the practice of meditation itself, and compare it to the art and practice of Intersubjective meditation (AKA Circling).

Meditation is a  term used to cover a wide variety of practices or disciplines.  It’s like the term yoga, or sports.  It can mean a lot of different things.

(I’m about to simplify things here. I like to keep my blog posts short, and this is a subject that volumes have been written upon in the past. Bare with me. I’m not looking to write an anthology.)

In most mental disciplines of meditation, the practice can be divided in to two categories: concentration, or contemplation.

Examples of concentration meditation practices could be as simple as focusing on your breath for a certain length of time. Also, as in Transcendental Meditation, one could focus on a mantra. Or a candle flame. Or a mandala. Or mindfulness. Or your Aunt Marietta’s meatloaf. Or anything really.

The point of this practice is to focus your attention on the object of concentration. If (really, if I’m going to be 100% honest, I should say when) you should notice your attention drift, you immediately bring it back to the object of your focus.  This practice helps build the discipline of concentration and focus over time, with practice.

The other discipline is one of contemplation. Contemplation is another one of those “tricky” words that means different things to different people. As I am using it here, I’ll refer to it as content-free mind directed towards awareness.

(“Content free mind directed towards awareness” is in, of itself, a pretty tall order.  AND, that’s why we call it practice.  I prefer to go easy on myself and direct my mind back if (when) it begins to drift.)

Now, anything that should arise within ones consciousness during a meditation practice is a purely subjective experience. Nobody, except the one doing the meditation, has any authority over what occurred to the person meditating. It was purely their own experience.

This is where I would introduce the concept of “Intersubjective Meditation”.

Should I Give up? Or should I let go?

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Listening to this interview with Fred Armisen by Alec Baldwin on “Here’s the Thing”.

Fred spent 10 years in an indie rock band. It sounds like he loved it.

One night he saw another drummer in another band who was about 10 years older than him, still sleeping on floors, still lugging his own gear, and he decided he didn’t want that.

We have a belief in our culture, if you put in the hours, and you stick to it, you will be successful. That might be true, depending on your definition of success.

But Armisen was not satisfied. He let go and followed his intuition.

He started video taping interviews with unsigned bands, in his own style of funny voices and wit.  From there, he started sharing the videos. Which led to hosting shorts on HBO, which led to his job on SNL.

He had the courage to let go of his original idea, and allowed what was naturally arising in him to happen. Had he not have had that courage, I know my life would have had less laughter.

Motivation in the Now

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I find that I enjoy being in the present moment.
So much of transformational work is being in the “now”. I know I enjoy it, and also that it can be a way for me to “check out”. Being in the now can keep me from getting things done, being motivated.  If I’m present in the moment, I’m not concerned with the future, therefore, creating my future often takes a backseat to the moment I’m now in.

Finding the balance for me looks like being present while creating the future.

Rules as freedom

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Thinking today about the use of rules as a way to liberate creativity. inspired by a talk from David Byrne about the rules he had in the Talking Heads. No guitar solos. Everyday language. (no baby baby baby pop music speak ). No two instruments playing the same thing. Thinking of this post as a reminder for future posts.  #2 in the can.