After today, I will never not think of myself as a carrot in the soup of unified consciousness. I'm also full in on woo, having figured out how to soften my wizened heart into a ripe homing device and discovering the vast joyful benevolence of reality as a result. (Even if I am, at this moment, peeved at various people and deeply unfocused. It's not heaven on earth, is what I mean, but it's a whole lot better than it was before I started meditating on love.) I've found that the only way to talk about the mystical stuff is through humor and absurdity and I'm certain that whoever made this soup would agree.
Yes! As you mention, "it's not heaven on earth". Whenever I write about this kind of stuff, my fear is that people will think I'm being holier-than-thou or that I'm trying to tell them what to do or how to think. I'm always careful to make it clear that I'm still a mess, hahaha. Or well, not a mess exactly, but definitely not "all zen or whatever". Just another carrot going on my daily walk 🥕🥕🥕
You, you glorious carrot, have reminded me that meditation can be practiced in many ways; moving, being very much one of them. It is relief to strip away the discipline of “sitting”. Taking us along on your regular walk has shown how we can access mindfulness while right in the thick of life. Thanks for that!
To be clear, I still meditate while sitting... I think it's good to have that practice where there's less distraction, too. But yes, while walking is great! Now to somehow remember to incorporate it at any old time! (Hello dishwashing?) 😜🥕😜🥕😜🥕
Rely love this post. I agree that woo woo is real—and not in the "I'm mainly making this my aesthetic and personality" way. (Not to shame anyone if that's their thing.) Much of what you've written speaks to me. The walks. The awareness of things around you. The neuroplasticity. The anxiety about the future. Your post has soothed my anxious brain this early morning. I'm going to check out the Waking Up thing. Thanks for writing this post, BA.
Thank *you*, Renée! You can try Waking Up for free for three months, I believe. If you try it, start with the Introductory course. Otherwise the site can be very overwhelming!
Love this! I’ve been thinking a lot about how the intellect isn’t the only game in town too, and how things get weird when you try to articulate that — IMO bc our culture values whatever sounds scientific and devalues what can’t be quantified. Regardless, those moments of presence are so important. Woo woo IS real!!!
Yes, most definitely our culture devalues what can't be quantified! And we can see how far that's gotten us 🤔. Well in fact it *has* taken us far in certain respects, but at what cost. And these days, boy oh boy, we could really use some tree energy!
Oh woo-woo is totally real! I come from Brazil and we love all kinds of woo-woo. We have vast amounts of techniques to avoid bad juju, from having coarse salt by the door to having specific plants to wearing a red wristband. We also totally believe in ghosts and entities that can speak to us in religious settings. My grandma needs to perform about 10 rituals on New Year’s, all at the same time, and if it’s not exactly at midnight, they dont work. It includes stepping on a chair with only your right foot, eating popcorn, grapes, lentils and pomegranate, right before reaching the salt to sprinkle over our shoulders. It’s intense and we fear for her falling from the chair and breaking her hip. But man, do I love all this crazyness? I-LOVE-IT! From my point of view, it makes life much more fun. But I live in Sweden now, and nobody cares about woo-woo. I feel like half of me is missing.
So I was intrigued by your post title! And when I read it I thought “well, mindfulness is not woo-woo at all”. I guess it all depends on perspective, heavily influenced by culture, right? I’d say most Brazilians would consider mindfulness a super scientific thing. But i actually really appreciated your writing, because even though I’ve meditated before, I’ve read books about meditation, and I totally believe in it, somehow, I was never convinced I would be able to enjoy the benefits of it in my personal life. I’m not a consistent meditator, and maybe due to that, it never really helped me. But the way you described how being mindful during your walks helps you being more leveled on your day-to-day life has allowed me to believe that I can do that too, and have the same benefits. I also walk (almost) everyday, and I will make sure to add mindfulness to it. Thanks for that!
Thank you Raquel for your great long comment! You're right, mindfulness is not Woo-Woo... or at least, shouldn't be considered so. Certainly not when you put it next to Brazilian JuJu, haha. I guess it's just a testament to how hesitant I felt to write about these things that I would equate my habits with Woo-Woo. I think that to some people, anything that cannot be understood by the rational mind is Woo-Woo. Anyhoo YES, it all depends on perspective!
Boy, you couldn't have gone to a more different place, living in Sweden. Not that I've ever been to Brazil, but I've been to Sweden once and Denmark many times. Going to Denmark for Christmas this year, in fact!
Meditating consistently has definitely helped me, along with doing breathing exercises for nervous sytem regulation. I miss some days of course, but this year I've made a point of making it a priority and I can 100% feel the difference. (I was more consistent a few years back, so I knew it would be so). What I'm referring to here is sitting in my studio meditating for ten minutes and doing breathing exercises for 5 minutes. Fifteen measly minutes a day, but no small feat to stick with! I believe that what I do as I'm walking is the way in which it has spread into my "real life". I've also started to have other moments during the day where I remember that everything is inseparable from me, and I get out of my nattering head for a second. I wish I was better at describing this.
Thank you for keeping your stuff mostly free. Living on a fixed income in 3rd World country and currency - cannot afford to be a paid subscriber - but so love reading your posts. And yes, agree, woo-woo is real. You've got me thinking - what kind of ingredient in the soup am I?
Well, not to get too technical about my non-duality soup, but I believe we are all carrots and not-carrots, we are all the broth and not-broth... I could go on but hopefully you get my point, such as it is 😅. Thank you so much for reading!
Hopefully your lovely country will still allow folks from the US in for a visit... 😆 I've got friends in OR and WA so that would be a great trip to combine visiting them too!
Love this post. Yes to the woo! And you, the cooked carrot--thank you for that excellent image. And keeping it real with those curtains! Enya (snicker).
Woo woo is indeed real, and I also spent many years poo poo-ing it until various life quakes (love it!) humbled me and made me less rigid. Wish I got here sooner, but glad to be here now in the soup. BE HERE NOW! Great post, you’re inspiring me to get back into a more regular meditation routine. My focus/attention has been so fragmented lately ugh
BE HERE NOW! I knew someone who had that book when I was a teen, and I remember pouring over it. It's always stuck with me, possibly mostly thanks to the way it looked. I wouldn't mind pouring over it again RIGHT NOW!
My Roshi taught me that there is no good and bad in meditation practice. There is only showing up to practice. I have struggled with this as an A type personality, but it really helps me to stick with it and not judge myself. I love that you are a meditator too. “…May all beings never be parted from freedom’s true joy.”
It definitely wouldn't be on for a Roshi to say there was anything good or bad in meditation (or anything else, for that matter) 😅. It's a trippy mind fuck at times, the best kind, and one I'm increasingly drawn toward, and increasingly love.
Me too. I highly recommend “Don’t Be a Jerk” by Brad Warner if you want to delve into Dogen and Zen Buddhism. He takes the Koans and explains them in current speak. It’s a great way to learn without wanting to tear hair out making sense of Dogen as taught by the Western Male academic. Bleck.
Cool, thank you, I've never heard of that book but I just looked it up. Also, thank you so much for becoming a paid subscriber!!! You just made my day, my week, possibly my month...? ❤️🔥❤️🔥❤️🔥
After today, I will never not think of myself as a carrot in the soup of unified consciousness. I'm also full in on woo, having figured out how to soften my wizened heart into a ripe homing device and discovering the vast joyful benevolence of reality as a result. (Even if I am, at this moment, peeved at various people and deeply unfocused. It's not heaven on earth, is what I mean, but it's a whole lot better than it was before I started meditating on love.) I've found that the only way to talk about the mystical stuff is through humor and absurdity and I'm certain that whoever made this soup would agree.
Yes! As you mention, "it's not heaven on earth". Whenever I write about this kind of stuff, my fear is that people will think I'm being holier-than-thou or that I'm trying to tell them what to do or how to think. I'm always careful to make it clear that I'm still a mess, hahaha. Or well, not a mess exactly, but definitely not "all zen or whatever". Just another carrot going on my daily walk 🥕🥕🥕
You, you glorious carrot, have reminded me that meditation can be practiced in many ways; moving, being very much one of them. It is relief to strip away the discipline of “sitting”. Taking us along on your regular walk has shown how we can access mindfulness while right in the thick of life. Thanks for that!
To be clear, I still meditate while sitting... I think it's good to have that practice where there's less distraction, too. But yes, while walking is great! Now to somehow remember to incorporate it at any old time! (Hello dishwashing?) 😜🥕😜🥕😜🥕
Rely love this post. I agree that woo woo is real—and not in the "I'm mainly making this my aesthetic and personality" way. (Not to shame anyone if that's their thing.) Much of what you've written speaks to me. The walks. The awareness of things around you. The neuroplasticity. The anxiety about the future. Your post has soothed my anxious brain this early morning. I'm going to check out the Waking Up thing. Thanks for writing this post, BA.
Thank *you*, Renée! You can try Waking Up for free for three months, I believe. If you try it, start with the Introductory course. Otherwise the site can be very overwhelming!
*Really* love this post. (Darn you, autocorrect.)
Love this! I’ve been thinking a lot about how the intellect isn’t the only game in town too, and how things get weird when you try to articulate that — IMO bc our culture values whatever sounds scientific and devalues what can’t be quantified. Regardless, those moments of presence are so important. Woo woo IS real!!!
Yes, most definitely our culture devalues what can't be quantified! And we can see how far that's gotten us 🤔. Well in fact it *has* taken us far in certain respects, but at what cost. And these days, boy oh boy, we could really use some tree energy!
Oh woo-woo is totally real! I come from Brazil and we love all kinds of woo-woo. We have vast amounts of techniques to avoid bad juju, from having coarse salt by the door to having specific plants to wearing a red wristband. We also totally believe in ghosts and entities that can speak to us in religious settings. My grandma needs to perform about 10 rituals on New Year’s, all at the same time, and if it’s not exactly at midnight, they dont work. It includes stepping on a chair with only your right foot, eating popcorn, grapes, lentils and pomegranate, right before reaching the salt to sprinkle over our shoulders. It’s intense and we fear for her falling from the chair and breaking her hip. But man, do I love all this crazyness? I-LOVE-IT! From my point of view, it makes life much more fun. But I live in Sweden now, and nobody cares about woo-woo. I feel like half of me is missing.
So I was intrigued by your post title! And when I read it I thought “well, mindfulness is not woo-woo at all”. I guess it all depends on perspective, heavily influenced by culture, right? I’d say most Brazilians would consider mindfulness a super scientific thing. But i actually really appreciated your writing, because even though I’ve meditated before, I’ve read books about meditation, and I totally believe in it, somehow, I was never convinced I would be able to enjoy the benefits of it in my personal life. I’m not a consistent meditator, and maybe due to that, it never really helped me. But the way you described how being mindful during your walks helps you being more leveled on your day-to-day life has allowed me to believe that I can do that too, and have the same benefits. I also walk (almost) everyday, and I will make sure to add mindfulness to it. Thanks for that!
Thank you Raquel for your great long comment! You're right, mindfulness is not Woo-Woo... or at least, shouldn't be considered so. Certainly not when you put it next to Brazilian JuJu, haha. I guess it's just a testament to how hesitant I felt to write about these things that I would equate my habits with Woo-Woo. I think that to some people, anything that cannot be understood by the rational mind is Woo-Woo. Anyhoo YES, it all depends on perspective!
Boy, you couldn't have gone to a more different place, living in Sweden. Not that I've ever been to Brazil, but I've been to Sweden once and Denmark many times. Going to Denmark for Christmas this year, in fact!
Meditating consistently has definitely helped me, along with doing breathing exercises for nervous sytem regulation. I miss some days of course, but this year I've made a point of making it a priority and I can 100% feel the difference. (I was more consistent a few years back, so I knew it would be so). What I'm referring to here is sitting in my studio meditating for ten minutes and doing breathing exercises for 5 minutes. Fifteen measly minutes a day, but no small feat to stick with! I believe that what I do as I'm walking is the way in which it has spread into my "real life". I've also started to have other moments during the day where I remember that everything is inseparable from me, and I get out of my nattering head for a second. I wish I was better at describing this.
Thanks again for writing!
Thank you for keeping your stuff mostly free. Living on a fixed income in 3rd World country and currency - cannot afford to be a paid subscriber - but so love reading your posts. And yes, agree, woo-woo is real. You've got me thinking - what kind of ingredient in the soup am I?
Well, not to get too technical about my non-duality soup, but I believe we are all carrots and not-carrots, we are all the broth and not-broth... I could go on but hopefully you get my point, such as it is 😅. Thank you so much for reading!
Omg hahahaha oops, of course cooked makes more sense.
😅
Hahaha I love the crooked carrot in the soup metaphor, it’s perfect and hilarious.
Well it was a *cooked* carrot, because of course I am one with the soup, but I guess it could also be crooked? Why not? 😆
Woo hoo to the woo woo! 😂❤️
Love this BA! Here for the carrots, walks and woo and everything in between
Thank you Kristin! 🥕🥕🥕🥕🥕🥕🥕🥕🥕🥕🥕🥕🥕🥕🥕🥕🥕
THE SOUP! That is so awesome!!! Thanks for sharing all this. I wish I lived close enough to come to one of your collage workshops easily.
Thank you! And if you ever make it up this way, you are more than welcome!
Hopefully your lovely country will still allow folks from the US in for a visit... 😆 I've got friends in OR and WA so that would be a great trip to combine visiting them too!
I don’t think we’ll be keeping people out anytime soon!
Love this post. Yes to the woo! And you, the cooked carrot--thank you for that excellent image. And keeping it real with those curtains! Enya (snicker).
Haha---ENYA. No shade to Enya fans, but... it's not for me. Yes to the woo! 🥕🥕🥕
No shade at all. I snickered because I used to have Enya on repeat. Loreena McKennitt too. It was all part of my goddess era.
Oh wow. I'm not sure if I wish I'd known you then, or not 😆. I might have been put off by the music, haha. Of course, you're still a goddess... ❤️🔥
I would have read your tea leaves and played my dulcimer for you. 😆
OMG
Indeed the woo woo is real! I have so many experiences over the years it’s hard to ignore.
I need to start doing some sort of exercise as well. I say this every summer. Sigh…
I’m so enjoying the collage workshops. I felt a shift as well—very relaxed and open. Looking forward to the next one!
Thank you Pamela... I'm so glad you're liking the workshops!
Woo woo is indeed real, and I also spent many years poo poo-ing it until various life quakes (love it!) humbled me and made me less rigid. Wish I got here sooner, but glad to be here now in the soup. BE HERE NOW! Great post, you’re inspiring me to get back into a more regular meditation routine. My focus/attention has been so fragmented lately ugh
BE HERE NOW! I knew someone who had that book when I was a teen, and I remember pouring over it. It's always stuck with me, possibly mostly thanks to the way it looked. I wouldn't mind pouring over it again RIGHT NOW!
My Roshi taught me that there is no good and bad in meditation practice. There is only showing up to practice. I have struggled with this as an A type personality, but it really helps me to stick with it and not judge myself. I love that you are a meditator too. “…May all beings never be parted from freedom’s true joy.”
It definitely wouldn't be on for a Roshi to say there was anything good or bad in meditation (or anything else, for that matter) 😅. It's a trippy mind fuck at times, the best kind, and one I'm increasingly drawn toward, and increasingly love.
Me too. I highly recommend “Don’t Be a Jerk” by Brad Warner if you want to delve into Dogen and Zen Buddhism. He takes the Koans and explains them in current speak. It’s a great way to learn without wanting to tear hair out making sense of Dogen as taught by the Western Male academic. Bleck.
Cool, thank you, I've never heard of that book but I just looked it up. Also, thank you so much for becoming a paid subscriber!!! You just made my day, my week, possibly my month...? ❤️🔥❤️🔥❤️🔥
I’ve been meaning to upgrade for a while and just finally remembered to get the job done. And I’m happy we met here.
Me too. Thank you.