how to be aware in an unaware world

Author: Josh Avery

Experiments
“A person who never made a mistake never tried anything new.”
– Albert Einstein
As we all know, Einstein was a brilliant mathematician, physicist, and thinker. Like many involved in the field of science, experiments are crucial to success.
He gestures to the fact that a series of the right mistakes pave the way for a series of incredible breakthroughs.
Just in case you don’t read the links I provide, here are a few of those breakthroughs (after many, many mistakes) that Einstein contributed to the world:
1. Found the Brownian Movement that helped to prove the existence of atoms and molecules.
2. Developed the quantum theory of light which television is a practical application of.
3. Discovered the special theory of relativity explaining that time and motion are relative to their observers.
4. Created the famous formula, e=mc^2, demonstrating that a small particle of matter contains an enormous amount of energy. This forms much of the basis for nuclear energy.
All these breakthroughs were through trial and error, research, and dedication to the work and passion of experimentation.
Reflections
I myself can attest to the power of mistakes and the willingness to not just accept them but actually seek them!
I have and still do make so many important steps in the wrong direction. Both learning the outcome of these steps and learning to apply the lessons later in life is what changes everything.
For example, I have, on two separate occasions, forgotten my passport before boarding an international flight (a very expensive mistake). But what I learned was massively valuable, to always double-check my luggage list before boarding a flight.
Most importantly, I must forgive myself when I make any ridiculous mistake, remembering that some of the most audacious mistakes led to the most fantastic self-discovery.
Encouragement
I encourage us to experiment, with our minds, bodies, and beliefs.
The mind is a rather tricky place to navigate, but questioning our direction is never a mad idea. Experiment with the way you think and the path you are on right now. Does it align with your values?
The body is in a constant state of impermanence, and with 500 different companies telling you what to eat, drink, and do to better your body, there’s no reason most people just give up. One truth that will always remain in life is how we feel, not how others want us to feel. Experiment with that feeling food, drink, exercise, and other health hacks bring you.
Our beliefs are like the tides of the ocean, high and low, exceedingly receding (not all the time, but I like the way that rhymed lol). What we believe or don’t believe dictates the position we hold in life, and that is no small matter. Are those beliefs good in nature, and do they provide a sense of peace that surpasses all comprehension? Discover that for yourself!
Thanks
Thank you deeply for all the kind feedback and encouragement ya’ll have given me these past few months as I’ve bombarded your inboxes.
As always, feel free to leave a comment or share this post. You can also Buy Me a Coffee if you are inclined to do so. Thank you in advance!
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October 30, 2023
Inaction
“Iron rusts from disuse; stagnant water loses its purity and in cold weather becomes frozen; even so does inaction sap the vigor of the mind. So we must stretch ourselves to the very limits of human possibility. Anything less is a sin against both God and man.”
– Leonardo da Vinci
This is one of my favorite quotes of all time as I especially like to recite it when sometimes I’m told meditation is a lazy practice.
I also just realized I already wrote an entire blog post about it just a couple of weeks ago (Mindfulness & Action). But the message is a powerful one, and my thoughts are different.
Meditation is not about sitting and doing nothing, watching the world go by. It is about stepping back and observing the world before jumping in recklessly.
I like to best compare it to being both the player and the coach at a soccer or fútbol match.
Whereby we stand and sit on the sidelines watching and observing most of the game and jump in only when we feel most inclined to as well as stepping off to rest when needed.
I like to think of Messi, who as a forward or striker loves to walk around the midline or near the defenders, positioning himself strategically, while also sprinting as hard as he can to get the ball and score when presented with the opportunity.
There are so many opportunities out there to give it our all: Work, school, relationships, passions, creativity pursuits, etc. Meditation simply equips us with the clarity and composition needed to give it our all.
Reflection
Leonardo is elegantly comparing stagnant water to a lazy mind, even calling it a sin against God.
Sloth, is one of the seven deadly sins elaborated by St. Thomas Aquinas when he writes in his first epistles that “to flee vice is the beginning of virtue and to have got rid of folly is the beginning of wisdom.”
Leonardo was best known as a Renaissance Man or a man who wore many hats: a polymath, inventor, painter, sculptor, politician, writer, poet, draughtsman, engineer, scientist, theorist, sculptor, and architect.
Although there is little account that Leonardo Da Vinci meditated or promoted meditation, it is safe to say he was mindful about all that he did and said, careful to articulate himself in an esteemed manner.
Times are much different today than in the late 16th century, but the danger of laziness and inaction is much the same.
We must step out of our discomfort and sloth-like attitude to achieve purpose and vigor. It’s quite logical, that the more we do what we love, the more we get out of life, quite literally.
But sometimes we have to do shit we don’t like to. Sometimes we have to get our hands dirty when we prefer them clean so that we can turn to what we enjoy most with a renewed, vigorous mind.
Encouragement
I encourage us today to do just one thing you find uncomfortable, whether it be a workout or a difficult conversation, and do it with the knowledge that it is stimulating the mind in wondrous ways.
Workout? I remember once, while living in Nashville, deciding quite randomly one day to bike to school each weekday, which was a 6-mile one-way ride, in late fall.
Maybe not the smartest timing, but hell I had just found this quote and was determined to take action, and I did. I rode 13 miles daily for about 3 months straight and felt incredible through it all.
Difficult Conversation? I remember needing to tell my best friend, co-workers, boss, friends, and family that I was selling 99% of my possessions and moving to Europe for a while.
Even though it was more of a sad message than a difficult one, those conversations were the catalyst for a much-needed shift in my life. They required nothing short of mindful action.
We are capable of so, so much, and sometimes all it takes is the right push from the right person or message to get us moving.
Thanks
Thank you deeply for all the kind feedback and encouragement ya’ll have given me these past few months as I’ve bombarded your inboxes.
As always, feel free to leave a comment or share this post. You can also Buy Me a Coffee if you are inclined to do so. Thank you in advance!
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October 28, 2023
Beginnings
Mindfulness is simply about stepping back to see the world with a little more clarity and appreciation.
When I began my mindfulness journey and meditation practice about 8 years ago, I had no idea the impact it would have on me.
All I knew at the time was that if I showed up, every morning possible, to sit with all my feelings, sensations, and thoughts, I could learn to master them.
And although I’m nowhere near that lofty goal (nor may ever be) I can say with profound certainty that I am an entirely different person than I was at 21.
Through sitting day after day in guided meditation, I learned something so powerful, something that meditation inevitably teaches at one point or another: Gratitude.
Reflection
I am blessed to live in a world where this is possible for me for even the tiniest amount of gratitude offers the largest amount of joy.
As some of you who know me know I have a really hard time making up my mind.
I officially created this blog sometime in 2018, then deleted it, then brought it back, then did nothing with it, and then this year decided to re-write the original posts written mostly while backpacking Europe in 2021.
This is my very first blog post (for the third time).
As I sit back and reflect on the reason for re-writing this post and the effect I hope to achieve, I remember the first time I practiced meditation and the beginning of my blogging journey too.
As I wrote about in Mindfulness & Meditation, I was spending the summer of 2016 in gorgeous Colorado, working and traveling in and out of a family friend’s basement, as carefree as any 20-year-old could be.
My space during that time of transformation consisted of boxes and boxes of random trinkets, a huge flatscreen TV, a maroon leather couch, two lounge chairs, a broken treadmill, a bookcase filled with children’s books, and an old basketball arcade game in the corner.
In that stuffed basement, I realized that the clutter really bothered me. I was born a natural minimalist, able to get rid of almost anything at any point with ease (sometimes with too much ease).
Surrounded by all this stuff, I also found myself drawn to the stillness of the present moment, sitting cross-legged in the middle of the cluttered room using a simple meditation app to guide me into a ten-minute meditation.
The app was called Headspace, and at the time it was just a catalog of ten or so guided meditation packs recorded on a decent microphone by the British co-founder and former monk, Andy Puddicombe.
As I sat in that cramped basement throughout that summer listening to Andy’s calm, clear voice, I began to notice a greater sense of calamity and clarity within myself.
I noticed things I never did before, like the hum of the A.C. running in the background, the itch behind my left ear, the faint smell of mold, and the delicate weight of gravity.
I started paying more attention in conversations too, feeling my emotions and reactions play out inside me. Meditation began to change my relationship with my thoughts.
I was practicing, as one would learning an instrument or riding a bike, how to be aware in an unaware world.
As I began to awaken, I noticed the world still asleep, unconsciously riding the motions and getting caught in terrible situations, having no idea how they got there.
It’s mind-boggling to me to watch people run back into toxic relationships, ruminate about how they look, consume entertainment to satisfy an illogical hunger, and beat themselves up over the smallest things.
In that moment of stillness, I realized what a simple yet profound activity meditation was, the art of awareness.
Then slowly, over many mediations, I also learned how to take my practice beyond the nice, quiet setting and into everyday life with all its hecticness, busyness, and complications.
I observed my relationships, my work, my passions, my habits, and my desires. Everything I did became more mindful and more deliberate.
The coolest thing of all is I still practice meditation through Headspace today. It has become my lighthouse, my beacon if you will, to return to when life gets in the way of living.
Meditation, as if God had planned it, was the only thing I had ever turned into a solid routine in my whole life.
It just somehow made sense to meditate. And even though it came naturally to me, anyone, anywhere, at any time can learn to meditate.
All it takes is a little willingness to sit, be present, and observe the mind.
Encouragement
Once, while anchored in a powerful meditation, I heard Andy describe meditation by way of five affirmations.
These affirmations were not necessarily put in order, but they made the most sense when the first step was achieved before the rest.
I encourage us to speak these affirmations each day (even if they aren’t your cup of tea, trust me, they work)!
First, you are capable, knowing you can truly do anything you put your mind towards.
Second, you are calm, using your breath as your anchor.
Third, you are clear, knowing where you’re going and what you’re doing next.
Fourth, you are content, understanding that you already have everything you need.
Five, you are compassionate, speaking your love languages loud and clear.
Underlining all these steps is the awareness of our thoughts, sensations, emotions, and surroundings. Without awareness, we cannot reify change.
Also, lastly, compassion is the entire motive of meditation. Without it, our practice will have little meaning or depth, and will most likely fade away with time.
Thanks
Thank you deeply for your time and attention in reading this post or newsletter, it is a rare gift these days. Feel free to leave a comment or share this post. You can also Buy Me a Coffee if you feel inclined to do so. Thank you in advance!
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October 24, 2023