I recently found a new book by Deepak Chopra, MD. I read his "Return of the Rishi" about flying to the US from India and going straight to the hospital where he was supposed to be on call as a resident physician. He found the practice of officially needing a physician to pronounce death had occurred, odd. I also read his "The Higher Self", a book that capped an interest in meditation and led me to my own meditation practice.
While leading a group of students on a tour of Britain and Europe, I found three students meditating, having learned to practice with the Transcendental Meditation group. I was interested and read over the years about increasing evidence of the benefits. One of the first books was The Relaxation Response (1972) by Herbert Benson, MD, a professor at the Harvard Medical School. That book is still in print and discusses the benefits of physical relaxation but skips the topic of meditation. The new Chopra book is "Total Meditation", about working to integrate meditation practice into more of one's life.
Over the years, Benson and meditation developed in me an awareness of body and facial tension when I am relaxing. Tension leads to awareness which leads to mindfulness, being aware of what thoughts have come to mind. I try to characterize my thoughts, give them a title or make a summary. They often furnish a satisfactory focus for my blog posts. What is on my mind? In a similar way, the question arises What is here? What is going on where I am: my living room, my street, my town?
Of course, judgment has to be exercised, artistic judgment. I often think of that woman but no, I won't write about that. That same idea of what needs to be done in this county occurs to me, yet again, but no, that is not what I want to write about, either. Last night, because of a friend's urging, we watched "The Way I See It" on Amazon Prime and other places. Pete Souza was the Presidential photographer for two 8 year presidents and he shows how a photographer or a writer or a thinker continuously picks and chooses his focus. Staying close to one's self with meditation and being open to recognizing what is going on, internally, as well as locally and more broadly, keeps one's mind, body, and life in harmony.
