Splatter-mind
yagr
Veteran
When I was young, an elder in my tribe taught me how to stalk. One of the less obvious skills was a technique that he translated as 'splatter-vision'. Let's say we were exiting the forest, into a meadow. What I was instructed to do is to look at the horizon without focusing on anything in particular, just taking in all 180 degrees and wait for movement. When movement is detected, then it became time to focus on the movement and see if it was what I was stalking. If it is, proceed. If it is not, then return to splatter vision and wait for the next movement.
I found myself wondering last night if this technique is useful for mind. “Dinner was good tonight. I hope I see Mariah today. I have to get that project done for work by Friday. Watch out, there's a truck coming...” and then the focus: “WATCH OUT, THERE'S A TRUCK COMING.”
Thoughts?
Comments
Mindfulness applied to hunting ...
Stalk the mind.
When found, note movement and return to mindful stalking ...
@yagr haz plan!
Well, to clarify, we were stalking for reasons other than hunting...
The problem is, all your current favourite mind-filling topics will come up in succession if you do that, and try to drag your attention away from meditation. Not very different from the usual, but perhaps even more effective at distracting yourself.
I'm intrigued by that @yagr because it is very like the way a visual artist tends to look at the world, in my experience at least. Love the term 'splatter vision'