by Thomas Hills, Ph.D.
What follows is an attempt at an honest exploration of my impression of mindfulness, in light of my experience of an 8-week course. It’s taken me a while to formulate this, and perhaps it is heretical, but in some ways I think the course led to this insight–so it is what it is.
I have practiced meditation in various forms since I was about 13. From a Western perspective it may be somewhat ironic that a book on ninja by Stephen Hayes may have introduced it to me, alongside the movies of Bruce Lee, where he occasionally sat in meditation. A karate course or two later and I was hooked. It was something about disciplining the mind, but more.
I recall in one movie Bruce Lee points to the moon, and he says, „Don’t concentrate on the finger or you will miss all that heavenly glory.“ It is perhaps a cliche, but to a nine year old in the 70s, this was The Way. This was a deeper truth, both focused in the moment, but keenly aware of a bigger picture available to experience, available for those who only knew where to look (or how to look!). It was not the worshiping of that which cannot be personally experienced, or borrowing the language of some sacred system to justify personal whim. It was direct experience. A primal positivism.
by Thomas Hills, Ph.D. What follows is an attempt at an honest exploration of my impression of mindfulness, in light of...
