Wednesday, August 17, 2011

The Art Of Mindfulness

Your zen moment of the day, brought to you by Baba Ram Dass, who used to be known as Dr. Richard Alpert. His 1971 book, Be Here Now became a bestseller. Interestingly, Ram Dass is known for his association with Timothy Leary at Harvard University in the early 1960s. Both were reportedly dismissed from their professorships for experiments on the effects of psychedelic drugs on human subjects.

The variation, "Wherever you  go, there you are" resonates (Jon Kabat-Zinn). But the thought behind the phrase may be better known to you as living in the moment, or mindfulness.

The English term mindfulness has been in use for centuries, long predating its use in the Buddhist context. The OED defines it as "The state or quality of being mindful; attention; regard", with obsolete meanings of "memory" and "intention, purpose". This word was first recorded as myndfulness in 1530.

"If you have one eye on yesterday, and one eye on tomorrow, you're going to be cockeyed today." Anonymous

See you later. Gotta go be someplace... :o)
Posted by Rand MacIvor at 7:28 AM

2 comments:

  1. AnonymousAugust 17, 2011 at 4:03 PM

    Alan Watts said, "wherever you go, there you are."

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  2. Rand MacIvorAugust 17, 2011 at 4:47 PM

    Looked it up and got a bunch of possibilities: Buckaroo Banzaii, and a book by the title by Jon Kabat-Zinn included. At Brainyquotes , you can find the quote "And remember, no matter where you go, there you are" attributed to Confucius. The original quote seems to be attributed to Buddah:

    Every wakeful step, every mindful act is the direct path to awakening. Wherever you go, there you are.
    - Buddha

    I just picked one. Shoot me.

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