Serendipity? Synchronisity? Coincidence? One of them words

[hellison]

An interesting afternoon, go live journal - in particular being_here, tyrell and thesme_01!
So what am I rambling about now?

Yesterday I spent a good bit of time with a friend who's gone thro a hellish stressful time lately, talking about how meditating, getting back to taoism and using the IChing have really helped her find calm and a more objective perspective on things. It was all very intriguing and left me v. curious, because I could actually see a difference in her just in the past 2 weeks.

Today, a totally unrelated post on elsewhere on lj about dieting turned into a discussion on meditation and taoism, with added helpful links.
Part of it was on how difficult meditating can be. For some it's a fear of what you might find (which I can understand), but for me its mostly been the fact that my brain NEVER STOPS. Seriously, you think I talk a lot? That's only a fraction of whats going on up there. There's even now a special new section of it that constantly makes up lj posts that I never actually get round to posting, of which this was very nearly one.

Anyway, I've generally found meditating/praying/relaxing (as in at the end of yoga/pilates) v. difficult as there are no blanks. Just endless tangents. I was thinking about this on the way to the train, when another tangent went off along the lines of 'what to do with the horse tonight'.

At which point it struck me that, for me, riding Ziggy IS a form of meditation.
I have to clear my mind to some extent of the day's worries before I start - if I go up all stressed and distracted she picks up on it and is, frankly, a bitch to handle.
There are the rituals leading up to riding - mucking out (and if getting rid of horse shit isn't a decent allegory for not bothering about the petty crap in life, I don't know what is), grooming, which relaxes us both and tacking up.
Once on, I have to concentrate entirely on her and focus on what I'm doing - there's little time for niggling work woes when you're manoevering almost a ton of horse in a fairly small arena. Or even in a big open field.
There are associated mantras "Legs back, look up, heels down, hands up", some of which are now so automatic I don't have to actively *think* them anymore, they just go on in the background.
Gradually it all comes together and we can relax and go WHEEEE. And all the petty crap slips into a bit more perspective.

Of course this doesn't entirely stop it coming back to haunt me at 2am, but it certainly helps. I definitely think it keeps me saner and fitter - in body and mind - than I could hope to be without it.

Hmm. Like I said, an interesting afternoon ;)

Comments

[http://users.livejournal.com/_unhurt_/]

that's rather interesting. i want to start going swimming again just because when i was going a few times a week last year (late, when the wee pool was quiet) it was hypnotically relaxing: tried to do 50 lengths each time, but to not lose count i was kind of chanting the number of the length i was on with each stroke, and i found if my mind wandered i would entirely forget how many i had done: and being retentive as fuck about such things that Could Not Be Allowed To Happen. i think the not-thinking-about-anything part was as relaxing as the actual exercise part.

"There's even now a special new section of it that constantly makes up lj posts that I never actually get round to posting, of which this was very nearly one."

me too! or at least, me too in the sense that i also have about a million things in my head compared to the ones i actually say. and hellison will witness that i talk almost as much as she does. almost. ;) i haven't yet composed lj posts in my head [er. much.], but i do sometimes 'hear' fictional charcters talking to each other after spending excess amounts of time reading fic. not that they ever say anything sensible, damn them.

[hellison.livejournal.com]

Almost as much? ALMOST? big fibber ;p You definitely hold at least equal stakes there

[http://users.livejournal.com/_unhurt_/]

well, i'm, er, quieter or something. probably! :p

[hellison.livejournal.com]

Bah. They had this exact converstation in work today and apparently I'm loudest, but you talk more and Small Sarah can out-talk us both ;p

[http://users.livejournal.com/_unhurt_/]

hah! i HAVE to tell her that - she claims i talk more than she does.

[http://users.livejournal.com/_unhurt_/]

adds: SmallSarah. must put that on her payslip or something ;)

[repton-infinity.livejournal.com]

Anyway, I've generally found meditating/praying/relaxing (as in at the end of yoga/pilates) v. difficult as there are no blanks.

I know what you mean ... I can't even listen to music in isolation — if I've got a new album that I really want to listen to properly, the best option I've got is to copy it to my mp3 player and then go for a long walk...

[whit-merule.livejournal.com]

for me its mostly been the fact that my brain NEVER STOPS.

I can relate to this really, really well. :(

Damn brain. Won't let me do anything without commenting on it. See, this is why I'm often a bit slow or awkward in social situations - I can't function by instinct, my brain has to call the following function in response to everything (event_say, event_emote, event_soul, event_enter...)

string what_to_say() {
string final_response;

if(!sizeof(possible_responses)) return "Duuuuh....";
foreach(string response in possible_responses) {
if(!check_appropriateness(response)) continue;
if(!imagine_immediate_response_to_response(response)) continue;
if(!imagine_response_to_response_to_response(response)) continue;
if(!imagine_response_to_response_to_response_to_response(response)) continue;
f(!frantically_map_out_entire_course_of_future_conversation(response)) continue;
final_response = response;
break;
}
calm_down();
decide_how_to_deliver_response_smoothly(final_response);
return final_response;
}

... alright, I'm not that bad anymore. :) But I still do an awful lot of that!

[whit-merule.livejournal.com]

woe, it ate my spaces. :( How NOT TO INDENT, children.

[http://users.livejournal.com/_unhurt_/]

(!frantically_map_out_entire_course_of_future_conversation(response))

erk. if i did that i would probably die. (for someone who talks almost as much as hellison, i am actually secretly socially awkward and internally prone to freaking out)

[thesme-01.livejournal.com]

I am internally and externally prone to freaking out.

I used to hear voices - of my friends all talking about me in the other room.

Now I just smoke too many fags, drink too much wine and develop an array of auto-immune disorders.
I used to go swimming once a week but I'm allergic to chlorine and developed a 9-week eye infection/exploding thing as a result. But when I was doing it it really relaxed me. The best things I've found are
a) driving
b) swimming in the sea
c) cooking
But none of them are truly sustainable, i.e. the effects don't last long enough to change my day-to-day stressfest. Hence me thinking about meditation and such. Even though I'm a cynical old bag. An unfit cynical old bag. However, yesterday's conversation really cheered me up! Felt very relaxed! what is happening? eek!

[hellison.livejournal.com]

I shall buy you one of those Meditation kits going cheap in tescos ;p

Ahh the voices, that was a fun evening ;p

Driving helps me relax too, because, like with riding, once it becomes an automatic thing, the Frantic part of the brain is focused and the rest of it can start to relax.
Apparently you can get some left/right brain switching (or soemthing, you're better at that kind of thing than me) which has occasionally led to me looking up and thinking 'where AM i' then realising I've somehow zoned out the last 10 miles, while still (on one level at least) paying attention and driving perfectly well.

Hmm. I have no idea if that makes any sense ;p

[thesme-01.livejournal.com]

Oh yeah. Yep, driving forces you to use both brain bits cos all arms and legs are all doing things and you HAVE to multitask as they like to call it. It's made my left side much more dexterous if that is how you spell it. And all.

The problematic side-effect of the zoning out thing is that if you're tired you don't notice it as much and the risk of losing it is that much greater, apparently.

[hellison.livejournal.com]

What, you people THINK about what you're saying BEFORE you say it?

Hah if I tried that my brain would EXPLODE. I mean how can you have any idea where the conversation will go?

In my head it's generally going in at least 5 directions - whatever comes up front first is generally what comes out - some of which will suck me in so I end up having an entirely different conversation internally, totally lose track of what's *actually* being said and either just smile and nod til I pick it up again, or go back to what I remember, which is why I occasionally will start on about something everyone else stopped talking about 10 minutes ago ;p

Not sure about _unhurt_ but people have commented in the past on our amazing ability to apparently carry on 2 entirely seperate conversations with each other at the same time ;p

[http://users.livejournal.com/_unhurt_/]

What, you people THINK about what you're saying BEFORE you say it?


well, not always: see my recent 'perfect gay husband' conversation with best friend's boyfriend's father..!

[hellison.livejournal.com]

I most certainly will (when I wake up). Hmmm sleep...

[thesme-01.livejournal.com]

The mysterious thing is how the Hellison claims to lose track but will remind you of em, indiscretions you made 10 YEARS AGO.

Grr.