Seeing Without Blinders
- katyromita
- 1 day ago
- 2 min read
I received a homework assignment from Sister Spinster: every night, write down 6 (any 6) things you notice.
This assignment made me more mindful. As I knew I had to report on 6 things, I was much more conscious of things around me. I enjoyed this sense of greater awareness.
Then, after a few weeks, I started to notice the filters I was putting on my observations. There were things that I deemed worthy of observation, things that seemed boring or even "icky" and not what I wanted to observe, and then there were things that I normally completely ignored. Basically, my observations were falling into the 3 Buddhist buckets of attachment, aversion and ignorance.
Filters can be helpful so that we aren't barraged by sensory input and we can get through our day. But, when our filters become stuck and rigid, we greatly limit what we see. We are wearing blinders of our own making.
The controlled container of this 20-minute meditation gives us an opportunity to put our blinders down and open to all of our experience.
Opening to our experience will likely feel better for us -- we may realize things that we normally ignore are actually quite useful and we may realize that the things we normally push away are actually better dealt with than repressed.
Moving beyond the personal, putting our blinders down and opening to the world around us also allows us to be more empathetic, connected, and wise. Today is Juneteenth. Depending on our privilege, it may be easier or harder to ignore the injustice of slavery, the delayed emancipation of so many, and the ongoing ramifications. Practicing opening to the world as it is, helps us be more connected -- which is better for us and those around us.
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