I love this quip by the famous psychologist (and mystic) William James, defending a distractible friend: “He’s not absent-minded. He’s just present-minded somewhere else.”
The mind travels, imagines, future-proofs. Thank you, mind, for figuring out advanced calculus, penicillin and haikus. The thing is, the mind travels so well, and so frequently, that we often don’t even realize it. We think we’re paying attention to what’s in front of us, when, in fact, a big chunk of our attention is elsewhere.
Do you know where your mind goes?
As we get better at noticing where it goes, we also get better at deciding if that’s where we want it to stay.
So: let’s explore. In a relaxed way.
Jeff
A few quick notes—
New to Home Base? We have over 70 free guided meditations in our audio library, over 60 extended meditations, over 365 meditations on YouTube, and a growing number of community practice videos. New writing, new audio meditations, and new DNP live community practice sessions happen every week.
Did you find me on Calm or Happier? While the meditations I recorded for the apps live on in perpetuity, I no longer record new meditations for them. My latest work happens here; becoming a paid subscriber is the best way to support that work. I give paid scholarships to anyone who asks (email info@jeffwarren.org). If you found this meditation and post helpful, but becoming a paid subscriber isn’t an option, you can also …
Many thanks!
THIS WEEK ON THE MIND BOD ADVENTURE POD
This week’s guest is Casper ter Kuile, author of the excellent The Power of Ritual: Turning Everyday Rituals into Soulful Practices. Casper is passionate about spreading the goodness of ritual. In his guided practice, we read a line from the first Harry Potter book, and then respond from ever-deeper layers. This is text as a mirror, a way to explore who and how we are.
