"A mind that is stretched by a new experience can never go back to its old dimensions." -Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr
Sometimes, I find I'll read something, and then think, "Hey, I'm going to try to implement that idea into my daily life." And then I forget. It's easy to make a habit of that, and I'm always working on narrowing the gap between the ideas I have and the actions I take. Zen values experience over study, after all.
While the studying you do, on this site and others, is valuable, it means very little without the aid of experience. There's not point in reading books if all you do is read books! Ideas are meant to fuel actions too, not just other ideas. I just recently started meditating in the classic Zen tradition, with my eyes open instead of closed. The point of that-- besides preventing you from falling asleep-- is to put you in direct contact with your surroundings.
Try to keep this sort of philosophy in the back of your mind. Seek to create new experiences for yourself; the world is an interesting place, and there's even enjoyment to be had in the simplest of tasks. It's easy to get too idealistic and analytical if all we do is read about Zen and philosophy and don't go out and do things. Here's a list of 11 experiences that are pretty easy to do if you have free time. They're sure to widen your perspective, whether they seem silly or not.
-Talk to a random person on the subway or the bus
-Go for a walk, pay particularly close attention to your surroundings, try to find something new
-Call an old friend, or even acquaintance, and see what's up
-Listen to music or watch a movie that you consider 'not your style'
-Exercise.
-Take pictures of things. I've been doing photography as a hobby for 6 years and it's completely changed the way I view things. Even seemingly boring, simple objects can be beautiful if you look at them from a new perspective.
-Volunteer somewhere, even if it's just for an hour
-Eat exotic food. If you're on a tight budget, find something basic at the market that you've never tried before.
-De-clutter
-If you live in a city, people-watch. This can reveal surprisingly interesting things about human nature.
-Work. Take an hour or even a half-hour and do nothing but work. Lose yourself in cleaning the house, working on Excel, writing a report-- whatever you have to do, do it full-force and make it your sole focus.
-@devanbrown: "Plant something. Nothing like planting a seed, root, or bulb and nurturing it to maturity."
If you think of other ideas, tweet or message them to @dailyzen and I'll add them to the list. This is just a start; the point is to get moving and doing things. While contemplating the world is intriguing and intellectually valuable, there's no substitute for experiencing it directly.
While the studying you do, on this site and others, is valuable, it means very little without the aid of experience. There's not point in reading books if all you do is read books! Ideas are meant to fuel actions too, not just other ideas. I just recently started meditating in the classic Zen tradition, with my eyes open instead of closed. The point of that-- besides preventing you from falling asleep-- is to put you in direct contact with your surroundings.
Try to keep this sort of philosophy in the back of your mind. Seek to create new experiences for yourself; the world is an interesting place, and there's even enjoyment to be had in the simplest of tasks. It's easy to get too idealistic and analytical if all we do is read about Zen and philosophy and don't go out and do things. Here's a list of 11 experiences that are pretty easy to do if you have free time. They're sure to widen your perspective, whether they seem silly or not.
-Talk to a random person on the subway or the bus
-Go for a walk, pay particularly close attention to your surroundings, try to find something new
-Call an old friend, or even acquaintance, and see what's up
-Listen to music or watch a movie that you consider 'not your style'
-Exercise.
-Take pictures of things. I've been doing photography as a hobby for 6 years and it's completely changed the way I view things. Even seemingly boring, simple objects can be beautiful if you look at them from a new perspective.
-Volunteer somewhere, even if it's just for an hour
-Eat exotic food. If you're on a tight budget, find something basic at the market that you've never tried before.
-De-clutter
-If you live in a city, people-watch. This can reveal surprisingly interesting things about human nature.
-Work. Take an hour or even a half-hour and do nothing but work. Lose yourself in cleaning the house, working on Excel, writing a report-- whatever you have to do, do it full-force and make it your sole focus.
-@devanbrown: "Plant something. Nothing like planting a seed, root, or bulb and nurturing it to maturity."
If you think of other ideas, tweet or message them to @dailyzen and I'll add them to the list. This is just a start; the point is to get moving and doing things. While contemplating the world is intriguing and intellectually valuable, there's no substitute for experiencing it directly.
