Tag Archives: Blog Post 3

Introspection: A Challenge in and of Itself

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I struggled a lot with this blog post. I wanted badly to write about how much insight I have gained from the contemplative practices, because I see that so many of my classmates love them. In all honesty, I find it extremely difficult to focus during contemplative practices and I cannot remember any particular practice or what thoughts it sparked in me. The noise of the fan and the persistent discomfort of my chair against my back alone are enough to completely prevent me from entering into introspection. I feel that I would gain more by journaling responses to some of the prompts presented in our contemplative practices. I also gain more self-awareness and insight about my place within systems when I am in conversation with someone else or when I can synthesize materials from one course with content from another. For example, I gained a lot of insight on Limberg and Barnes’ piece about “Culture War 2.0” when I mentioned it in a discussion in my Spanish seminar, because we were able to consider how it might apply to cultures within Latin America and I was able to spend more time thinking about how I might play into one or more of those “tribes.”

Still, I believe and respect that the practices are fruitful for others who find it easier to quiet their minds and who are less distracted by the abundance of sensory inputs with which daily life barrages us. I do think that inner work is an important component in activism and in retraining our brains, should we find that our ingrained beliefs do not align with our values. I agree with the assertion in Schley’s “Sustainability: The Inner and Outer Work” that our emotions can give us feedback which can inform the potential direction of our individual and collective efforts to create change, and that inner work helps people recognize the qualities and attitudes necessary to make a difference. I also think that healthy emotional regulation would be crucial to any radical, positive social movement or reorganization, as with this come empathy and resilience. For many people, contemplative practice and meditation are helpful for such regulation. In the meantime, I will continue to put effort into trying to adapt the practices to my needs to see if I am able to gain more going forward.

(Michael Menchaca). This artist’s work deserves attention for its intended purpose, but I include it here because I find it to be overwhelming and for me it is a visual representation of how my mind feels during contemplative practices.

Sapience and contemplation

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The contemplative practices are reflective of the general themes of the class. Whereas the class is interdisciplinary, the contemplative practices integrate meditation, introspection, literary analysis, and group discussion. This introspective behavior is uniquely human, allowing us to disconnect ourselves from the moment and consider any number of possibilities. As discussed in the book The Worm at the Core, human evolution has led to two particular relevant capacities, a high degree of self-awareness and the ability to think in terms of the past, present, and future. The result of such is to integrate both the past and potential futures into our perspective while making decisions and analyzing ourselves and the world around us.

Even when the direction and focus of contemplative practice itself is fairly irrelevant, certain aspects are highly relevant to the overarching themes of the class. As was further discussed in The Worm at the Core, it is the aforementioned capacity to think about in term of the past, present, and future is what leads to the understanding that we will inevitably die. This awareness is uniquely human is the sense that it is present even in the absence of an immediate threat and has a pervasive influence on our attitudes and behavior. The introspective element which enables such is present in the contemplative practices and allows us an opportunity to examine how death influences our own perspectives and behavior.

It has been stated that some others are reaping some benefit from the contemplative practices, but in my experience they have contributed less than nothing, actively devaluing my time spent in a class I paid to attend. This is congruent with my previous experiences with meditation, but contrary to my experiences with introspection. Whereas the latter allows me to form a better understanding of my own perspectives and how my cognition may be being influenced, the former has always struck me as an egregious waste of time without the potential for any sort of benefit to be derived from its practice. The introspection within the contemplative practices tends towards such without tangible benefit, benefiting me neither within or without the class. Were the sessions to be more focused on furthering our understanding of the class topics, I would be relatively contented. As a result of the aforementioned issues, combined with how limited my time has been this quarter, I am left with naught but frustration following the contemplative practices.

References:
Solomon, S., Greenberg, J., & Pyszczynski, T. A. (2015). The worm at the core: On the role of death in life.

Saint Jerome Writing by Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio

Connection To, or Knowledge Of?

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In reflection, I am grateful for the epistemological shift facilitated by the contemplative practices this quarter. Because of the emotional and intellectual breadth and depth of our course materials, I’ve had greater access by way of building connection to the material than through my attempts to “grasp” it. To this end, the contemplative practice has been very helpful. I doubt very much that I’ll ever really know Death, or (beyond a comically reduced synopsis), understand the convergent processes which together constitute the Anthropocene. Instead, my best work and healthiest responses come about through exploration of my relationship to these concepts.

As we watched Journey of the Universe in class, I was struck by the implication that human “insight” is causally linked to (and therefore inextricable from) the physical and biological processes of the universe. Rather than something generated or contained within me, awareness may simply arise there. Consciousness, by this model, is an emergent property of a system. While conceptually I can muster a dim understanding of this, I can more wholly come into a felt experience of it. I’ve been primed to accept this sense through awareness of breath – like the breath, a thought or a feeling can arise, interact with my body, and return, changed, to the broader system. Instead of repository, I can frame myself as a conduit for information.

I consider this in relation to philosopher Timothy Norton’s definition of hyperobjects – explained in this blurb as “entities of such vast temporal and spatial dimensions that they defeat traditional ideas about what a thing is in the first place”. He offers climate change as the ultimate example; I would argue that “death” or “Anthropocene” also qualify. As “things” in themselves, these concepts are too massive for me to contain intellectually, and the concept of managing them is absurd. I can, instead, cultivate a relationship with the hyperobject. How does awareness of it arise in me? What does it do when it lands? And how can that awareness return, changed, to the broader system? Because it facilitates this relational engagement, I see contemplative practice as a path out of overwhelm and isolation in the face of the planetary hyperobjects with which we engage in this course.

 

The aquarium in my home is a system whose parts I do not fully understand, but instead define relationally.

 

Growing to Appreciate and Acknowledge the Power of Inner Work

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Before this class, I was always the person to fall asleep during contemplative practices. With my head falling to one side and my inability to leave the relaxed mindset, I had never gained much from these experiences. However, after consistently participating in contemplative practices, I have noticed a change in my ability to engage. My first observation was a feeling of groundedness. I could feel my presence on the Earth through each one of my toes and the soles of my feet. At first, this was just a physical observation. However, after repeated practices, I noticed that this feeling of groundedness spread throughout my body and changed how I perceived my presence in the classroom. With my mind both empty and full of belonging, I realized that as a small part of a large system, I still have the ability to drive change. 

This realization of my connectedness has allowed me to understand the course material better. Originally, I was quizzical about the impact of inner work. In my first blog post, I argued that inner work was important, but not the ultimate factor in mitigating climate change. However, after these practices, I am still passionate about taking action, but I also have a new feeling of belonging on Earth. I feel as if I am actually a part of the world, not just an outside actor attempting to change events. 

After this individual realization, I began to think about how the concept of inner work can be extrapolated to larger systems. In their piece, “How Democracies Die,” Levitsky and Ziblatt argue that politicians take advantage of our democratic institutions to gain power. However, this death of democracy does not come from individual quests for power, but extreme political polarization. In order to preserve our political system, inner work may be necessary. If others had an experience similar to mine, we might be able to close cultural gaps between parties and unite to spread power equitably. This would protect our democratic systems, but also provide people with a new form of terror management. In managing death, people tend to segregate towards those who hold similar values. However, when gaining an understanding of the world’s interconnectedness, perhaps people can understand how their death will have meaning in our intricate world system, leading to a stronger sense of community and united forms of terror management, both key steps in addressing climate change. 

Source: https://earthinginstitute.net/grounding-and-awareness-of-groundedness/