If we do not challenge our automatic habits and our “go-with-the-flow”
mode of behaving, our walk will be divided between two poles: 1) the
“outside world”: seeing people, cars and traffic lights and a building or
two, and hearing those city sounds like cars, buses and trucks, a raucous motorbike, snatches of conversation as one
passes by others, and a few sirens… only if you’re lucky will you pick out a
happy dog bark or the cooing of a male pigeon interested in a female; and 2)
the “inside world in the head”: this probably goes on unnoticed or unannounced,
as we mull over the day’s problems, like who said what to whom, the newspaper
you’ve just looked at, the news you heard on TV, reactions from your stomach, gut
or sex organs, and a general sensation of tension, stress, anxiety, and only if
you’re lucky maybe a feeling of relaxation and enjoyment as you proceed to your
rendezvous.
To what extent you focus on the “psychological world” inside
or the “external world” outside, you will have a partial experience of a
normal human being at that moment – a little more inside and you can’t enjoy
the outside – a little more outside and you find temporary relief from the
stresses of inside, i.e., your own mind!
Edward, however, strives to walk in a different way. As a
student of Self-Awareness, most walking is now done with a “third-purpose”:
apart from the destination and the goal of the walk (getting somewhere, meeting
someone or whatever) and the two possibilities of focusing on sights and sounds
and smells, or indulging in the thought and feeling process, there is a prior
decision to remain present during the activity. A sense of being in
the body and behind the mind ensures that Self-Awareness enters
the equation. It is not just that I am going somewhere and walking and seeing
things and thinking things along the way. The rhythm itself of the walk, as one
foot goes down and the other comes up, is useful for practising any of the
procedures for reinforcing Self-Awareness. Mostly, it is what I call “Walking-WAI”.
That is, the thinking mind is kept occupied with the thought “Who-Am-I?” following
the rhythm of the feet, either with right-foot lead or left-foot lead, which can
be changed at will, for instance at pedestrian crossings. And since ¾ time does
not fit into 4/4 time, the “I” is extended over 2 beats, and then it’s back to
beat 1 again. As with all rhythmic exercises, it all fits in nicely with footsteps
and words, and then even breathing can additionally be brought in, ie, follow
the in-breath for 2 counts and then the out-breath for the other 2 counts…all on
the same stroll.
This, you may say, might prevent me from actually seeing and
hearing things “outside” – my mind being kept busy with the counting and with
the words and their meaning. But no, this is not the case. It is actually an
exercise in freedom. I have already done my thinking and my feeling prior to
this. What is the use of re-hashing thoughts and ideas while out on a walk? That’s
been done already, or will be done at some future time when appropriate. The
walk, most likely, is to get somewhere, but it is also to enjoy feeling alive
and experiencing things, and additionally, to increase Self-Awareness. With
the poor little thinking mind being kept quiet by the words and rhythm, my
sense organs are now free just to do their own thing: eyes see, ears
hear, nose smells, taste and touch are at a minimum. And there is a high degree
of enjoyment: just seeing, hearing and smelling (sometimes not, but then again that’s
normal in a city!). You see people, and notice maybe fewer “smilers” than “frowners”;
you see buildings, some speaking of beauty, others of mere functionality; you
notice dogs out on a walk looking excited as they sniff around; you maybe hear birds
here and there, and then there’s the sky, the sunshine, or maybe the moon at
night; the clouds, the tops of trees, a church dome or tower; winter branches
reaching out, rain falling; and if you’re lucky, a stray cat slinking around
looking for food… Whatever it is, it is all taken in, as it comes. The
important thing is that there is an Observer of what is going on both
the outside and the inside, too. And that makes us a little more human, and
ready to extend our horizons a little bit more.
Goodbye to obsessive, hurried, stressful, “got-to-get-there”
movement of the legs while the cluttered brain re-hashes all its little ideas in
desperate clinging to the known… Welcome calm walking and watching.
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