The Secret of Life

Yabba Dabba Doo

Paul and Harry both picked up on my reference in the last post to "living in the moment": actually focussing on what we're doing at the present time, instead of being lost - as we so often are - in idle thoughts of the past or the future. Except that I was playing devil's advocate and had it the other way round. So the idea is that if you're playing The Flintstones on your iPod shuffle, which you have crammed to bursting point with Hanna Barbera theme tunes (as you might do - if you were my osteopath)  then you'd focus on the Yabba Dabba Doo of the present moment , instead of indulging in idle speculation about whether Top Cat or Yogi Bear is coming up next.

Paul mentioned the difficulty of holding onto this. I find a good way is to connect with one of the senses. If you're listening to music, you can focus on what you're hearing, but if you're simply walking along, you can rub your hands together and feel your skin or - and here caution is advised depending on where you are - sniff whatever scents may be on the air. This has a way of bringing you into the here and now, of making you aware of your body and your surroundings. This has two advantages:

1. You're less likely to get run down by a truck as you cross the road, and
2. Your experience takes on a whole different quality. As Paul put it: "Suddenly, you're filled with the sheer wonderment of being where and when you are." (That's Paul who left the comment, I mean, not St Paul. I like to get these things clear.)

If there's anyone reading who's never tried this, give it a go and let me know how you feel. And then, if you find your mind's wandered or you've slipped into thinking about having the experience instead of actually having the experience, don't beat yourself up. Just connect with one of your senses again.

The best writer I know on "being in the moment" is Eckhart Tolle. His classic book is The Power of Now, but the one I've read is the shorter Practising The Power of Now, which concentrates more on putting it into practice.

Changes

Thanks to Pam for leaving this blog's first ever comment with the tale of her mechanical 80s iPod. The fact that a CD changer can now be regarded as an antiquated relic makes me feel very old indeed. And I never even got around to owning one...

Thanks too to Paul for your contribution. (I should explain that I know both Pam and Paul from my previous life as a fanzine writer. It's been great to hear from them, but please also feel free to contribute if you don't know me. This blog is open to everyone.) As Paul says, there is something very compelling about random plays, though it's a bit problematic for me with all the audio books on my player. It's a bit disconcerting when Jimi Hendrix fades into Charles Dickens.

A few weeks ago, I went to my osteopath and we listened to random Hanna Barbera themes on his laptop. There's nothing like having your bones manipulated to The Flintstones. But we both agreed that it's wondering what's going to play next that's the really interesting bit. Actually listening to the tunes themselves can sometimes be tedious by comparison. After all, some of them last over three minutes! - and when Bridge Over Troubled Water comes on, it's positively traumatic. (No, I didn't mean that. I mean that it's long...) It's waiting for what comes next that seems to be what's important.

There's an important spiritual lesson in that last sentence. See if you can spot it, and feel free to comment if you do (or don't). (And this is only the second post! At this rate, we'll all be enlightened by Christmas.)

Pam also mentioned that this blog is a bit impersonal, so I've taken the time to improve and expand my biography. It now tells you a bit more about me and explains how my life experience has finally blossomed into this glorious blog. It also explains a bit more about what the blog is about, which may be useful, especially in view of the rather cryptic spiritual content there's been so far. You may feel that my aspirations  are a bit ambitious in view of the fact the blog so far has approximately two readers, but hey, you've got to start somewhere. So please go and take a look at the bio (just click on "About") and I'll be back with another post real soon.