“It is unimaginably hard to stay conscious
and alive in the adult world
day in and day out.”
~ David Foster Wallace, from “This is Water”
It's impossible to be aware of every sensory perception throughout the day.
There are so many of these details that being consciously aware of even a fraction of them would completely overwhelm us. The Victorian poet and novelist George Eliot remarked, "If we had a keen vision of all ordinary human life, it would be like hearing the grass grow or the heartbeat of a squirrel, and we would die from the noise that exists beyond silence."1
However, being able to tap into some of that hidden richness can be incredible.
What prevents us from tuning into it more often?
Simplifying complexity
Our brains help us handle the overwhelming complexity of life by predicting what will happen next based on our past experiences. They enable us to create a model of reality based on the memories we've accumulated and the predictions we make. They accomplish this by condensing a vast amount of sensory information into abstract concepts.2
It's astounding to think about how these processes allow me to wake up in the morning and navigate each day as if I were the main character in a story, all without needing to understand exactly what my brain is doing.
Cultivating flexibility
The downside is that our predictions, models, and concepts can sometimes hinder our ability to make more accurate predictions, develop better models, and revise outdated concepts.
While these projects may seem intellectual, the often underappreciated benefit of mindfulness practice is that it allows our brains to continually update their capacity.
By providing more raw sensory data to process with less internal interference, mindfulness helps enhance our cognitive abilities.
Applying mindfulness in extreme weather
It has been exceptionally hot in Ohio this week, much hotter than usual, and the heatwave is affecting a large portion of the country. I went for a run on Tuesday morning before the temperatures started to rise, but it still felt like I was running in a sauna. I’ve been drinking more water, taking the dog on shorter walks, and paying attention to the dramatic temperature fluctuations I experience throughout the day.
Practicing mindfulness involves habitually paying closer attention to ordinary phenomena, not just when you’re meditating, but whenever you can remember to attend to sensory details in daily life. This takes up a surprisingly small amount of time each day, and changes in the seasons and challenging circumstances, such as extreme weather, can make it easier to focus on some of the specific perceptions.
Summer is often my most challenging season. While mindfulness doesn’t make me enjoy the heat, it provides me with tools to navigate the difficulties it brings.
Over the past few days, I’ve been using the extreme heat to pay closer attention to the differences in temperature. I’ve noticed the gradual rise in temperature throughout the day, followed by a slow drop in the evening.
Watching temperatures change on my weather app is easy. Experiencing the varying levels of heat firsthand is much sweatier and a lot more uncomfortable, but it gives me plenty of opportunities to practice observing unpleasant sensations without rushing to get rid of them. I don’t force myself to like them. I just try to collect the raw sensory data for my nervous system to incorporate with less internal friction.
One of my favorite contrasts to explore is the difference between the cool environment of my air-conditioned house and the scorching heat outside. On hot days, my appreciation for shade becomes palpable, and I often go out of my way to change my walking or running route so that I can spend more time in it.
Enjoying the refreshing relief of cool environments after being in the heat makes for a gratifying summer mindfulness mission. This could include activities like jumping into swimming pools, strolling through the cooler aisles of a grocery store, or taking showers that are a little colder than the ones you take the rest of the year. Stepping into the cool air of a library or your own home after spending time in the heat is a delicious example of the low-hanging fruit of mindfulness practice.
Intentionally investigating chillier body sensations as part of my daily meditation practice makes all these heat-related secret missions a little easier to spot and enjoy.
Exercise
This attention exercise improves your ability to notice subtle differences in the temperature and movement of the air around you.
Circumstances for learning this attention exercise
Transitioning from cool environments to hotter ones
Transitioning from hot environments to cooler ones
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