Adjusting our Lens of Awareness

“Going nowhere … isn’t about turning your back on the world; it’s about stepping away now and then so that you can see the world more clearly and love it more deeply.” – Pico Iyer

A common myth about mindfulness is that it’s all about the close-ups – zooming in one’s lens of awareness to take in every particle of experience. Mindfulness though is much more. Just as photographers learn to intuitively adjust their camera lens, mindfulness trains practitioners in how (and when) to shift perspective to see clearly, moment-to-moment. At times this inevitably involves becoming intimate with the minutia of our experience. At other times we benefit from a wide-angle view to fully understand the landscape in which our experiences play out.

Click below for a 6-minute guided meditation on adjusting our lens of awareness with breath. I’d love to hear what helps you to see clearly, knowing when to get close and when to step back or away. Feel free to share with me here.  More meditation and mindfulness offerings can be found here.

(For more from travel journalist Pico Iyer check out his book, The Art of Stillness: Adventures in Going Nowhere or watch his TedTalk.)