Still Your Mind
Introduction
Rough waters in our global political landscape have prompted me to remain silent and thoughtful about the unfolding history. In this “slowing down” of things to say, I am reminded of a very special practice I hold very close to my heart and deep inside my mind - the practice of Mokuso, also known as a “meditation” or “quieting the mind” in Martial Arts and also known by those studying Zen. As always, however, I will describe my personal take and experience with this practice.
Please keep in mind that my personal experience of a process is the natural part of any learning. I do strongly believe that we must make each process our own, through introspection, practice, and of course - curiosity. Otherwise we only repeat the mechanics of a process, never to really dive deep into the essence of what lies beneath mechanics. If and when we stop short of exploring a process and making it our own, we rub ourselves of the tremendous value and power that comes with liberating ourselves from the mechanics of it, the repetitive tasks performed with the aim to achieve one standardized level or another.
When we make a process our own, we forge forward through discovery and learning - one of the most amazing journeys in self-empowering. Keep that in mind when you come across any process, regardless of the activity you engage yourself in: make it your own.
Personal Context
My personal experience of Mokuso first came from my training with Sensei, during our practice. We used to softly sit and bring ourselves to a state of physical and mental stillness at the beginning and the end of each practice. My parallel encounter with a similar process came from the mentor I had throughout my youth, when our practice of quieting the mind was done in a very particular and unique way, but towards a very similar outcome. As it was, the practice of Mokuso became a meditative practice AND an internal connection with two of the most influential people in my life.
I remember the beginnings, as a young 13-14 year old, trying to figure out what I was supposed to do while sitting with eyes closed and hands slightly touching as I cupped an invisible pathway for the energy (Ki) to travel from the Universe into my energy center, Hara.
As time passed, the process unfolded and expanded within myself, becoming stronger, softer, more vital, and slowly more powerful. After a while, my curiosity led me to slowly making this process my own - an approach that eventually led to how I experience Mokuso nowadays, in a practical and functional sense.
Is the way I experience Mokuso the “correct” way? Some may say yes, some may say no, and some may not know. As for me, my Mokuso is mine in the same way that I am me. How I breathe is how I breathe, how I chew is how I chew, how I walk is how I walk, how I meditate is how I meditate. These processes are now mine, thus they are me.
Mokuso
Presented as a mental process that opens the near-metaphysical realm on a more subtle - and elusive - energy level, Mokuso is first and foremost a PRACTICE. Therefore, depending on the system one follows and on the actual teacher(s) guiding the student, Mokuso may lead to one outcome or another. Generally, a person entering the process of Mokuso would take certain steps with the intention to achieve specific goals - or stages - as per the instructions received. In my book, Evolutionary Exploration, I specifically refer to this approach as being flawed because it determines the outcome based on the parameters of the search. In other words, it is very likely that our minds are tricked by the very programming we input as the origin point of our search.
From this perspective, I arrived at two very distinct paths for almost everything I do in life. These two paths do not cancel one another, but they don't really complement each other either. They are simply two different outcomes based on two different originating inputs. Here they are:
Mokuso as a physiological TRIGGER, and
Mokuso as an internal BRIDGE
As an Internal Bridge, Mokuso - for me - represents a connection to the memories of my time sent with my Sensei and my Mentor. In that sense, I could consider it a “psychological trigger” where the process itself calls on past experiences, ideas, and emotions. I do not do this because of nostalgia, but rather as a rooting reminder, a way to center myself, and a way for me to transform a moment into an origin point for a new introspective journey or an emotional/mental transition.
As a Physiological Trigger, I have slowly programmed my brain to respond to Mokuso in very specific ways, such as a entering a relaxed yet alert physical state, changing the way my brain activity is in a particular moment, bringing awareness to my physical status, and often to tune out my senses from my surroundings - and thus, creating “mental space” for myself.
If it sounds complicated, it’s because it actually is. On the surface, Mokuso can be a simple entering of a more relaxed state, or a way to attempt to focus on specific thought processes while isolating irrelevant fleeing thoughts. These effects alone are amazing to experience and absolutely useful to anyone alive.
At a deeper level however, Mokuso becomes an intricate process, one in which we are profoundly involved. Imagine being a sculptor and starting to work on a block of marble. EACH strike against the stone inevitably leads to change; on advanced levels, Mokuso is very similar to that. This means that every single action taken by you, by your brain, leads to a change.
First Step
So how do you start, if you’ve never done this before?
You build.
Remember, this is a process and - as any self-sustaining process - it builds up in stages, step by step, starting from a solid foundation and leading to a high level of efficiency.
What I mean by “building” is quite literal. We can assign very specific outcomes to specific actions, so that everytime we perform those actions the outcome happens faster and faster - until it becomes almost instantaneous. In this way, we build “triggers”, which in turn safeguard the process.
The brain has the amazing ability to remember a process and perform a task faster and better through repetition. While most people associate the word “trigger” with a negative event, triggers can also be “created” with specific goals in mind. People experience this process quite often, but they simply are unaware of it happening because, in general, for our brains this is a background task.
Our ability to create triggers in order to affect and modify our inner processes (physiologically and psychologically) is one of the most powerful “techniques” at our disposal. Why not use it all the time!?
Mokuso, as the practice of quieting the mind and bringing stillness to our thoughts, can also become a powerful trigger for our wellbeing.
Explore and experiment with it yourself. Let your curiosity lead you. “What If“ is a wonderfully powerful mental cue to expand how you experience living.
Questions? We’re always a click or two away 🙂
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