For me,
Sometimes it's nice to sit back and let someone else drive while I enjoy looking out the window.
I can relax and watch the scenery as well as my thoughts and sensations come and go of their own accord.
Before long,
There is usually a bump on the road or a random sound,
Image,
Itch,
Or memory that creates a sequence of subtle,
Unfelt shifts of awareness and I become lost.
It's as though I was in a forest,
Far off the path and unable to see my way back.
The last thing I remember was looking out the window at the clouds passing by and now I'm reliving the feelings of resentment,
Fear,
Or disappointment of either a past or future event.
Everything shifted.
Where did my awareness of the present go?
Is there a path back through the twisting woods of my mind to the present and the beauty of the passing clouds?
For those of you old enough to have enjoyed I Love Lucy,
We call the assembly belt chocolate candy sequence.
My recollection may be a bit off,
But I remember the chocolates moving so fast along the beltway that Lucy could not keep up with her job of putting them in boxes.
Another time she could not decide on the size of eggs as small,
Medium,
Or large.
She gets confused,
Falls behind,
And ends up eating the chocolates or watching eggs fall and break all over the floor.
While gazing out the window,
The bump or distraction caught my mind just as Lucy's was caught up in either wanting,
Resisting,
Or spacing out.
The bump in the road for me,
Or the indecision of small,
Medium,
Or large for Lucy,
Jump-started a recollection of wanting something to be different than it appeared to be.
Or perhaps it was an awareness of resistance to something I did not want.
Or boredom set in and my mind spaced out,
Lost in the wilderness of the forest.
How can I bring it back?
Perhaps a game of Go Fish will help.
The problem is that the voice in your head keeps circulating thoughts as they go round and round.
It is as though the thoughts have nowhere to land.
In the game of Go Fish,
When you get a match of two or four items,
You can pair them together,
Put them down,
And move on to the next item,
Or in this case,
The next thought that comes up.
In this way,
You have a chance to clear your mind and become more conscious of the present moment.
The game of Go Fish matches your thoughts with the name of that thought.
First,
Which category,
Like small,
Medium,
Or large,
Is it in?
Is it a thought of wanting something to be different than it is?
Is it a thought of resisting something that is happening?
Or is it that drifting,
Spaced out,
Far away from being here right now feeling?
After naming,
Wanting,
Resisting,
Or spaced out,
Name the specific want,
Resistance,
Or space.
Match what is happening with its name and put it down.
For sure,
The same thought or new one will jump into your awareness.
Play Go Fish again and continue with the next impermanent thought,
Sensation,
Or memory.
Remember,
They're all thoughts.
They're all impermanent.
They all keep changing.
Soon,
You may notice a small gap between the revolving thoughts and for a moment,
The awareness of what is happening around you starts to open.
In between the sequence of never-ending thoughts is a space of attention to what is actually happening around you in this moment.
Although our sense windows are always open,
At this moment you are actually noticing what your senses are bringing in.
You are back to enjoying the scenery.
What if you don't like what you're thinking or feeling?
Notice that as resisting and then name what thought or feeling you are resisting.
Oh,
Resisting again.
This is what resisting feels like.
Or ask in Go Fish,
Do you have any resisting?
Do you have the feeling of resistance?
If it matches,
You win,
Put that thought or feeling down and return to the present moment of awareness.
Be ready,
The next thought or feeling,
It's not far behind.
Have fun with Go Fish as you answer the question,
Am I as happy as I would like to be right now?
If not,
What is in my way?
Learn that,
Match it,
Put it down and go on.
