Meditation Archives - Page 2 of 2

Watching the stars

I remember when I was younger, I’d stay at my gran’s house when my parents were away. After dinner we’d go into the yard with a picnic blanket, a torch, hot chocolate and a pamphlet sized, torn up guide that showed the stars and constellations.

We’d lie on the lawn, watch the sky and try to identify the constellations from our little handbook. I’d stare at the stars until they appeared to be falling towards us. And we’d only head back to the house if we’d begin to fall asleep.

Still gazing

Star gazing with my Gran was one of the best memories of my childhood. And it is the reason I find such joy in taking time to do it.Today my star gazing is a little more sophisticated. I have an app on my phone called Sky Guide which uses a combination of your GPS and accelerometer to help identify stars. It has an augmented reality mode, which fills in where the stars are in real time (like in the feature picture of this post). Also, by far my favorite feature is that it notifies you when objects are overhead, meaning you can see and identify satellites such as the international space station.This evening I drove out to Llandudno, which is one of the best viewing spots in Cape Town. It brought back some great memories from the past and was such an soothing way to take time off.

Epilogue

I was gonna end off the blog with some nostalgic advice or reflections. But here’s a brief story instead. While I was sitting watching the stars, I had my windows and sunroof open. I was also staying aware of my surroundings, just in case. I was busy being introspective, appreciating the scene and trying to think about what to write in the blog when suddenly a dog barked right outside my window. I nearly had a heart attack. A German Shepard had gently creeped up next to the car without me knowing and rocked my world. It then proceeded to walk away, as if it had achieved what it had set out to do. Anyway, here is a picture of it while it walked away, leaving me with my adrenaline rush

Feature mage was taken at a viewing point near Llandudno while using the sky guide app with the augmented reality setting on. ✨ Thesis update: took the day off 🙂

Blog 67/365. Read more about my #365of25 journey here

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Published by rspazzoli on January 13, 2018 | Permalink

Storyline reflecting reality

“It’s important to pause, calm the mind and witness our thoughts, if only to check that the storyline in our mind reflects reality”

– Headspace Daily Session 11 Jan 2017

The above quote from my meditation this morning stuck with me the whole day. It caused me to think about the times that I’ve carried storylines with me for weeks, months or even years that are outdated and no longer rooted in reality.

Storylines are important. They’re carried around as identifiers, as markers of who we are and what we’ve come from. We use them to portray who we are to others and to understand ourselves. They’re part of the narrative that describes our past and guides our future.

However, we often forget to check them and see if they need updating. We become so good at talking about the storyline that it becomes second nature. It plays in our head like a song on repeat and becomes background noise that we’re not even aware of.

Accounting for everything

An example from my life was in 2016 when I started my Masters. I’d fought for years and finally broken away from the accounting path that I had hated. I’d made it into my dream degree, the Masters in Economic Development, and I was so happy.

Yet the accounting storyline stuck in my mind. I’d use it to introduce myself wherever I went. I’d say “Hi, I’m Rowan. I studied accounting for a few years and hated it. But now I’m doing development”

It also still played in my mind all the time. I’d compare myself to my accounting friends and the experiences they were having. And I’d feel insecure about my decision despite knowing it was the right one.

Only when it was pointed out to me by my friend Lexi did I realise that I was holding on to an outdated storyline. We were walking around Capri in June 2016. It was 6 months after starting Masters and a week after we met 3 Nobel Prize winners in economics. She called me out on how my storyline no longer reflected my reality and that I needed to update it.

It was a massive revelation. It took me a little while to unpack, but once I did I was so much freer. And my thoughts and decisions began to match my new storyline.

Touch, pause, engage

I know that I am still likely to carry storylines with me that no longer reflect reality. We all are. But we need to make sure we stop every now and then, look inside and see what storylines we’re holding on to. And if they no longer reflect reality we need to allow ourselves the space to understand, unpack and update them.

In doing this, we’ll have more space in our minds to shape new storylines and influence our realities, now and in the future.

Image was taken on a boat in the Mediterranean, with Capri in the background. It was just after Lexi had called me out on my outdated storyline 🙂

Thesis update: bit of a frustrating day BUT I finally have a meeting with my supervisor tomorrow!

Blog 65/365. Read more about my #365of25 journey here

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Published by rspazzoli on January 11, 2018 | Permalink