The key to saving the world is having each person take good action as best they can. In practice, it's easy to do less than our abilities because of distractions or setbacks. It would be useful to increase our strength of will so that when we attempt to take action, we'll be more likely to carry it through to completion.
One way I've recently been able to do that is through "mindfulness meditation" and another technique called "notation". I've noticed it strengthens my focus and resolve, possibly through the psychological technique of classical conditioning. After a short amount of mindful meditation and notation practice, I was able to increase my performance at the gym and experience it in a different and more profound manner. Over time, as meditation helps me build strength of will and perseverance, it should also help with my activist activities.
There are many guides to "mindfulness meditation" and "insight meditation" online. (If they contain lots of religious references or foreign words, I simply try to focus on the actions being presented and adapt the information to my own context. There are pearls of wisdom hidden everywhere!)
Here's one brief passage that talks about about the "notation" technique:
It can be carried out continuously through the day. When you get up from sitting, you must note carefully — beginning with the intention to open the eyes. "Intending, intending... Opening, opening." Experience the mental event of intending, and feel the sensations of opening the eyes. Continue to note carefully and precisely, with full observing power, through the whole transition of postures until the moment you have stood up, and when you begin to walk. Throughout the day you should also be aware of, and mentally note, all other activities, such as stretching, bending your arm, taking a spoon, puffing on clothes, brushing your teeth, closing the door, opening the door, closing your eyelids, eating, and so forth. All of these activities should be noted with careful awareness and a soft mental label.
( Also see the full instructions.)
Here's the psychological magic: over time, the "inner voice" used for the notation meditation becomes tightly associated with taking action. Think back to Maslow's classical conditioning experiment...pairing the bell with the presentation of the food caused the two to become connected in the dog's brain. Eventually, simply ringing the bell CREATES the response in the dog. Similarly, at first, when we use the notation technique, we begin to associate our inner voice with the actions we are taking throughout the day. Eventually, our inner voice can be used to CREATE a response in us. More specifically, we can use that inner voice to increase and focus our efforts during times of stress and distraction. It may sound simplistic because we often "say" what we want to do all day long. However, isn't it true that your thoughts and words don't always translate into the action you desire?
The path of meditation can help with that. Here's my path so far:
- For a month or so, I sampled different meditation techniques I found on the internet. Recently, I've done a couple weeks of recorded "body scan" mindfulness meditations, about 45 minutes per day, usually in the morning. ( I recommend Jon Kabat-Zinn's recordings because they have 20 years of use in the medical and research communities and are religion-neutral.)
- At different times during the day, I also did the notation meditation exercises. One can do it while doing almost anything...walking, eating, sitting, resting. I often end up doing it briefly many times a day. As a beginner, doing shorter periods of the notation meditation more frequently was easier, more enjoyable, and seemed to keep me "aware" longer.
- I then started doing body scan meditations while on the cardio machines at the gym. With my eyes closed, I systematically focused on the different areas of my body rather than on a magazine or letting my mind wander. (See articles on dissociation vs. awareness, and NBA championship teams.) I also did the notation technique while exercising, especially on the weight machines. "Sitting" as I sat down at the machine. "Intending" when I was about to lift the weights. "Lifting" as I lifted them.
- Eventually, something interesting started happening. As usual, there were times when I started getting tired and it felt like I was about to reduce effort because the strain seemed like too much. However, I then used the words "intending" and then "stronger" (as in "I intend to exercise stronger at this moment so can keep up with the machine's pre-defined program"). I then DID INCREASE MY EFFORT, even though moments before, it felt like I was going to give up from exhaustion. When I mentally said "intending", it was a mental signal that I didn't want to reduce my efforts in the face of difficulties. When I said "stronger" or "persevering" or "extending", it was like I was giving my body a command to increase its efforts, to persevere past this temporary obstacle and to continue my striving. My body then responded, and IT FELT ALMOST EFFORTLESS on some level. Importantly, in the past, those ARE the moments when I often gave up, but now I persevered. This morning, I was able to burn over 600 calories in one session on the cardio machine, which is the most I've ever done. It isn't that my level of fitness higher, it's that the level of exhaustion I'm willing to endure is higher.
- I envision many ways this increased level of focus and perseverance can be used for activist activities. As a simplistic example, when phonebanking, rather than feeling sad and ruminating when people don't respond positively, it will be easier to detach from the emotions and simply focus on "intending"... "lifting"... and "dialing" the phone. It won't matter how many refusals; there will be virtual IMMUNITY to failure and setback because the focus will be on the action itself.
"It's the action, not the fruit of the action, that's important. You have to do the right thing. It may not be in your power and may not be in your time that there'll be any fruit. But that doesn't mean you stop doing the right thing. You may never know what results come from your action...."
- Mahatma Gandhi
As a more complex example, I have a personal project I've struggled with for more than three years. In the past 5 days, I've made transforming progress. There never was any external force holding me back; it was all internal. How many times have you not taken action on something meaningful, even though you were perfectly free to do so?
Often times in life, we are SO CLOSE to achieving our goals and we just need a little more effort or avoidance of distraction. For some of us, the practice of meditation can supply that. By changing our awareness, focus, and behavior, it incrementally or even exponentially increases personal effectiveness. At its weakest, meditation is a better investment of time than most network television. At it's strongest, it can empower individuals who then take actions that change the world.
Could it help you?