Meditation as weight lifting
My flossing analogy may have been a bit off. Lifting weights might be a bit closer. The difference is that you don’t really feel like you get better at flossing over time, or have different experiences of the flossing process. With lifting, one of the things that you metalearn is how to feel your body working and how to do to the exercise in a way that makes it work better. You learn to find and trace an “edge” of performance (and enjoy it). That’s an interesting process in itself, and it also is an important element in you making progress in your lifting and strength/fitness development.
April 18th, 2005 at 11:02
It seems to me that there really isn’t any sensory activity truly analogous to meditation. Isn’t the ultimate objective of meditation to quiet all sensory input, mental dialog and imagery, and thereby tune out the “noise” of extrernal attachments that impedes inner awareness? It seems that focusing on breath control is often suggested as a beginning meditation technique, but isn’t it used only as a means to wean awareness of sensory distractions to gain access to pathways deeper inside? On the other hand, the sharpening of mind/body awareness during intense physical activities (boardsailing, sex, and cross-country jogging are my three favorites, respectively) seems to lead over time in a direction almost opposite to meditation, that is, repetitive pleasurable physical experiences in effect seem to strengthen the bonds of attachments outside ourselves. In fact, there’s a real risk of spriritual detriment inherent in physical activities we may grow too fond of, since our attachment to them in those cases can often become an addiction. I guess if I had choose between flossing vs. weight lifting as to which is more closely aligned with meditation, it seems that flossing would be. It’s a simpler more inwardly focused activity than weight-lifting, similar to breath control in fact. And actually, considering the ego tripping stereotype of the consummate body sculptor (Ahnold, for instance, eh?), weight-lifting seems to be much more a form of mental masturbation.
April 19th, 2011 at 19:35
You cannot live by inward metitation alone. It is good to look inward into your own mind, but you’ve got to also be realistic and be a part of the physical world. There is no greater achievement than to be connected to your inner self and have that inner self so mentally connected to that outer physical self. We are living and breathing because electro energy is flowing all throughout our bodies. Lifting weights and re learning your body is good for the mind and the spirit! Why not see that connection between it all?