Our Miraculous Hands
I recently discovered a wonderful book about mindfulness that had been hiding on my top shelf for over a decade, How to Train a Wild Elephant & Other Adventures in Mindfulness. It was written by Jan Chozen Bays, MD—a pediatrician, meditation teacher, and abbess of the Great Vow Zen Monastery in Oregon. Many of the mindfulness practices she shares were explored and refined in community with her students.
The book offers a short chapter on 53 different mindfulness exercises, many of which are totally new to me. Dr. Bays suggests focusing on one for an entire week so that it can become habitual. She writes, “I developed many of these exercises to help me be more aware, happy, and at ease within the flow of a busy life. I offer this collection to anyone who would like to become more fully present and enjoy the small moments of their life. You don’t have to go to a month-long meditation retreat or move to a monastery to restore peace and balance to your life.”
Dr. Bays’ definition of mindfulness is “deliberately paying full attention to what is happening around you and within you—in your body, heart, and mind. Mindfulness is awareness without criticism or judgment.” We do this by withdrawing energy from the thinking function of the mind and redirecting it to the awareness function of the mind. “This deliberate infusion of awareness is the essence of mindfulness.”
Dr. Bays explains that mindfulness helps us become aware of our mind’s habitual patterns of escape, and then take the alternative route of resting our awareness in the actual events of the present moment. This helps “stabilize the heart and mind so they are not so badly tossed around by the unexpected things that arrive in our life.” Dr. Bays believes that relaxed, alert awareness is the antidote to both anxiety and fear.
Today, I’m sharing excerpted summaries of two of my favorite exercises in the book, both of which revolve around paying close attention to our hands. There is something magical about watching our deft and talented hands go about their business, often seemingly with a mind of their own. I’m also super excited about the amazing painted-hand animal artwork I’ve sprinkled through this blog that was created by Italian artist, Guido Daniele. Visit his website to enjoy a huge array of his glorious body painting art.
“Polar Bear” by Guido Daniele
Appreciate Your Hands
The Exercise:
“Several times a day, when your hands are busy, watch them as though they belonged to a stranger. Also look at them when they are still.”
Discoveries:
“Our hands are very skilled at all sorts of tasks, and they can do many of them by themselves, without much direction from our mind. It’s fun to watch them at work, busily living their own life. Hands can do so much! The two hands can work together or do different things at the same time…
“Even when we are asleep our hands are caring for us, pulling up the blankets, holding the body next to us, turning off the alarm clock. Our hand pulls back from fire before we even register heat…our hand reaches out to catch something before we know it is falling. The right and left hands work together, each one doing its half of a task. Drying dishes, one hand holds the dish and the other the towel. Cutting with a knife, one holds the vegetable while the other chops. They cooperate to wash each other.”
“Parrot on Black” by Guido Daniele
Rest Your Hands
The Exercise:
“Several times a day let your hands relax completely. For at least a few seconds, let them be completely still. One way to do this is to place them in your lap and then focus your awareness on the subtle sensations in the quiet hands.”
Discoveries:
“The hands are always busy. If they are not busy, they are somewhat tense, ready to work. The hands reveal our state of mental ease or discomfort…When we relax our hands, the rest of the body and even the mind will relax, too. Relaxing the hands is a way of quieting the mind. We also found that when the hands are quiet in our lap, we can listen more attentively.
“As I did this task, I discovered that my hands tighten on the steering wheel when I am driving. Now I can check for this unconscious habit, and relax my grip. I realized that I can hold the wheel with a lighter grip and still drive safely. When I relax my hands on the steering wheel, I often find that ten minutes later, they have resumed their habitual tight grip again. This is why we call it mindfulness ‘practice.’ We have to do it over and over again to truly become aware…
“Body and mind work together. When we put the mind at ease, the body can relax. When the body is still, the mind can settle. The health of both is improved. Tension is not necessary for most of the tasks of our life. It is a waste of energy…We generally go through most of our lives in one of two modes. At night we are lying down, relaxed and asleep. When the alarm clock rings, we get up and switch to the mode we use during the day, upright, holding tension, and alert. There are not many times in our busy lives when we are both upright and relaxed.”
“Cheetah” by Guido Daniele
