help me to observe myself while asking this question

November 26, 2011 4:21 AM

I want to learn about mindfulness, to be more mindful. Also known as witnessing or distancing. The ability to be both within and outside a given situation, not to be overwhelmed but to have a part of your mind observe yourself and others all the time. I think this is what very expensive education can teach you. I was reading these questions to David Cameron, the UK Prime Minister, and it strike me that either he has a very good PR team behind him at all times, whispering into his ear, or he has the ability not to get tripped by a question but somehow remain aloof, even when the question is deeply personal. For instance, when asked about smoking cannabis at school his answer is 'this is a very good try'. This might be a silly example. but the point is the mindfulness required for this kind of answer. I read David Rock's "your brain at work" which is about this kind of thing and I read Marcel Proust's "Remembrance of Things Past" (this is perhaps the first time these two authors are mentioned in the same sentence, but the point is that mindfulness is a common concern for both). And somehow I don't feel I am getting any closer to acquiring this state of witnessing. I did try meditation in the past, but I am looking for something much more immediate. So what are the tools, the techniques, the devices one can employ right away to be more mindful?
posted by slimeline (2 comments total)

Can't tell if trolling or...
posted by kithrater at 4:23 AM on November 26, 2011

Shift to AskMe is over here.
posted by pompomtom at 4:29 AM on November 26, 2011