Zoning In, Zoning Out

image courtesy of thanukorn/freedigitalimages.net

Last week, a woman in one of my classes described being contemplative as zoning in and zoning out. I laughed at the accuracy of this simple image to describe the contemplative way of being.

During formal contemplative practices like meditation and tai chi, we zone in.  Our attention is focused inward and on our relationships with our self and with the Sacred.  This internal focus draws us away from the world.  We create an environment in which we practice acknowledging our distractions and letting them slip gently away.  In our hyperawareness we have the choice acknowledge but not react to our distractions.

Through this inward contemplative being, we refine the silence in our quiet mind. Zoning in prepares us for the bombardments of the external world.  Anchored in the silence, we are more awake to the challenges in the external world.  When we are grounded, we are better able to navigate difficulties and respond compassionately.  We develop the ability to respond with compassion to both the internal world and external world.  

Zoning in we create the environment in which we choose to respond instead of react. Zoning out we use the skills that we have developed during the zone in to respond to the world.  We are hyperaware of what distracts, what triggers our fears, and what are the results of our reactions.  Zoning out as a contemplative gives us a greater control over our thoughts, words, and actions. We can choose to respond with unconditional love and compassion and minimize the impact of our fear-filled reactions. We can choose to harm none and alleviate suffering.

How are you strengthening your zoning out by zoning in?