When I was in uni, I spent a whole day blindfolded.

Why? It was a trending practice at the time, to desensitize our nervous systems, look within, and tune into our other senses.

I did it with a friend, and we had two ‘caretakers’ for the day, who watched over us and helped us eat. Food preparation was a challenge.

Throughout the day we shared our experience, exercised together, listened to lots of music, and navigated the world without seeing. We relied on echoes of footsteps to approximate a geographical layout of our surroundings.

The whole day felt very meditative, and I had less ‘scatter-brain’ or ‘mind-monkey’ than I would on a regular day.

What does this mean?

Humans are incredibly visual creatures. With the rate our technology is advancing, we are becoming more visual than ever before. What does this mean for our future? Will our other senses become less tuned in? Will we become increasingly scatter-brained, attention spans slipping away like raindrops on a window?

Will we lose the subtle flavors of food, or miss the steady bass, the beating heart, of music?

Take-Aways

Every day I try to exercise three parts of my self: mind, body, and spirit. I exercise the mind by reading, I exercise the body by moving, and I exercise the spirit by meditating.

In the past it’s been a sitting meditation, focused on breath and sounds. Currently it’s a few breaths on the bus into town, or some steps outside with no headphones in, just looking around and listening.

I was recently reading Steve Biddulph, Australian psychologist, and he talked about: when you’re laying awake at night, nervous for the future of your life or the future of your kids’ lives, try sitting beneath a great tree, or in front of a raging waterfall, and see what happens to your view of the world, your gratitude, and your attention.