Welcome to M3’s very first guest post. MJ Logan has been haunting M3 for quite a few months…nearly since the beginning. If you have not been to his place to check out the Saturday’s Sunshine adventures or the Monday’s Muse, you should be ashamed of yourself in for a treat when you get to the end of this post. MJ is going to take you away. Enjoy the trip!
Contemplation
Contemplation. In a historical sense, it refers to prayer or meditation and its origins are definitely religious in nature. Templus has its root in Latin and refers to the place consecrated before building an altar. To contemplate literally means to cut out, or set aside a place for worship. Modern day contemplation can be a religious experience, without any religious context at all.
In ancient times, contemplation was accomplished by exiling one’s self from society and thus, purge the everyday noise from the mind. Plato did it. Jesus did it. So did Mohammad and many others. The concept of fasting in the desert for 40 days and 40 nights comes to mind. Maybe God gave the Israelites 40 years of contemplation in the desert.
Define It
Modern contemplation is the concentration of thought on various aspects of an idea or concept. To contemplate requires concentration while relaxing your mind at the same time. If you’ve engaged in free thought or stream-of-conscious thinking, then you have a good idea what contemplation is, but maybe you haven’t reached the place where that level of thought lies. Contemplation is worthy of exploration because it engages your best thinking, frees you from the world, and delivers you answers if you’re willing to listen to yourself.
You probably won’t find it easy the first few times you try it. The worldly distractions of phones, music, TV, the hustle and bustle, the rat race; everything in our modern world demands our attention and not for later or some other time, but right now. Answer this text message, check email, post to Facebook, oh the news is coming on and… You get the idea. You have to put all those things aside for a time.
And please. Don’t tell me you can multi-task and contemplate, unless you’re engaged in some mindless, repetitive task that you’ve done for years like turning upside-down widgets right-side up on a conveyor belt. Even then, contemplation is more of a distraction than a thought process, although for those practiced in the art, contemplation is probably within reach.
Choose Your Need
We all have thoughts and ideas that need exploration. Without expression, we humans are unable to complete a thought. Creative folk know this well. They put words on paper, bring a thought alive on a canvas, or carve magnificent things from wood or stone. Contemplation is a form of expression; it expresses your thoughts to yourself.
Choose an idea, something that is important to you, that thus far, you’ve been unable to withdraw a satisfactory conclusion to fruition within yourself. The very act of choosing what to contemplate is the beginning of the process.
Pick a Place
Go somewhere. Leave the phone and the tablet at home or in the car or somewhere. Leave the world behind and get somewhere you don’t often get to. Someplace you’re alone or will be left alone. Someplace without distractions. Don’t take anything with you save some water, appropriate clothing, and yourself. Choose someplace quiet. Quiet is important. It allows you to hear yourself think. When was the last time that happened?
I prefer outdoor contemplation, although I’ve contemplated in many places, both indoors and out. The forest is best for me and if I need answers, there is where I go.
Get Started
It sounds boring, but clear your mind. Don’t think about emails or television shows or Facebook. They won’t help you contemplate. Think about the silence (you’re in a quiet place, right?) Then listen past that silence to the background noise of the world. If you’re outdoors, listen for far off birds or the rustle of a squirrel in dry leaves. Indoors, perhaps it is the whisper of air coming from a vent or the hum of something far off. Listen to those sounds and think about them and where they are coming from and how they affect you.
Once, I found myself in the woods in early December, far from town and the snow was falling. I sat and listened and at first I heard nothing. There was no breeze, no birds or animals making any noise. Just me, the folding camp stool I carried and the forest. I sat there, listening to nothing and then I did hear something. Something I’d never heard before. I heard the snow falling. Not a driven snow that makes noise that is easily heard, or a heavy snow that thumps itself into the ground with each softly falling flake. No, I could hear each tiny, dry snowflake whisper as it touched the ground or a tree or even me.
It doesn’t matter what the subject of your contemplation is, the sounds are a part of it because they are a part of the world and the world is a part of your contemplation. Think about this because it does matter. Everything matters in a small way. A pair of birds once passed so close to me, I felt the rush of air from their wings on my cheeks and in my hair. They were small things, but they affected me if only for a moment.
When I contemplate outdoors, I hear the birds in the background noise of the world and often think about those two particular birds and the rush of air and the feather-brush tease of a wingtip on my cheek. How do the bird songs or the rustling squirrel or peeping spring frogs affect you? What do they bring to mind?
Contemplate
Slowly, the sounds will fade from your thoughts and the subject of your contemplation will come to the forefront of your mind. Give those thoughts the freedom to express themselves. Don’t try to direct them at first, just let them flow and the world around you will fade from existence. If you start to drift too far from your chosen course, bring yourself back by directing your thoughts. Follow them logically, in sequence from beginning to end.
What conclusion do you draw?
Sometimes, the need for contemplation isn’t satisfied the first time you seek answers. You must come back again and again to find the answers within yourself. Often it isn’t that the answer isn’t there, it is listening to the answer from within yourself that is the problem. Trust in yourself and give yourself the freedom to contemplate.
Experience
Don’t expect thunderous revelations. Look instead for the tiny whisper of your inner voice. The same voice that talks to you in sleepless nights, in the car on a lonely road, or under the tree amidst falling autumn leaves. Don’t look for trumpets heralding the answer; listen to the voice of a cricket change to the voice of reason within your mind.
Find that voice within and listen to it. Truly listen because that is you, the real you. The you that lies beneath the facade the rest of the world sees. That voice, that tiny voice smaller than the voice of a cricket, that is the voice of your mind, the place you can find the answers to many of the questions in your life. I promise you, if you let that voice talk and truly listen to it, the experience will change the way you think.
~~~~~~~~~~
Have you ever contemplated in a place where the world faded from thought and the answers came clearly? Was it the physical location you were in or that place in your mind you traveled to that provided the answers? If you’ve never truly contemplated, will you try it? If you are familiar with contemplation, do you prefer to contemplate indoors or out?
Answer MJ’s questions and then take a moment to slide by his place to check out the goings on…which are often and fun! Give a big round of virtual applause for MJ Logan for the first M3 guest post! I hope everyone is enjoying their break from the usual on M3.
Monday’s Muse
Saturday’s Sunshine
MJ Logan
Raymond Alexander Kukkee
/ June 19, 2012Red, a great choice for your first guest post!
Mike, congratulations, this is a wonderful post. Now I see where your incredible writing skills come from.
Contemplation is far more important for peace of mind than is generally believed. I contemplate regularly and have heard the sound of the wings of crows outside of the closed window. I have heard snow creaking as it settles, poplar leaves chattering, and the wind sighing. This is not unusual in contemplation-when the mind opens to absolute awareness.
I prefer to contemplate outdoors, and often do so when gardening, doing mundane tasks, or sitting beside streams, running water that offers a peaceful setting. The location is only helpful, true peace and contemplation comes from within. Again, great post! ~R
Raymond Alexander Kukkee recently posted..Revelations
MJ Logan
/ June 19, 2012Hey Raymond and thank you,
People laugh at me when I tell them I hear corn growing or nightcrawlers in the weeds. I’ve heard the snow settling too.
Running water is another great helper. Thanks for reading today.
MJ
MJ Logan recently posted..Adventure With Dad
Valentine Logar
/ June 19, 2012Lovely and thought provoking. I always have to leave my normal surroundings to allow thoughts in, sometimes this is frightening.
Valentine Logar recently posted..Careers are made to be broken
MJ Logan
/ June 19, 2012Hi Valentine,
Thought provoking is the idea LOL. And yeah, sometimes it is scary to listen to ourselves.
I lurk at your blog sometimes…
MJ
MJ Logan recently posted..Adventure With Dad
Valentine Logar
/ June 20, 2012I think I might have to return the favor! Lurking on the way.
Valentine Logar recently posted..Where have all the Flowers Gone, Boomers and Feminism
Red
/ June 23, 2012M3. The only place in the blogosphere where it is thoroughly acceptable to come out of the closet and admit you are a voyeur at another blog 😉
Soma Mukherjee
/ June 19, 2012Yes i am ashamed..like totally..
more so after reading this post i should have visited his blog earlier…
loved this write up..oh yes i believe in going into nature or places which provide tranqulity without computers and prefer staying in places where its just camps that is without TV,,best way to understand and find one self is to completely surrender oneself to the beauty around….
beautiful thoughts
Soma Mukherjee recently posted..Help I am in a soup and it’s tasty….
MJ Logan
/ June 19, 2012Hi Soma,
I’ve taken camping trips to get away and just shut out the noise of life. It’s refreshing to get away and enjoy the tranquility of nature. Sometimes that tranquility roars and you’ve accomplished your mission.
MJ
MJ Logan recently posted..Adventure With Dad
MJ Logan
/ June 19, 2012I’m a little late to the comments, having not gone to bed until 4 this morning. I want to thank Red for letting my pen write on her paper. Thank you Red.
MJ
MJ Logan recently posted..Feeling the Need for Speed
Red
/ June 22, 2012You are so very welcome, MJ. I appreciate the time and effort you put into this one. I am hoping for sooner than 0400 tonight 😉
Binky
/ June 19, 2012Not all people contemplate? Really? I never even considered the possibility.
Binky recently posted..Wombania Fan Art Video
MJ Logan
/ June 19, 2012I can’t imagine not contemplating, but I’ve met a few people who have told me they never do. They just don’t have time.
MJ
MJ Logan recently posted..Adventure With Dad
Red
/ June 22, 2012They all need to read the writer’s spotlight for Andrea Trask. Mine is in the couch.
Red
/ June 22, 2012I know people who do not think, much less contemplate.
Cat Forsley
/ June 19, 2012WOW……..
Like a modernized Thomas Merton !!!!!!
Beautiful
🙂 Cat
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MJ Logan
/ June 19, 2012I honestly don’t know what to say Cat except thank you. Thomas Merton? Wow. Thank you.
MJ Logan recently posted..Got Any Matches?
Red
/ June 22, 2012Did I happen to mention the M3 Readers are very erudite?
Derek Mansker
/ June 19, 2012I guess it depends on what contemplating really is. Sure I sit, think and pray. I don’t find a whole lot of quite in my life. It would seem to me that it is important to know your own limits and what it takes to stay healthy. I wouldn’t think there is some prescribed method necessarily. — Nice job on the guest post, though.
Derek Mansker recently posted..I dedicate this life to….
MJ Logan
/ June 19, 2012Derek with four little ones, I can’t imagine you finding much time to be alone and just contemplate.
Some people need a place to begin, a place to find their way to doing this. I think the modern world demands so much of our time, that people don’t necessarily take the time they should to really think or pray or hear themselves.
God gave us an inner voice for a reason. Sometimes we need to find that voice and listen to it. I only wanted to give people a place or way to learn how to do that.
MJ
MJ Logan recently posted..Adventure With Dad
Androgoth
/ June 19, 2012This is an interesting concept and yet I do not have any need to contemplate, I just follow my own path, no second guesses, no pondering but just a straight and unquestionable decision is all that is required, though I do not mock your own methods of contemplation my friend as meditation and the inner core of thought is some peoples mechanism of adjusting to the world around them and is a positive direction, even if it is not for me…
Have a very nice
Wednesday my friend…
Androgoth
MJ Logan
/ June 19, 2012Androgoth,
Ten years ago I might have suggested you need to take time out to contemplate such a path. However, I have come to realize there are people who either don’t want to, or don’t need to, and I can respect that as well.
Thanks for coming by and reading today and I hope the rest of your week is great.
MJ
MJ Logan recently posted..Adventure With Dad
Androgoth
/ June 20, 2012Thank you for your reply also and I will eventually call into your Space to view more of your postings, to be honest I am that far behind on adding comments to all of my friends Spaces that I often find it impossible to venture further into the blogosphere, which is a shame as there are some extremely interesting places in which to frequent.
I will try to visit you sometime soon my friend but it the meantime have fun adding to your world of blogging and be very well 🙂
Androgoth
Red
/ June 23, 2012I am one who fits the do not need to group. I do however take the time to contemplate some things in the traditional sense, especially when I am laying out plot lines. For me, it is an exercise similar to method acting. I need time to interject myself into the character’s place in order to appropriately portray the personality. It helps me to keep my characters from all resembling someone IRL.
Red
/ June 23, 2012I would question that line of thinking entirely, Andro. Your thinking mechanism is one which weighs quickly, and its past performance leads you to rely on the decision as being sound. This is contemplation, just in its rudimentary form. Rather than dwell on the possibilities, you merely ascertain which is the most sound and continue forward. The net result is the same. Good decisions prevent stress.
Bear
/ June 20, 2012Great job MJ I enjoyed the post. If more people stopped to smell the roses, listen to the snow fall, and yes I have done both, we might just have a calmer world. Bear
MJ Logan
/ June 20, 2012Thank you Bear, and I agree.
MJ
MJ Logan recently posted..Adventure With Dad
Red
/ June 23, 2012Amen.
prenin
/ June 20, 2012Fascinating! 🙂
I’ve used meditation for decades as a way to quiet an unsound mind, Contemplation doesn’t seem to be all that different! 🙂
Thanks Mike for the post and Red for letting you! 🙂
God Bless!
Prenin.
MJ Logan
/ June 20, 2012I really think they are very similar, if not the same. Both are used to look inward and gain perspective without the interruption of the outside world.
MJ
MJ Logan recently posted..Adventure With Dad
Red
/ June 23, 2012The Queen of Copy & Paste curtsies. 😉