Are you a #mindfuliger

When I started out on Instagram I was living in Dubai, surrounded by amazing skyscrapers. That is where I was, so I decided to photograph the skyscrapers. 

Dubai is a cultural hot pot and offers one a wonderful opportunity to be exposed to, and practice taking different perspectives. We are so influenced by our upbringing, education and cultural backgrounds that it is not always easy to see a situation at hand from the perspective of another or in a way that encourages growth and change. 

Instead of seeing with open eyes, our vision is often blinkered or filtered.  On my Instagram account  I have tried to encourage the taking of different perspectives in all life situations, by mostly posting photographs which are lookups of buildings, photographing from different angles, or editing the photographs in such a way that a new perspective is presented. It is my wish that my photographs will be a gentle reminder to look at life with fresh eyes.  

In my photography I have been greatly influenced by the work of John Daido Loori Roshi. What follows is a transcript from one of my favorite youtube videos, in which he speaks about Zen Photography. 

“Look at what a photograph is. It’s like 1/60th of a second , or 1/120th of a second, or 1/1000 of a second sometimes. So it’s the moment.....

The moment is a fleeting thing. It arrives as it departs. But the moment is where a life takes place.  And unfortunately most of us miss it. We’re preoccupied with the past which doesn’t exist, it’s already happened. Or we’re preoccupied with the future, worrying about the future. It too doesn’t exist, it hasn’t happened yet. And while we’re so preoccupied, we miss the moment to moment awareness of our life. And that’s where our life takes place. We miss the moment, we’ve missed our lives. So that’s the importance of the moment.........”

My photography flows out of my mindfulness practice, but in many ways I use my photography as a mindfulness practice in itself. When I am out photographing, awareness of all that is happening around me is key.  To capture a scene which I will be able to incorporate into my art,  I need to be particularly alert, sensitive to, and mindful of the moment. 

Today I decided to start a new hashtag on Instagram. I suddenly realized again, something I have known for a long time. It’s all about the moment. Being mindful of the moment is a wonderful message to spread on Instagram. 

So are you a #mindfuliger?

I love words especially new ones! This one has a lovely sound to it. It could be from any language in the world! 

I believe the hashtag #mindfuliger has the potential to add an extra dimension to Instagram. 

“Between stimulus and response there is a space. In that space is our power to choose our response. In our response lies our growth and our freedom.”  -Viktor E. Frankl

If you would like to find out more about incorporating mindfulness into your photography,  you might like to take a look at  the website “Seeing Fresh”.  The About and Galleries sections have some wonderful info and assignments to try out. The end part of the John Daido Loori Roshi video also has some wonderful tips. 

“But when I photograph, what I try do is to get out of the way and let the photograph happen. Let the camera photograph by itself.”  -John Daido Loori Roshi

Are you mindful when you photograph? Would you like to be? Become a #mindfuliger and start adding the hashtag #mindfuliger to your work. I’m very excited to see this new stream on Instagram! 

PRT, Paternoster lifts, Cyberspace and Mindfulness

The ability to move individuals or groups of people from one point to another in the shortest possible amount of time, has always been an ongoing challenge for designers and innovators. 

This week I had my first ride on the PRT at Masdar City.  The acronym PRT does not stand for Please Retweet but for Personal Rapid Transit :)

For more info about these pod cars, click here 

In most public transport systems, time is wasted waiting for arrivals, stopping for other passengers and taking indirect routes. PRT systems provide the possibility to move small groups nonstop in vehicles which are automated and are on fixed tracks, thus saving much time. 

Riding along in one of the pods felt more than slightly futuristic and made me think of cyberspace where the same challenges of movement and rapidity face us. 

Although it is a mindspace, I liken cyberspace to a huge network, made up of countless corridors,  each leading to an uncountable number of destinations. With more and more of our daily business being conducted online, we are seeing the emergence of new and wonderful inventions connecting us to each other at incredible speeds. 

I have written before of the need for filtering in cyberspace and the need for deep listening.  These are two qualities which can help us stay on track as we speed through and are sometimes whisked down the corridors of cyberspace.

Masdar City

It is my experience too that as one spends some time on social media in cyberspace, and if one “listens” with awareness while in this mindspace, one gradually gets a feel for which tweet, link, post or entry deserves a closer look. 

This past week I was sent a photograph from a trusted mindfulness twitter friend.

@lindahollier thought you'd appreciate this pic | The Arts Tower Sheffield, England pic.twitter.com/un9ZWOeVAU

— julian (@heedable) February 25, 2014

Julian @zenrules whose one brief is “living meaningfully with mindfulness. listening to others with empathy. sometimes I fall short. still I keep trying”, is aware of my love of architecture and I appreciated his gesture. I thanked him for passing on the image and commented that I liked the fact that it is called The Arts Tower. I was delighted when The Arts Tower connected with both of us.  

@heedable @lindahollier I really appreciate it too. Mostly because it's of me! :)

— The Arts Tower (@TheArtsTower) February 25, 2014

Delighted to be chatting to a tower I recalled the piece I had posted a few years ago -  “Living, breathing being”. It is of the Burj Khalifa speaking shortly after it was born. I reposted the link and then set off to discover more about The Arts Tower. 

The tallest university building in the UK has one feature which particularly captured my attention. It has two ordinary lifts but also has a paternoster lift, which with 38 cars is the largest of the few that survive in the UK.  

The video below gives us a look at this cyclic elevator in The Arts Tower.

This constant movement with its hop on, hop off concept seemed I thought, a forerunner of the PRT system and seemed particularly suited to cyberspace where we are transported from here2here. There is constant movement in cyberspace as we connect with each other, follow links, hop on one idea, get transported via it to another level which awaits us with further information as well as possible distraction. 

No new paterlifts were allowed to be built after 1974 because of concerns about accidents and disability access. Remaining ones were fitted with many safety features. This is a warning for cyberspace too. 

Unless we are mindful and become aware of our exact movements in cyberspace, where we hop on and where we hop off, we stand the danger of simply going round and round aimlessly. The way in which we hop on and off is also important. Consideration of the self assists in maintaining balance in one’s lifestyle both on and offline. Consideration of the other promotes acceptance and understanding. 

There are times when one needs to hit the emergency stop button and take a break and there are times when it is great fun to ride along with curiosity. I have had many adventures in cyberspace. 

As you read this we are connected. Before you hop off this page, may I thank you for hopping on. Take care and happy travels :)

Related articles:

Cyberflanerie: Deep Listening in Cyberspace

Corridors of Cyberspace

Linda in Wonderland

Filtering

Social Media - Bridging Cyberspace

iPhoneography Art Interview

I am excited to share that I was recently interviewed by Kate England of Marmalade Moon. 

The interview "Creative iPhoneographer Linda Hollier" can be read in full here.

Links and Texture

Below is an image. It is a photograph of the Burj Khalifa, currently the tallest tower in the world.

When you hover over it you will see that it suddenly reveals a number of links. Each of these links allows you to either experience the tower in its different moods, learn more about it, or watch a video related to it.

Perhaps take a few minutes to explore these links before reading further. The choice is yours.

I have used this concept as I feel it offers a special key.

Every experience we ever have has many elements, but unless we take the time to be mindful of them, many of these elements escape our notice.

Operating on autopilot we may miss many of the threads which when woven together give an experience its particular texture.

An event might be experienced as being bland or fascinating or any of a variety of ways, but that experience is determined by the way in which we tune into that which is at hand. We can walk without seeing details, be in a room and not hear what music is being played, eat a whole meal without noticing the different flavors, pass by flowers without noticing their fragrance, pick up an object without noticing what it feels like, arrive at destinations without being aware of how we got there or look at others without picking up on their moods.

When we pay attention, that which we touch might be smooth, rough, grainy, soft or coarse. That which we hear might be harmonious, irritating or soothing. Tastes can be crunchy, chewy or crisp. Emotions become messengers and we realize that we are not our thoughts.

Our senses and our feelings are our links to mindfulness. We need to click on them as it were in order to experience each moment with all the various elements that make up its particular texture as they interrelate.

Texture

As we move through the corridors of cyberspace, we choose which links we wish to open or close. Similarly, we need to realize that we can choose to tune into that which is around us and within us. We can choose to notice what we are sensing and feeling and thinking. Mindfulness is something we choose to do.

Mindfulness means paying attention in a particular way:

on purpose,

in the present moment,

and nonjudgmentally.

Jon Kabat-Zinn

When we choose to be mindful we also give ourselves the opportunity to choose which elements of an experience need our attention and which it would be better to ignore or not engage. It provides us with the gap in which we can decide how to respond instead of simply reacting.

Between stimulus & response there is a space. In that space is our power to choose our response. Victor Frankl #mindfulness
— Linda Hollier (@lindahollier) May 29, 2013

As mindfulness spreads into all walks of life, it is adding a flavor to life which cannot be properly described but which has to be experienced.

Its texture feels calm, compassionate and non-violent. Its threads are those of acceptance and understanding. They play a music whose chords are non-judgmental. They smell of purpose and focus. Their taste is that of the present moment.

This Moment

This morning I continue reading “Stoep Zen” by Antony Osler.  A beautiful book about Zen life in South Africa. A book filled with phrases and passages that evoke childhood memories and fill me with laughter.  A book filled with short essays, haiku-like poems and photographs that invite me to live my life as simply and as profoundly as I can. A book that invites each reader to be fully present to whoever or whatever is before them. A call to find the heart of each moment. 

When Zen master Su Bong came one year for his retreat he had his usual bag of presents for Tongo and his family. Tongo was digging out thistles near the earth dam. Su Bong gave him the gifts. Tongo thanked him, picked up his spade and started digging again. Su Bong was so impressed. ‘That’s the way to live your life,’ he said that night. ‘You don’t need monk’s robes, just say thank you and get on with your work.’

As I reach the last few pages of the book, the tumble drier sounds its song. Whereas normally I might be tempted to “just quickly finish the last few pages”, I put down the book and go to the tumble drier.  I empty it, fold his socks and place them in the drawer.

As I do so, I fully realize that this is what I am doing. 

This might sound simple. It is and it is not. It is mundane and it is profound.

After closing the drawer, I decide to tweet.  

I fold his socks, then place them in the drawer. #thismoment

— Linda Hollier (@lindahollier) May 7, 2013

Continuing the musings I have been engaging in lately on the usage of Twitter to promote mindfulness, I am struck once again by the incredible potential it has to aid one in becoming aware of what is happening right now.  Often when I watch and note to myself what I am experiencing it sounds like a tweet!  

I return to my book, finish it, and then decide to write this blog.  

In preparation, I pick up my ipad, read many of the tweets with the hashtag #thismoment and then google the concept too.  

I discover an article from two days ago, in which the CEO of Twitter, Dick Costolo, urges graduates to “Be In This Moment”.

Ironically, Costolo didn’t learn this lesson while at Twitter, a platform which in many ways embodies the very philosophy of “being in this moment.” He learned it as an improvisational comedy student in Chicago before, as Costolo puts it, “the internet happened.”

Listening to the video incorporated into the article, I am aware of synchronicity, and then realize it is always there but we do not always see it. 

Making my way to my laptop, my mind begins to wander and I note its wanderings. 

I recall the the piece I once wrote entitled, “The Dalai Lama and Synchronicity” after I saw him in The Hague. I think about impermanence and then recall that I noticed upon my return to Dubai last week that the old "Hard Rock Cafe" is no longer standing. That blog must be about a year old.

Not wanting to hold onto these wanderings too long, I note them, let them go, and then sit down to type.

The mind throws in one last attempt - Remember the blog “Booma Dollies and Onions”; you wrote this piece about watching the mind! Seated at my laptop by now, I look it up, but its message very quickly brings me back to this moment. 

And so I write this blog and you read it. Are we separate? Are we different? Are we one? Are we the same?

Or is there a point where we can go beyond labels and opinions? A point where we can see differences but move past them? That is the point when the wonders of life make themselves known without a need for understanding. 

Right now, this moment, the words appear on my screen as my fingers tap out the letters.  Your eyes move across the page as you read.

I turn to glance out the window

The Burj Khalifa stands tall

The sun is shining.