MONKEY MIND
The monkey mind (kapicitta) is a term sometimes used by the Buddha to describe the agitated, easily distracted and incessantly moving behaviour of ordinary human consciousness (Ja.III,148; V,445). Once he observed: ‘Just as a monkey swinging through the trees grabs one branch and lets it go only to seize another, so too, that which is called thought, mind or consciousness arises and disappears continually both day and night.’ (S.II,95).
I don't know how many times I have told people about the therapeutic aspects of making art in nature, specifically mandalas. For me and for just about every person that I have brought out into nature to create, the process frees the mind of useless chatter. Gathering objects, clearing space and constructing art focuses and clears the mind. You are placed IN the environment, IN the creative flow and IN the NOW. There is no time, there is simply space.
Yesterday I made an afternoon visit to Massasoit State Park with my four legged foraging buddy Sr. Benjito. I have been there before but am not very familiar with the trails. I printed a map before leaving the house but we stuck to the main road and nearby side paths. I wanted to check out the landing area at the far pond and if I had the time, make some EnviroArt.
I am a person that notices things, especially thoughts. (The first step is to NOTICE THEM.) Sometimes I am in better control of my thinking but lately I have been doing way too much multi-tasking and bouncing from topic to task to thought to "to do" list to ARGH! It has been as if my mind has been "Running on Dunkin's" caffeine. (An appropriate reference as today is National Donut Day.)
(How do people live like this? I really don't know how they add radio and tv and YAHOO news and FB trending to their already over stimmed minds. No wonder people are so stressed out and on meds.) Anyway...
Lately I haven't given myself enough nature time and my Monkey Mind has been gaining control. As we walked to the landing I recognized that my thoughts were not on where I was at all. I had driven over 20 minutes to this beautiful park but my mind was NOT THERE. We walked over 30 minutes to the landing and I was thinking all the way. Oh such a busy mind.
When we got to the pond I said out loud, "I am so out of practice." I stopped, sat myself down on a bench and looked out over the water. "Relax, take the time, BE here."
I listened to the birds and the leaves rustling in the trees. "How did I stay away so long?"
WRONG QUESTION. The response to that question would have had my mind busy for hours. Don't ask, Don't tell. Just BE quiet.
I secured the dog and kicked around in the the pine needles noticing and observing the things that were lying on the forest floor. I picked up a pine branch, snapped it and held it to my nose. The scent of the sappy wood was intoxicating and nothing like any commercial product ever invented. It was and is REAL PINE. I floated into childhood memories. I noticed the shapes of the different varieties of cones on the ground and broken sticks and branches and.... I bent down to pick up the ones that spoke to me. Before I knew it I had cleared a space and began to construct an earth mandala. It took quite awhile before I even noticed that my monkey had simply and easily disappeared. POOF! Like magic he had VANISHED. My mind did not wander to any thought other than the ART at hand; the colors, shapes, aromas and textures of the materials and where to place them. I was in blissful peace.
The sun was lowering in the sky evidenced by the shadows on the mandala so I knew we needed to start hiking to the parking lot. I shot a few final photos, unhooked the dog and began the walk back and... HELLO MONKEY - HE'S BACK! Ah but I was in far better control this time. I could consciously brush him aside and return to the sensations of the breeze and sun on my skin and sounds around me. I needed to this this over and over and over again. When you condition yourself out of the NOW it takes practice to get back in. The first step is... to notice.
What about you? How's your Monkey? Do you think he needs a vacation from your mind? YES! Do you need some help centering and focusing? I invite you to go to my website GETIN2NATURE.COM and to the MEETUP GROUP group and join for free (if you just want to be on a mailing list send me a mail) and take an EnviroArt workshop. It will do you good. Then go out on your own and leave your Monkey at home.
PATRICIA’S UPCOMING PRESENTATIONS
Free and Open to the Public
June 9th – 6:30 pm – Quest House – Easton, MA
“Making Mandalas in the Wild”
Moss is not just moss and pine cones are not just pine cones. To an EcoArtist they are paints and textures to be skillfully combined in an organic piece of earth art. Join Patt Gilmore for a photographic tour and presentation of nature mandalas. From North to South America these images are sure to inspire you to get outside and have fun creating.
Patricia is an environmental artist and therapist that works internationally. Her photographs have appeared in national art exhibitions. In 2014 she created the first Ames Mansion mandala in Easton. Her site specific land art is scattered throughout the USA and beyond.
June 27 – 3 pm – Borderland State Park – Easton, MA
“Sticks & Cones on Paving Stones
Learn about the fun and inventive process behind the making of the very first Ames Mansion Mandala in the fall of 2014. The 6 foot nature art installation was created for the 12th annual Blanche Ames National Art Exhibition and almost all of the elements of design were found right at Borderland State Park.
The woods and trails hold so many colors and textures. After the presentation you are invited to join Patricia on a short trail walk where she will point out many of nature’s paints that work really well in creating earth art.
Patricia Gilmore is a local environmental artist that works internationally. Her site specific land art is scattered throughout New England and beyond. Recently she returned from making and photographing nature mandalas in South America. Several images of her earth art creations can be found in her ISSUU book “Nature Mandalas within an Urban Landscape.”
