{"id":3827,"date":"2015-03-14T17:42:18","date_gmt":"2015-03-14T21:42:18","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/mindfulnessmatters\/?p=3827"},"modified":"2015-03-14T17:42:18","modified_gmt":"2015-03-14T21:42:18","slug":"the-trains-eye-view-of-the-landscape","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/mindfulnessmatters\/2015\/03\/the-trains-eye-view-of-the-landscape.html","title":{"rendered":"The Train’s Eye View of the Landscape"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"IMG_6519\"<\/a>
This is obviously not the locomotive for the train I am riding but an antique at the White River Junction station.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

I am sitting on a train riding from Essex Junction, Vermont to Hartford Connecticut where I will be teaching my workshop at the Copper Beech Institute.<\/p>\n

I haven’t been on an Amtrak train since I was in graduate school over 20 years ago. We are moving along at a good clip and the tracks run parallel to the 89 Interstate. The hills and mountains are still snow covered and the sun is shining.<\/p>\n

It’s a different way to see the landscape. We are higher up than a car would be and I don’t have to pay attention to the road. My attention is free to attend to this landscape or to write, work, or otherwise distract myself.<\/p>\n

We roll along through the towns: Montpelier, Randolph, South Royalton …<\/p>\n

Riding the train is a metaphor for how we meet the future. I am not in control as I would be driving a car and this lack of control reflects the deeper lack of control that we all have. Our life is propelled forward and we try to influence it and often are successful doing so but ultimate control is a confused illusion.<\/p>\n

The ride may or may not go as expected. The train could break down or crash into something. Likely not, but we never know. Again, no ultimate control.<\/p>\n

The train has windows on both sides. If we choose to look, we can see life moving around us or, rather, us moving through life. Language implies a duality where none exists.<\/p>\n

The ride is a little bumpy. Even under optimal conditions, there is a little tremor as we move forward. This is similar to the Buddha’s notion of dukkha–the broken wheel of existence<\/a>. When we treat life as a series of products that must be executed with perfection, we are making life’s ride bumpy. If we can let go of outcomes and be the process, then we are, in a sense, in our truth and free from the pain of dukkha.<\/p>\n

Some time from now, I will reach my destination. The anticipated future will be the present moment. I’ll have a choice then, dwell in that present moment or project myself into the future again.<\/p>\n

Like the train, I can move forward with the present moment staying with it as it becomes the future moment. These sense of movement, saturated by observation, is a frontier between what I conceive myself to be and what I am. If I am mindful, I remain fluid, connected. If I allow my mind to tell stories then I become separate, alienated from the peace of this moment.<\/p>\n

Now the train has come to a stand still after crawling around Springfield, Massachusetts for a while. WiFi has been spotty and has dropped off. Like the train, we get stuck in our lives, whether in a moment or a wide swath.<\/p>\n

The train crawled into Springfield station. Backed up slowly. Stopped. Now we are rolling forward again. Who knows what’s going on (the conductor, but I don’t want to bother with him and I don’t really need to know).<\/p>\n

Eventually, the train arrives. Reasonably on time, as it were. Life continues to the next adventure.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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Dr. Kozak's ability to translate ancient healing traditions into pragmatic applications suitable for modern lifestyles through the use of metaphors have made him a strong voice in healthcare and business. Beginning with a journey to India in the 80\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s where he took the Bodhisattva vows from His Holiness the Dalai Lama, Arnie Dr. Kozak began his lifelong practice in mindfulness meditation. Intent on finding a way to bring the practical healing attributes of mindfulness he began incorporating these techniques in his private practice. In 2002 Dr. Kozak created Exquisite Mind in Burlington, Vermont as a vehicle that could expand his wisdom to larger audiences beyond individual psychotherapy to professionals and corporations, health care providers, public groups and, most recently with Exquisite Mind Golf, amateur and professional golfers. His award-winning new book, Wild Chickens and Petty Tyrants: 108 Metaphors for Mindfulness (Wisdom Publications, 2009) is a thoughtful, funny, and inspiring translation of mindfulness practice through the inventive use of metaphor applicable to our daily lives. In addition to his work with Exquisite Mind, Arnie Kozak, Ph.D., Licensed Psychologist\u00e2\u20ac\u201dDoctorate has been a Lecturer in Psychology at the University of Vermont and is a Clinical Instructor in Psychiatry and Medicine, University of Vermont College of Medicine. He has studied and practiced clinical psychology, meditation, and yoga for more than 25 years. He has studied with several meditation masters, including S. N. Goenka, Larry Rosenberg, Gurumayi Chidvilasananda, and His Holiness the Dalai Lama. After receiving his bachelors degree with honors from Tufts University, he was awarded a Presidential Fellowship to get his Ph.D. in clinical psychology from the University at Buffalo. He completed his training as a Psychological Fellow at the Harvard Medical School. Prior to founding the Exquisite Mind in 2002, Arnie worked ten years in the private sector for the PKC Corporation consulting on mental health content for this revolutionary software company.","sameAs":["http:\/\/exquisitemind.com"],"url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/mindfulnessmatters\/author\/akozak"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/mindfulnessmatters\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3827","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/mindfulnessmatters\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/mindfulnessmatters\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/mindfulnessmatters\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/268"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/mindfulnessmatters\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3827"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/mindfulnessmatters\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3827\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3836,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/mindfulnessmatters\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3827\/revisions\/3836"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/mindfulnessmatters\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3827"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/mindfulnessmatters\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3827"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/mindfulnessmatters\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3827"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}