“This being human is a guest house,
Every morning a new arrival.
A joy, a depression, a meanness,
Some momentary awareness comes
As an unexpected visitor.
Welcome and entertain them all…
The dark thought, the shame, the malice,
Meet them at the door, laughing,
And invite them in.
Be grateful for whoever comes,
Because each has been sent as a guide from beyond.
Rumi
This is one of my favorite poems. And its words speak to ITP and the practice of Staying Current. The idea to welcome and entertain each of our feelings presupposes a four-part process: we feel our feelings, we welcome them, we’re grateful for them, and we allow them to guide our forthcoming actions. Victor Frankl treated the same subject a little differently: “There is a space between stimulus and response. In that space is our power to choose our response. In our response lies our growth and our freedom.”
Once we become aware of that space between stimulus and response, we can fill it with whatever we want. Sometimes we fill it by thinking about what’s happened, analyzing the experience. As we practice ITP, we’re encouraged to fill the space with awareness of our whole being: body, mind, heart, and soul. Thinking and awareness are different.
I have often experienced going back and forth between the two states. For example, when I’m brushing my teeth I will pay attention to how I’m brushing one moment and the feeling of the toothbrush moving in my mouth in another moment. And then, Ooops, I’m not brushing correctly! I’ll go back to thinking about my brushing technique. And then feeling again … until the two minutes are up.
This awareness/feeling state is what ITP helps us practice. To aid in our practice, ITP asks us to be aware our four aspects: body, mind, heart, and soul. George Leonard, one of the founders of ITP, encouraged practitioners to use their bodies as learning tools. In the Principles of LET, he wrote:
The body is a highly effective learning facility. It is fully instrumented with millions of feedback circuits, and the feedback is practically instantaneous. Once you’ve tuned into your body, you’ve tapped into an almost limitless source of learning.
In the space between stimulus and response there’s an opportunity to be aware of our bodies, to feel the movement of the toothbrush against our gums. In that feeling/aware state are body sensations that happen instantaneously, before any actions that we might do take place. In noticing these sensations we learn about ourselves. And taking the space to feel them and appreciate them allows Rumi’s welcoming and gratitude to become possible.
But, how do we become aware of our bodies in that short moment? ITP has an answer: Practice. The-5-day-a-week Kata, 150-minutes-a week aerobics, strength training, awareness of what we eat. The Core Practice Intentions offer the possibility of increasing the amount of time we spend aware. They help us practice body awareness and “tap into an almost limitless source of learning.” What do we learn about? Ourselves! With long-term daily practice, we grow in awareness of who we really are and what strands of experience we weave into the fabric of life on this beautiful planet. There’s no one else who can take our place.
Let’s finish this essay with a prayer. Let’s take a moment to quiet our minds and send gratitude to our ancestors, George Leonard and Michael Murphy for their wisdom and creativity, to Rumi for his poetic understanding, and to Victor Frankl for his work in helping us recognize that we’re more than reactive beings. And to all in our ITP community for being on the path with us.