Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance
May. 31st, 2005 02:38 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
sarahmichiganJ. and I listened to "Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance" on CD on the way to and from the Upper Peninsula over Memorial Day weekend. I had avoided reading it for years because I was not particularly interested in either Zen or motorcycles, but it's really about the history of philosophy, which interests me a great deal. There is some mysticism in it, but also a whole lot of really useful information and more than information, new ways of looking at things.
Be here now
I have been thinking a lot about being present and focusing your complete attention on whatever you're doing, not rushing through things to get to the next thing, taking pride in doing good work. We spend so much time looking up the road to what's ahead rather than focusing on the trip. We spend our work hours daydreaming about what we'll do after work. Then, after work, we rush through our chores so we can "get to the fun stuff." But the whole mindset is problematic, because once you've gotten where you were looking forward to, you're not satisfied; instead, you're looking forward to the next big thing instead of being full present in the now moment.
This has got me thinking about what I'm doing with my life, my work, my career. I know that I tend to "multi-task" at work because I find so much of it boring. There have been recent studies on how our minds work that show that we think we're being productive when we try to do two things at once, but usually, we're not. You don't give either thing your full attention, and you lose several seconds of time while your mind switches focus back and forth between the two things.
I don't think I'm giving it my best at work. I have some tricks to keep my attention from wandering, and lately, I've been trying to focus on an entire report at one time, not interrupting in the middle to check email or go to the bathroom. You catch errors when you read a report all the way through without a break that you can miss if you click over to another window and then come back to it.
I think that down this path of thought lies madness, or at least, dissatisfaction, though. I don't think I can do this job and do it well for much longer, because I don't think it's useful, fulfilling, important, or interesting, and so I don't give it my full effort. I'm just an editing and proofreading robot, not a creative individual. In one sense, that was exactly what I needed. My last job was creatively fulfilling, and I felt I was providing a very important product and service to the community through my weekly newspaper. However, so much was expected of me with so little support, and my superiors thought so little of me that ultimately it was incredibly demoralizing. It'd be nice to be appreciated and not stressed all the time AND feel you're doing meaningful work, though. Where, oh where, do you find work that is fulfilling and meaningful, and yet which doesn't wear you down and monopolize all your mental energy when you're off-duty?
Worldviews and paradigms
I've also been thinking a lot about the different paradigms that shape our worldviews, and the book shined a light on why some people's way of approaching the world and making decisions is so radically different than mine, and why I sometimes feel so contemptuous of the whole New Age mindset. In "Zen," the author, Robert Pirsig, talks about the split between the "classical" analytical way of approaching the world and the "romantic" sort of holistic and "groovy" way of approaching the world. Classical thinkers spend a lot of time feeling contemptuous of Romantic thinkers for being too dreamy, too focused on surface appearances, not serious enough, too wacky and undisciplined. Romantic thinkers spend a lot of time thinking that Classical thinkers are too "square," too focused on boring details instead of just taking in art and music and the landscape as a whole, that Classical thinkers spend too much time thinking and analyzing and don't spend enough time feeling and appreciating things for what they are.
One of his postulates is that both kinds of thinking are needed, and a bigger worldview that incorporates both modes of thinking is needed. He says that's why so many of us feel alienated by modern technological society.
This book is an incredible springboard for all kinds of philosophical musings. I think J. and I will be thinking about these ideas for weeks or even months to come.
Mind games
Re-inforcing my whole philosophical bent the last few days is the fact that I read a book called "Mind Games," that![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
novapsyche loaned us. It's a weird mish-mash of disparate ideas and techniques, from kooky stuff like improving your "psychic powers" to understanding why optical illusions occur, to learning speed reading, to understanding how to manage your anger better. I skipped over a lot of the New Agey stuff about auras and chakras and stuff (which I spend plenty of time studying back when I was involved in paganism) and really enjoyed the stuff that comes down to "emotional intelligence."
Some of the insights about where anger and passive-agressiveness come from were actually pretty brilliant. The author summarized in a couple of pages what can take an entire book or years of therapy to understand. The two biggest insights were that:
1. You can only start to handle your anger if you realize you're angry. That seems like a "Duh!" kind of statement, but many of us have been trained to stuff our anger because nice people don't get angry. But when you stuff your anger instead of dealing with it, it comes out later in petty irritation or passive-aggressive behavior.
2. Secondly, the author says that anger often comes from feelings of poor self-esteem. You don't think enough of yourself or trust others to take you seriously if you express yourself calmly, so you lash out in anger instead. Good, good stuff.
Be here now
I have been thinking a lot about being present and focusing your complete attention on whatever you're doing, not rushing through things to get to the next thing, taking pride in doing good work. We spend so much time looking up the road to what's ahead rather than focusing on the trip. We spend our work hours daydreaming about what we'll do after work. Then, after work, we rush through our chores so we can "get to the fun stuff." But the whole mindset is problematic, because once you've gotten where you were looking forward to, you're not satisfied; instead, you're looking forward to the next big thing instead of being full present in the now moment.
This has got me thinking about what I'm doing with my life, my work, my career. I know that I tend to "multi-task" at work because I find so much of it boring. There have been recent studies on how our minds work that show that we think we're being productive when we try to do two things at once, but usually, we're not. You don't give either thing your full attention, and you lose several seconds of time while your mind switches focus back and forth between the two things.
I don't think I'm giving it my best at work. I have some tricks to keep my attention from wandering, and lately, I've been trying to focus on an entire report at one time, not interrupting in the middle to check email or go to the bathroom. You catch errors when you read a report all the way through without a break that you can miss if you click over to another window and then come back to it.
I think that down this path of thought lies madness, or at least, dissatisfaction, though. I don't think I can do this job and do it well for much longer, because I don't think it's useful, fulfilling, important, or interesting, and so I don't give it my full effort. I'm just an editing and proofreading robot, not a creative individual. In one sense, that was exactly what I needed. My last job was creatively fulfilling, and I felt I was providing a very important product and service to the community through my weekly newspaper. However, so much was expected of me with so little support, and my superiors thought so little of me that ultimately it was incredibly demoralizing. It'd be nice to be appreciated and not stressed all the time AND feel you're doing meaningful work, though. Where, oh where, do you find work that is fulfilling and meaningful, and yet which doesn't wear you down and monopolize all your mental energy when you're off-duty?
Worldviews and paradigms
I've also been thinking a lot about the different paradigms that shape our worldviews, and the book shined a light on why some people's way of approaching the world and making decisions is so radically different than mine, and why I sometimes feel so contemptuous of the whole New Age mindset. In "Zen," the author, Robert Pirsig, talks about the split between the "classical" analytical way of approaching the world and the "romantic" sort of holistic and "groovy" way of approaching the world. Classical thinkers spend a lot of time feeling contemptuous of Romantic thinkers for being too dreamy, too focused on surface appearances, not serious enough, too wacky and undisciplined. Romantic thinkers spend a lot of time thinking that Classical thinkers are too "square," too focused on boring details instead of just taking in art and music and the landscape as a whole, that Classical thinkers spend too much time thinking and analyzing and don't spend enough time feeling and appreciating things for what they are.
One of his postulates is that both kinds of thinking are needed, and a bigger worldview that incorporates both modes of thinking is needed. He says that's why so many of us feel alienated by modern technological society.
This book is an incredible springboard for all kinds of philosophical musings. I think J. and I will be thinking about these ideas for weeks or even months to come.
Mind games
Re-inforcing my whole philosophical bent the last few days is the fact that I read a book called "Mind Games," that
novapsyche loaned us. It's a weird mish-mash of disparate ideas and techniques, from kooky stuff like improving your "psychic powers" to understanding why optical illusions occur, to learning speed reading, to understanding how to manage your anger better. I skipped over a lot of the New Agey stuff about auras and chakras and stuff (which I spend plenty of time studying back when I was involved in paganism) and really enjoyed the stuff that comes down to "emotional intelligence."Some of the insights about where anger and passive-agressiveness come from were actually pretty brilliant. The author summarized in a couple of pages what can take an entire book or years of therapy to understand. The two biggest insights were that:
1. You can only start to handle your anger if you realize you're angry. That seems like a "Duh!" kind of statement, but many of us have been trained to stuff our anger because nice people don't get angry. But when you stuff your anger instead of dealing with it, it comes out later in petty irritation or passive-aggressive behavior.
2. Secondly, the author says that anger often comes from feelings of poor self-esteem. You don't think enough of yourself or trust others to take you seriously if you express yourself calmly, so you lash out in anger instead. Good, good stuff.
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2005-06-01 12:19 pm (UTC)In context of this post, uhh... OK, this doesn't fit the post very well at all and I can't stretch it such that it does.
no subject
Date: 2005-06-01 12:38 pm (UTC)I don't like or accept the idea that emotion equals evil, either. Sure, anger not well directed can be bad, but anger in and of itself isn't bad-- it just IS. Hate usually hurts the hater more than the hated, but it isn't even always evil. I sure hate what GW Bush is doing to our country. Ideally, hatred of evil or injustice should lead to good things.
By the way, your comment that, "There are light and dark aspects to both sides, and a "larger view of the force" should have been taken by Lucas himself," sounds a lot like something Palpatine would say. Are you sure you haven't gone over to the dark side? Hmm?
no subject
Date: 2005-06-01 12:58 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-06-01 01:10 pm (UTC)What would your Sith name be? Darth... ???
They seem to take negative words like "invader" and "insidious" and lop off the "in".
Darth Cestuous?
Darth Noccuous?
Darth Iquitous?
Darth Famy?
Darth Fernal?
This could get silly.
no subject
Date: 2005-06-01 01:29 pm (UTC)And I'm partial to Darth Sanity. Heh! Or Darth Cinerate. Or, oooh, how about Darth Fector. OK, I'll stop now.
no subject
Date: 2005-06-01 02:02 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-06-01 01:20 pm (UTC)You could easily say that the "light side" is about freedom from one's emotions, while the dark would be about capitulation.
no subject
Date: 2005-06-02 06:30 am (UTC)On a tangential note, I really, really, hate that dark=evil and light=good all the time in pop culture. Even people who should know better use that kind of wording without giving any thought to the social implications of associating darkness with evil.