The beginning of a new year is traditionally a time of resolutions. Usually though, they last a few weeks and by the time several months have rolled around they are forgotten. So I have spent the first 6 weeks of the new year focusing on Resolution itself, and what can be done to strengthen the power of resolve and thus increase the likelihood of remembering and continually working on what has been resolved upon.
To this effect I began an exercise given by Rudolf Steiner, to resolve on some action every day. It can be the same action or a different one. It should be something that you wouldn't necessarily have done otherwise, and something which would have no consequences if left undone. It should have no moral or ethical value, however it should not be completely trite either. Steiner mentions watering a flower every day. It is useful to choose a time when the action is to be carried out - this does not have to be a particular hour and minute, it can just as well be "immediately after dinner", "before bedtime" or whatever. Another important aspect to this exercise is to notice the feeling of an impulse to act that arises just before you carry out the exercise. I hadn't been aware of this part of the exercise before. It is indeed important - in fact I have been discovering that an important point to many of Steiners exercises is becoming aware of the feeling which the particular exercise generates, and thus becoming more aware of oneself.
I practiced this exercise for a month last summer, and found that it helped my memory and my concentration - in the sense that I did not so easily forget to do things. The way I practice this exercise is that in the morning I visualize performing the action. I chose actions that had an esthetic component, like picking a bunch of flowers, or something like that. This is something I don't have to do, that doesn't have a moral or ethical quality, but that is not completely meaningless as for example "touching my left ear with my right hand at 2 pm" would have been. Also I didn't really choose a particular time to carry out my resolution. I just did it some time before going to bed. Sometimes I would remember it after I had gone to bed, and would get up again to do it. This, as I understand is important. To remember a resolution, to experience the impulse to act, consciously or unconsciously, and then IGNORE IT, weakens the power of resolve - in other words it has the opposite effect to what the exercise is trying to accomplish.
I took the exercise up again for 2 weeks in November. By this time I had read that Steiner also suggests adding actions so that you begin with one, then add another, and another, as many as you can manage... However in November I wasn't even able to remember the one action. Plus I had chosen things that were not so easy to carry out after bedtime, in the dark, if I happened to remember it then. It was a complete disaster.
I am now working on it again, though I have given up any ambition of doing more than one action. I am using watering plants a lot (not many flowers to pick in winter). The problem with Steiner's suggestion of watering a plant is that watering a plant every day, will kill said plant (unless you give it very little water), but since I have many plants I generally just choose one at a time. Other actions that I resolve on are trimming away dead leaves, brushing one of the dogs and cats etc. I'm planning to stick with this exercise for about 6 weeks this time. This time I choose a time when I will do it, usually in connection with my midday meditation. I chose the time partly because it is the midday meditation that I am most prone to skip, because of bad planning usually, so I am trying to kill two birds with one stone so to speak.
I have tried this exercise before. It's a hard one!
ReplyDeleteI had chosen some nonsensical action (I think it was tapping my knee), which makes me wonder about your choice of a more normal thing like watering the plants. I am curious if that will be easier for you as it is clear you like your plants and so have some sympathy for that activity already. I imagine moving on to a less sympathetic activity, either a more unpleasant chore or something meaningless, and then on to something you have actual antipathy toward, would be an interesting progression.
I would imagine choosing to do something just before bed would be difficult. We tend to be halfway out the door, so to speak, at that time. However, you could choose the ruchschau that Steiner suggested, which has other salutary benefits in addition to strengthening the will.
Good point that the actions I have chosen so far are actions for which I have sympathy - things I would do regularly in a more perfect world and thus it gives me some sense of satistion to actually do them for this exercise, even though I otherwise wouln't have (or only sporadically as in the case of watering the plants). I like your suggestion to progress from a sympathetic (I've always wanted to do this!) to an indifferent (so what, who cares?) to an unpleasant chore (yech, can't I do something else?). Definitly want to try that.
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