MINDFULNESS OF THE MIND. THE METHOD OF YEHUDA IBNCOCHINI

MINDFULNESS OF THE MIND

THE METHOD OF YEHUDA IBNCOCHINI

I have music on the background when I am on my computer said a friend of mine.

I said to him, you are neither listening to the music nor concentrating on your work/social media

I have been thinking a lot of the Vietnamese monk Thich Nhat Hanh

Who has gone home to Hue to spend his last days  in his root temple.

He was born in 1926. That would make him 94 years of age. 

I have had a wonderful experience on  5 oct 2019 while I was sitting at the café of the Old Light House Bristow Bungalow and since then an elation has followed me and a greater sense of compassion for the suffering of humanity. I have worked in humanitarian medical projects all my professional life.

Thich Nhat Hanh is a grand proponent of Mindfulness and reading his simple instructions in his seminal volume The Miracle of Mindfulness.

Concentrating on your breath and being completely aware of what you are doing.

I was making a cup of Cuban style coffee this morning, I was aware of each of my actions, something one never pays attention to, such as the sensation of stirring the hot coffee as you mix the sugar.

It is 2 15 pm here in Miami and it is 27 C outside

I decided to go for a walk

I had downloaded some music this morning (the luxury of time allows you to discover music, literature, films and other delights of the mind)

The artificial intelligence of the streaming is such that they accumulate a playlist based on your listening habits and indication which songs you had liked in the past

Mornas and Coladeras of Cabo Verde.  Mainly Cesaria Evora

Feelin music from Cuba.  Mainly Omara Portuondo

Tango  some old such as Gotan Project and some not known to me such as Tango Negro o Otros Aires

Armed with such a playlist on my phone and a good quality around the ear wireless headphone, under the bashing sun of the tropics, I set out for a walk.

Tango wants me to dance, Feelin (vente anos ) makes you slow down ..

I passed by a couple of Iguanas taking advantages of the sun’s rays ,blending into the grass

There are canals here but I am very certain that they are not natural but created during the creation of this residential area many years ago, but still, the slow-moving water, trees swaying in the breeze and the landscaped palm trees all give the illusion of a resort. There is a thick growth of trees interspersed along the walking path recently more used because of the stay home order during this pandemic.

Two or three songs into my playlist, a tango by Otros Aires put me in a dreamy state and the next song was Viente Anos by Omara Portuondo. This song has a certain history as it was one of the first songs I learned and liked during my Cuban sojourn, and I have had a chance to meet Omara after one of her concerts many years ago. I know the lyrics and it is rather sad but that is the beauty. Then I paid attention to the soft piano playing in the background  the full-throated trombone, the thumping bass, the gentle tambores and I noticed that my mind had entered another space altogether.

I was no longer aware of my body, where I was walking (fortunately did not bump into any trees), completely involved with my mind.

I was amazed.. have I always felt like this, even though I was aware of the magical qualities of some music to transport me to an euphorical state?

Initially I thought it was because of my closeness to Cuba and the history of this song, in July of year 2000 at Café Coffee Bean in Guayaquil in Ecuador ?

I came back to reality and then another song came on .

It was a song I had never heard before but selected for me by the streaming service.

A tango by Otros Aires   Los Vino

Same thing happened

Mindful of only the mind

I had no longer a body and all that attests to it

Grateful to Thich Nhat Hanh

I strayed into the realm of the Mindfulness of the Mind

Yehuda IbnCochini method of leaving your body behind

And be one with your mind

Will have to explore whether that mind is my mind or did I acquire it from my experiences ?

As I write this, listening to the music

My reality is very different from what is happening out there .

Care to join me ?

Shabbat Shalom.             שַׁבָּת שָׁלוֹם