Zen Mind
Posted in Editorials on November 9, 2009
I know, you just read the title of the post, groaned, thought of 12 cliché statements you’ve heard about Zen philosophy from someone who uses more mind-altering substances than you do. It’s unfortunate that “touchy-feeley” subjects like Zen, Daoism, and spirituality get the bad rap of stuff only hippies care about, but if you need convincing of their worth, and you could ever be swayed by this blog to not write the ideas off, then I’ll say this: UNDERSTANDING THESE CONCEPTS WILL MAKE YOU A BETTER CLIMBER.
Rationalizing with words a practice that encourages the departure from analytical, conscious thought is a bit ironic, but I’m going to try anyway. Interestingly, the concept of a separate “mind” and “body” is a very western idea. Not all cultures or people in the world share the same values we do for highly analytical thought, which, as an engineer, was a very difficult thing for me to wrap my head around. Coincidentally, it’s exactly these analytical thought patterns that prevents one from experiencing completely nonprejudicial moments. Many eastern cultures put a much higher value on experiential learning, and training through meditation – immersing yourself completely in whatever it is you do.
Think back at that time you sent that one climb that has been spitting you off every time you give it a run, despite the maniacal amount of training you’ve been doing, and the ridiculous number of times you try it. You know you have the physical ability, but something in your mind is just holding you back. Maybe it’s a doubt you have about that next slopey hold, or maybe you just have fears of taking a weird fall. Why are there conscious thoughts running through your head when you’re climbing?!
Save a few special circumstances, in no way does your “conscious mind” help you with climbing. To make a loose conceptual comparison, when I take my dog for a walk, and she sees a squirrel, she does not contemplate the consequences to her caretaker of lurching forward and trying to eat the animal – she reacts and sometimes tears my arm out of its socket… a natural impulse that would enable her to survive in the wild, and also to embarrass me in front of my neighbors. A movement in climbing should come from that same place.
To be an efficient, powerful climber means to have full control of yourself – physically and mentally. The fact that many people overlook the enormous mental aspect of climbing mystifies me. You’ll come to realize that the concept of a separate mind and body is not a useful one. One way to train your mind is to meditate. The idea behind meditation is that, if you can silence your mind – fears about the past or future – when there is nothing happening in the “now”, you will have less trouble when there is something in the present on which you can focus your energy.
When you can become more mindful and present in your climbing, you may be asked by a fellow climber how you executed a certain move, or was able to move through a sequence so easily. Usually a climber in the right state of mind won’t have much of an answer. Not trying to sound enigmatic, they’ll just say, “I don’t know… I just did it.” I’m not the only one who thinks that those moments on a climb when everything else in your life temporarily disappears is one of the most special aspects of the sport – it forces your mind and body to become one whole, where your focus is singular, and you are completely free. Zen training will help you find that place and stay there.
Some recommended reading on Zen:
The Way of the Peaceful Warrior by Dan Millman
Zen Mind, Beginner’s Mind by Shunryu Suzuki
The Power of Now by Eckhart Tolle
