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Mason Riggle

Zoning Out and Zoning In..

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Have you ever ‘zoned out’? You know, when you’re kind of just sitting there, and you’re gaze is fixed, but not really focused on anything in particular? Your mind also seems fixed, but not really focused on anything in particular. It's a sort of momentary ‘unawareness’. During this period of 'being zoned out'.. even as you become aware that you have ‘zoned out’, you aren’t compelled to immediately ‘zone back in’.. and then something, a thought perhaps, or someone saying your name, or a sensation.. and you’re back, once again aware of your surroundings, back to the monkey mind.. 

Have you ever 'zoned in'? It's very similar to 'zoning out'.. where your eyes, your mind, are not fixed, but also are not focused on anything in particular.. Athletes who experience this might say they were ‘In the zone’.  The experience is sometimes describes as 'acting without thinking'.. there seems to be an extremely heightened sense of awareness, where the athlete will operate at peak performance without even thinking about it.  Perhaps you have experienced this while playing a video game, or while writing, or playing music.. 

Both of these experiences remind me of what people might mean when they say they've had an 'enlightenment experiences'.. or of 'just being'.. or of 'living in the present moment'.. 

I think these two sensations, 'zoning in' and 'zoning out' are quite similar to what can be achieved through meditation.  

Just something to ponder... 


"I could be the walrus. I'd still have to bum rides off people."

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Yes, usually when I'm bored or can't make up my mind about something. When I'm in the zone, I'm usually doing something while feeling like it's all happening on its own without thinking. I'm not really sure whether it's what you meant.


I have an opinion on everything :D

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After meditating, it was just something I recognized..  that fleeting 'heightened awareness' was similar to these other states of experience.   I know a lot of people wonder 'what is it like to meditate?'.. or they wonder what's the difference between actual 'meditation' and simply sitting quietly with your eyes closed.. well.. it seems to me that at least one experience that can be had through meditation feels very close to the sensations of 'zoning in' and 'zoning out'.. the commonality being the loss of the sensation that there is a 'self' to some degree.. and all that remains is everything that is happening. 

 

 

Edited by Mason Riggle

"I could be the walrus. I'd still have to bum rides off people."

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