Beyond the Obstacle of Continuous Distraction

In the first level of Miksang Training we talk about the two primary obstacles to seeing. The first of these is not being available to see and connect with our world. The most extreme example of this is when we daydream and are completely absorbed in our own internally produced movies. We are completely distracted and perceptually blind. We don’t see anything outside of ourselves. To varying degrees, this is how we live our lives day to day. Through working with this obstacle in a simple way, we begin to shift our orientation so that our awareness, our attention, is facing outwards rather than inwards. The second obstacle is our habitual ways of superimposing our labels and preferences upon what we see. In order to work with this we begin to train ourselves to pay attention to the visual experience we have before our labeling mind kicks in.

The process we work with and the path we take as Miksang practitioners is to deepen our connection to the unconditional experience of direct perception. We consciously choose to cultivate the ability to recognize moments of direct seeing and to maintain our connection with them for as long as we are able. With practice, diligence, discipline and delight, we begin to find that we are able to play in the world of direct seeing for increasingly longer periods of time without reverting to habitual patterns of relating with our world and our relationship with it. This is the promise, practice, and fruition of Miksang.

Why would we want to undertake this practice in the first place? I have no doubt that for most of us it is because we have had a glimpse of it. We have experienced a piercing, penetrating moment of visual connection or we wouldn’t have taken the time out of our busy lives to come to a Miksang course. We want to be able to connect with our world and express our experience. We have a hunger to slow down and experience simple being.

I would like to talk about an additional obstacle to this journey that is atmospheric, cultural, and pervasive. We have various degrees of involvement with it, and for some of us that is dependent upon the kind of work that we do. It amplifies and propagates the very influences which undermine our ability to have a still and peaceful mind, to be fully in the present moment for any duration. I am calling it the Obstacle of Continuous Distraction. This is not the same as the distraction of being inwardly absorbed. It is more about what happens to us as we engage with the world. It is helpful to acknowledge this obstacle and clarify our relationship with it, for without this clarity, Continuous Distraction will undermine any attempts we make to live a deeply satisfying life. This obstacle is called continuous because between the constant texts, phone calls, Twitter texts, Facebook comments, new products, emails, and the sense that all this must be kept up with, we are always having to accept or reject attempts to capture our attention for long enough to get a message across to us.

Because of the unrelenting quality of continuous distraction, it is a challenge to relax and settle our minds. We can often feel off-balance, overwhelmed, with a sense that something needs to be done or happen. This vague sense of dissatisfaction plays upon the restlessness of mind and amplifies it. With an itch and scratch approach, we relate with stimuli with only a fraction of our available attention and don’t really relate with what anything actually is. Because we are distracted we haphazardly label what we see and sometimes completely mistake what is really there. We don’t experience fully, and we are never satisfied. When you contrast this to a sense of peace, contentment, and joy, it is clear that this modern technological age can bring about enormous suffering arising from a basic sense of dissatisfaction. By participating in the consensual view that the distraction is a necessary part of living today, we can lose our sense of our own experience and what really matters to us in our lives. Continuous Distraction can become by default a lifestyle choice. On the other hand, working with Continuous Distraction may be the greatest challenge of our age and what defines how we emerge from it as human beings. It is worth the effort.

Being Deliberate Can Be A Life-Style Choice

Miksang is about being deliberate – deliberately being open and fully present, beyond like and dislike. We have a constant choice in our lives generally as humans and specifically as photographers. We can muddle through, constantly distracted and disengaged from our experience, or we can keep our eye and mind synchronized throughout our day. We can feel the texture of the moments of our lives. Bringing Miksang practice fully into our day-to-day experience is a potent and profound way to neutralize the perpetual distraction and restlessness that characterizes the modern techno-world in which we live. We do not have to talk on our cell phones as we walk down the street or as we stand in line to pick up our food. If we carry our camera with us it can remind us to notice our world. We can always choose to experience our experience instead of being continually distracted.

How the Practice of Miksang Disrupts Continuous Distraction

The ground from which direct perception arises is our open, undistracted mind. Without having a mind that is available, we cannot make the electric connection of mind, eye and the objects of perception. When we are reminded to notice our world, our Miksang training activates and we simply shift our attention to the present moment and its visual aspects. When we do this, our basic orientation catalyzes a sense of clarity about what we are doing. We become deliberate in how we approach the activity of looking, seeing, and photographing. As distractions occur, we stay on track and don’t allow our thoughts and emotions to become the focus of our attention. Our cell phones may ring, but we don’t have to answer. If we choose to answer we will lose our connection with our perception. Once we notice this interruption has taken place, we can bring ourselves back once again to being open and available in the present moment (and hey, why not turn off our cell phone while we practice?). It’s challenging enough to stay still and present without allowing Continuous Distraction to disrupt the stability of our Miksang discipline.

When we do experience a direct perception, we physically stop and look at what stopped us. We want to understand, to contemplate with a still mind. Without a still mind, we cannot maintain the continuity of our experience of the flash of freshness. It becomes lost in vagueness and indecision. This is because being distracted separates us from ourselves, from our experience, and we are unsure about what we saw and how we feel about it. We are not sure if it is good enough and our restless mind looks for solutions to the problem of distraction.

At this point, if we re-apply our intention to stay with the perception, to rest with it in stillness, this can pacify a distracted mind. We apply our intention to come back to the perception and our distracting thoughts evaporate. We can always come back, and when we do, if we cannot re-connect with our perception, we can just walk away and start fresh once again. Every moment is a new opportunity to start new.

When we sit down at our computers to review our images, once again we settle our minds so that we can see our images with fresh eyes. Without an open mind as we view our images, we may apply judgment and labels to them. We may have doubt and want to make them better. We may not be able to reconnect with our original flash of perception. That is why we always begin editing with a mind free of distraction and preoccupation.

If our mind was open and available when the perception first appeared, and remained still and stable during the understanding and photographing of it, the resulting image is a pure expression of our moment of perception. It is complete. It is not diminished by one hair’s breadth of distraction. This is the hallmark of an accomplished Miksang shooter. I encourage you all to pay particular attention to Michael’s images once again with this in mind. Each one demonstrates a complete experience and expression of one moment of perception.

There is no doubt that if we integrate Miksang practice fully into our lives that Continuous Distraction will lose its seemingly seamless, relentless quality of presence in our lives. We will inevitably develop the possibility, and really the promise, that our continually distracted state of mind will be abruptly interrupted and penetrated by moments of sudden, shocking, vivid, brilliant, absorbing visual perception. We can stop and appreciate our world. It can be truly inspiring for us to be reminded that there is such a thing as living beyond Continuous Distraction.

Allowing Ourselves the Space to Be Undistracted

For those of us who meditate, many of us find the time that we carve out each day to connect with our basic being and unwind our mental preoccupations to be “the pause that refreshes”. We create boundaries around our practice time within which we decide we will not answer the phone or send or look at text messages. We know that if we don’t consciously make decisions about what interruptions we will allow, we will end up sacrificing our practice time to the demands of others.

I encourage all of us to contemplate how we regard our Miksang practice. We can come to a workshop and go through the motions of doing the exercises and assignments. But as long as we believe that Miksang is a hobby and not a practice, we will never allow ourselves the space for Miksang to develop and deepen. If we are continuously distracted and interrupted as we work with this discipline, we cannot be still and experience our experience. We stay outside looking in. Because our mind is unsettled we cannot fully process the dimensions of our experience.

We can allow our Miksang practice the same boundaries and protection from external distraction that we allow for our meditation practice. If we honor our Miksang journey in this way, it becomes an integral part of how we experience our world, just as the boundary between our post-meditation experience and our meditation practice gradually becomes less apparent.

© Julie DuBose. 2010

Editing as a Mirror of Our Discernment Process

Most of us have had the experience in a class when Michael makes adjustments to our images during the image review. He quickly brings what is hidden into the light, adjusts blown out areas, and shows us how to bring our image to mirror what we have seen. He has a great sense of this from many years of looking.

Since we began using iPhoto and digital cameras, Michael has been working with me through the process of correcting the adjustments I have made. I have felt that this refined sense of detail is something that is far less developed in me and I have paid close attention to what adjustments he makes and why. How does one develop this ability to understand and remember these subtleties such as the details in a shadow and how dark it was, the exact hue of a color? I have realized that in order for me to be able to make accurate adjustments, I need to develop a depth of looking often absent in my discernment. I have become very aware that I actually often don’t have a clear memory of subtle aspects such as how dark the shadows were or the exact hue of a wall.

It’s not just that there is light and dark, color, but how much, what shade, exactly? How much detail is there in the shadows, how much contrast between light and dark?

I have been able to get by for quite a while without paying close attention to these subtle details. I guess I felt my excellent camera would take an accurate image and I didn’t need to take the time to notice. And even though adjustments do end up needing to be made, I can fix the image in IPhoto, or so I have thought. I have been able to guess so far based on my vague memory of how it looked. But because the detail has been lacking in my memory, the result is a blind spot in my editing process.

And since I don’t remember the details, what is the basis for how I make my adjustments? Michael will say, “It didn’t look like that. It was darker.”

Darker? I always want to lighten everything up. Always. It’s a true bias. Sometimes I want to make sharp what is soft, even if that’s not how it looked. It makes me feel more comfortable. Once I get to work using the midrange adjustments, I want to see the detail in the shadows or more richness in the color. I make a decision after glancing at the image what needs to be adjusted.

I am really making a conscious effort to look longer and commit to memory the color, tonal hue, contrast, and subtleties of my perception so that editing can be based entirely upon what the perception was. This seems important to me. “Winging it” will come out in the final image. Digital gadgetry can easily compensate for lack of refined awareness in the photographer, but it is used at the cost of the precision, fullness and vibrancy of the image.

Here are some questions I received from Paul Giguere recently regarding cropping and editing:

Hi Julie,

One topic that gets a lot of attention is the issue of cropping photos. Now I know that is usually discouraged (it is the flash of perception as you see it in the moment that is important, not what you want to see later in post production) however, I notice many people use zoom and telephoto lens when practicing Miksang and is this not cropping of a sort? I find it hard to believe that someone was stopped by something when the distance-to-subject is several hundred feet away. What are your thoughts on in-the-field cropping?

I have another follow-on question regarding post-production of our photos. Some who practice Miksang state that no post-production should be done (at all, no exceptions). The photos right off the card are the final versions of the photos. Period. I find this kind of severe. I know both you and Michael Wood do minor post production on photos (curves, levels, etc. . . at least in the workshop any way) in order to bring the photo more in line with what your perception was at the moment the photo was taken. The issue is further complicated when using JPEG (the camera applies many kinds of presets to "improve" the image) or RAW (which needs some tweaking as the image is usually not ready right out of the camera). Thoughts?

Thanks much,
Paul

Dear Paul,

Thank you for your comment and question. We are not opposed to cropping as long as it is used to eliminate what is extraneous to the perception. Sometimes because of the lens we are using or because of where we are in relation to the perception we have to settle for extra in the viewfinder. It is our decision to make that there is too much extra to make sense. In that case we just walk away from it.

Likewise, if our perception is a different shape than the viewfinder, there is no reason the final image should not be cropped so that it expresses the dimensionality of the perception. After all, we don’t see in a certain aspect ratio. Sometimes our perception is long and narrow, or square.

Check out this image Michael took at the Great Sand Dunes in Colorado as an example of this:

Lenses are tools to shoot our perceptions. If we see something across the street and we shoot it with a 50mm lens, there will be so much in the image that is not part of our perception that it will be lost. Someone looking at the image won’t be able to tell what stopped us. Even if we cropped the image, the final result might be ridiculously small. This is too much work and the result weak. If we have a zoom lens that will express the perception accurately then we can use it. Otherwise, we might want to bring our attention in a bit so that what we see in the viewfinder is the perception with nothing extra included.

Cropping is not a tool to improve upon our original perception. It can be used, however, to eliminate anything extra and bring the image in line with the perception. This is always the prime directive, to bring the image to the state that expresses the perception, nothing more - nothing less. Whether we lighten, darken, sharpen, bring up mid-tones, whatever we do with our adjustments, it is only to accomplish this purpose.

Thanks Paul.

Julie

Please join in the discussion on the topic of editing!

© Julie DuBose 2009

Great National Sand Dunes Photograph © Michael Wood 2009

What is Miksang Really?

Hello Fellow Contemplative Photographers.

As we all apply ourselves to the task we have set for ourselves, namely that of using the camera to connect to and express our world, many questions come up for all of us. We all share the experiences of uncertainty, doubt, deep pleasure, and inspiration as we bring our eye and mind to our visual world.

There are many people these days who feel a connection to this type of photography, and it can be confusing and difficult for the aspiring contemplative photographer to clarify the method, the motivation, and measure of what we see and do within this path.

Because of the popularity of the contemplative approach to photography there exists a tremendous pull to systematize, dogmatize, and basically take proprietary ownership of the inherent freshness within this approach. From this fundamentally uncreative urge, a new school no doubt will arise which easily identifies and judges according to standards that are enforced by teachers with checklists. This process has repeated itself endlessly within academic circles and wherever genuine insight has given way to conceptual understanding.

This is not what we hope for. The basis of Miksang is openness and absence of conceptual overlay. The tendency to use concept to describe openness is natural as long as we don’t lose the connection to the fundamental experience we are describing as we talk about Miksang.

I would like to invite you to become part of a conversation about Miksang and how we all make it a part of who we are and how we live.

It is my hope that through the process of conversation about the many things that come up in our day to day experience of seeing and living in this world that this blog can be a source of clarification and encouragement for all of us.

It is easy to lose the thread of genuineness and confidence in our ability to stay with our direct perceptions, and it is also easy to come right back.

Lately I have been looking through the various Miksang postings on the Internet, and there seems to be a lack of clarity about what Miksang is and how you can spot a really successful Miksang image. So I thought I would start out this blog by listing what I feel are the qualities of Miksang shooting and how to recognize the real deal.

True Miksang is not about the content particularly and it’s not about whether it looks like a Miksang shot. To me it is entirely about the ground of the perception and whether that is apparent in the execution of the photograph. This is very rare and in many cases absent from what is being posted on the Internet as 'Miksang'.

What is this ground? The ground of Miksang shooting is the open space of availability. The flash of perception arises out of this empty open space and without the presence of the flash in the image it is flat and lifeless, somebody’s idea.

What is Miksang Really?

Passion and Joy

Passion to connect and express.

Joyful experience of being alive.

Expressed with:

Genuineness

We can see the world without all our ideas and opinions and appreciate it as it is.

Confidence

We don’t have to worry that what we have seen isn’t good enough just as it is.

How Can We Recognize a Truly “Miksang” Image?

First, I would like to point out something that really needs to be said, as I have read various discussions about whether Michael Wood is true to the ‘Miksang style’. There is no Miksang style.

There is a Miksang “way”, which has been called in Japanese “Sha Shin Ki Do” - what the eye sees, the heart knows - the way to join the two.

This cannot be imitated because it is not based on a conceptual formula. It can be felt directly with the mind, the heart, and the eye.

Here are the essential aspects that must be present in a successful Miksang Image:

The Image expresses a Flash of Perception.

The Image is an expression of the Mind Quality of the Photographer.

Can you feel the heat of connection, the peace of no struggle, the absolute mind quality?

If your mind links up directly to the perception in the photograph and no thoughts arise, this is a good sign.

I hope this is helpful, and if you are shooting without starting with an open mind and eye and heart, it’s a good idea to re-establish your connection with the visual exercises we have given you before you go shooting.

I encourage you to write me back with your observations and comments.

Warm regards,

Julie

© Julie DuBose 2009