Walking to the park one morning, I found myself uncharacteristically busy in my mind, thinking about this and that, and not being particularly present to the walk itself. My mind chewed on this issue and that problem all the way across many blocks toward the park. The moment I entered the park, it was like coming awake all of a sudden and I realized I had been in my head instead of in my experience of walking.

What I noticed is that the colors, smells, and quiet of the park have become an irresistible signal for me to be fully present to my experience right here, right now. As I walked across the park, I noticed how vividly different I felt, compared to my walk to the park. My mind was clear and free of chatter, my eyes took in the beauty around me, and I was able to fully enjoy myself without being off in the future somewhere trying to solve a problem that had nothing to do with my immediate experience.

This got me to thinking about the kinds of symbols, places, and experiences that spontaneously bring us back to ourselves because we have somehow associated them with being present. I have a particular place where I sit to meditate in the morning, and just putting my body there has the effect of focusing and clearing my mind. I have so many non-conscious associations to being in a present-moment state of being when I sit there that the state comes unbidden just by entering the space. The fragrance of the incense I burn as I meditate also has the power to bring me into a more mindful state whenever I smell it. If I enter a store where a similar incense is burning, I immediately drop into a more centered, deeper sense of myself. It’s an automatic response, and quite powerful for me. And, when I don’t even realize I’ve been lost in thought, it’s a particular treat to be brought back into myself in these ways.

In some meditative traditions, there is an instruction to meditate in the same place at the same time each day. There’s a similar idea in hypnosis – about the benefits of associating positive experiences with certain images, symbols, or places. Through these associations, we more readily enter a particular state of mind or being just by being there, or by calling to mind the symbols related to that state.

And so, for this week’s experiment, I invite you to notice those places, images, smells, sights, sounds, and symbols that create the spontaneous experience of being more mindful or centered. Then, notice what happens if you cultivate the association between your mindful, more centered state of being and these aspects of your world. As with all the experiments, there’s no right way to do this one. There is the possibility of giving yourself the gift of added support for being more present to your experience, more grounded in the here and now.

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