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QaR
January 2008 
Crazy Brain
Posted on Nov 30th, 2007
by 
Dawn
Dawn
I just started a five-session insight meditation class. The first session was last night. It was instructive, and a bit daunting.
The first exercize involved eating a raisin in a mindful way, after first trying to observe it with new eyes, as if we had never seen a raisin before, as if we were from Mars and had no reference for raisins. What might we notice?
Here is my brain-stream:
"Hmm..I can see where this was once a grape. It is basically a deflated globe. I wonder where the seeds went? Perhaps they remove the seeds before drying it, but I do not see a wound where the seeds were removed. Maybe they use seedless varieties. That is kind of Frankensteinish. What kind of barbaric beings would rob a plant of it's ability to reproduce. I guess that would be us. But I doubt I would enjoy raisins as much if they were seeded. Every package of raisins I have ever seen says 'Seedless Raisins', which makes it sound like there are also seeded raisins. Maybe in the old days all they had were seeded raisins, which would be horrible in cookies. If I was a Martian, I would not know that this is a dried fruit, but I might recognize it as organic. It looks like a booger. Perhaps I would think it is some kind of human nasal discharge--if I had a concept of nasal discharge--if Martians have noses--or perhaps I would think it is poop, that humans poop like rabbits and then eat it in their cookies."
I have a lot of work to do to quiet this crazy brain.
The first exercize involved eating a raisin in a mindful way, after first trying to observe it with new eyes, as if we had never seen a raisin before, as if we were from Mars and had no reference for raisins. What might we notice?
Here is my brain-stream:
"Hmm..I can see where this was once a grape. It is basically a deflated globe. I wonder where the seeds went? Perhaps they remove the seeds before drying it, but I do not see a wound where the seeds were removed. Maybe they use seedless varieties. That is kind of Frankensteinish. What kind of barbaric beings would rob a plant of it's ability to reproduce. I guess that would be us. But I doubt I would enjoy raisins as much if they were seeded. Every package of raisins I have ever seen says 'Seedless Raisins', which makes it sound like there are also seeded raisins. Maybe in the old days all they had were seeded raisins, which would be horrible in cookies. If I was a Martian, I would not know that this is a dried fruit, but I might recognize it as organic. It looks like a booger. Perhaps I would think it is some kind of human nasal discharge--if I had a concept of nasal discharge--if Martians have noses--or perhaps I would think it is poop, that humans poop like rabbits and then eat it in their cookies."
I have a lot of work to do to quiet this crazy brain.
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This is awesome. I didn't know you were partaking in such a class! I am jealous of you. I was also just reading about another person on zaadz who went to a vipassana retreat & talked about the word vipassana literally meaning “seeing things as they really are.”
Sounds like such a good practice of exhausting one's self with searching for an explanation & description to the point where one realizes that we can never truly pronounce what the raisin (or anything) is.
It's an insight that doesn't describe, huh? Do you think anyone understands a raisin? Does it make sense such a thing exists?
I am so excited you brought this up. I suppose you could say this is how I want to live…acting from that awareness that is almost like innocence to me. Your blog triggered in me this morning to see everything as such (although it means nothing as my actions still stem from my old perspective of what things are). But when I just sit here & don't have to do anything, all I want to do is reach out and touch everything like it is so precious & wonderful because it is mind boggling it exists. Then I realize this sensation & excitement of existence existing applies to me too, and that stirs up a whole new reflection of myself, one that is more compassionate & accepting! oh how I could use more practice cultivating this!
All I think when I read this is “you are so wonderful :-)”