What You Look For is What You Get!

Never did I expect the simple activity, “See The Color Blue” to have such a profound effect in our FREE Wake Up To Your Life webinar.

Each activity in Jan Chosen Bays’ book How To Train A Wild Elephant & Other Adventures In Mindfulness encourages you to pause your busy, day-to-day routine and explore getting out of your head (turn off thinking) and into your body (turn on awareness).

Our group of Mindfulness Explorers meets every other week to discuss the exercise we practiced the past two weeks and learn the next mindfulness activity.  We share our successes, challenges, lessons learned, etc.   Each session, individuals are invited to share their experiences.  There is never any pressure to speak up.  It is remarkable how much we can learn from hearing other’s stories.

See The Color Blue received mixed reviews from the group.  One participant commented that she did not feel more mindful from the activity but she did notice the color blue where she had not before and was now aware that many of her coworkers have blue eyes.   Another participant enjoyed sharing the activity with her daughter.  They enjoyed spying the color blue on their commute home.  They were shocked to find so much blue and are certain it was not there before the activity.  Someone else commented that she did not really like the color blue and struggled to remember to do the activity.  Two other participants found the activity incredibly helpful for pausing their busy minds and suddenly feeling more connected to the moment.  One noticed that when frustrated at work, if the color blue was present, she felt “snapped out of her frustration”.  Alleviated from the annoyance, she was more productive.  The other woman, a runner, is very much a planner when she runs.  She discovered that each time she saw blue while running, it pulled her out of her busy mind.  She became aware of her body, her breathing, the world around her.  She was more appreciative of the run.

This is what Dr. Bays  says about our awareness of the color blue.

When we remember to open up our awareness to the color blue, it seems to become more vivid and more omnipresent.  Of course, it didn’t just become so.  It is always sharp and clear. However it is only when we are mindful that we become aware of its ubiquitous presence in our lives.

She compares the power of “seeing blue” to minimizing clutter on your computer screen.

When we find ourselves caught up in the compelling and complex inner screen of our mind, we need to remember that we have an option.  We can shrink or “minimize” the current screen down to a small icon on the bottom of the mind-screen and open up the serene blue sky of our inherently boundless, clear mind. […] The small icon of our worries and plans can be opened up whenever we wish.

As we shared our final comments about this exercise before introducing our next mindfulness activity, the woman that did not find much benefit to seeing blue commented,

So, if I look for blue, I become aware of the blue that has been there all along?  It’s not new, right?  Maybe I should start looking for more love and compassion.  I am ready to see more love and compassion in the world.

The group grew silent.  Although the book did not discuss this benefit of seeing blue.  We all agreed.  Every day we will incorporate the new activity of seeing love and compassion.  We are hopeful to become aware of its ubiquitous presence in our lives.

Interested in incorporating simple daily mindfulness practices into your life?   You could get the book but if you are looking for a group of mindfulness explorers sharing experiences, laughing and waking up to life then join us.  What you look for is what you get!  Learn more about our Free Wake Up To Your Life Webinar.  Join us!

Several of us wondered if it had to be seeing blue.  How would seeing red or seeing purple impact waking up to our life?  What do you think?  Have a comment?  Leave it below.  Look forward to hearing from you.