Mindful Musings: The Name Blame Game

“When you don’t name things any longer, you start seeing them.” 
 
As soon as we attach a label to anything (people, things, experiences, perceptions) we inevitably circumscribe it with judgements of pleasant, unpleasant, or neutral feelings.  That’s what the mind does; it moves toward, away from, or simply ignores objects of awareness.
 
This is not to say that we could survive daily life without naming things to help us understand and communicate our lived experience.  But along with our advanced ability to assign symbols (e.g. words) to objects and experiences, so too are we gifted the awareness that such symbols can limit our understanding of the very objects of our attention.  For practice, as you see these words, can you notice the conditioned boundaries which unconsciously emerge before you can even reflect upon them?  Where is the center of that experience? Is there an edge? What ascribed judgements bubble up?
  • pleasant / unpleasant
  • sadness / joy
  • pop music / heavy metal
  • friend / enemy
  • woman / man
  • work / play
  • mundane / sacred
  • Democrat / Republican
  • hate / love
  • chocolate / broccoli
  • success / failure
  • White / Black 
  • forest/ city
  • villain / hero
  • sound / silence
A lifelong practice emerges: noticing the incessant Name Game our brain plays and those names' co-emergent implicit biases.  By cultivating curiosity of the interplay and interconnectedness between all things we hold in awareness (and practice doing so for the things which tend to stay hidden), insights emerge. The necessary tendency of naming things, left unexamined, unconsciously permits us to "blame" our experience on something independent of and outside ourself; practice helps reveal that such labels are mere perceptions created wholly internally. Blurring the "centers" and "edges" of such certitude, gives us space to truly see, feel, and engage with our whole selves. From such a broadened viewscape, wisdom will follow.
Name Tag Sticker with "Hello My Name Is" and no name written.
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Interagency Offerings
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From our NIH Partners:

A Mindful Moment: Journey to Self-Acceptance and Wholeness (15 minutes):  Monday, July 29 at 12:00-12:15p ET

Join ZoomGov Meeting: https://nih.zoomgov.com/j/1614126780?pwd=erW8Y4430KpEgChtibnRDPb3ugST5u.1

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From our Mindful NOAA Partners:

Mindful NOAA offers meditation and/or mindful movement every weekday. The up-to-date Mindful NOAA schedule can be accessed using the calendar link below.  Mindful NOAA sessions are open to Federal employees.  If you'd like to join our mailing list please email mindful.noaa@noaa.gov. We use the same google meeting link and call-in number for each session offered. 

Mindful NOAA Meeting Link and Call-In Information: Google: meet.google.com/bex-hvhs-evq; Call in: 904-330-1233‬ PIN: ‪416 743 651‬#

Monday

 

 

 

 

 

Time (EST)

Program

Program / Agency

Video

Phone

POC

12:30-1pm

Mindful EPA

EPA

MS Teams Meeting

+1 202-991-0477;  ID: 616 878 98#

Ryland (Shengzhi) Li,  Li.Ryland@epa.gov

1-1:45pm

Mindfulness Mondays

USDA Food and Nutrition Service

MS Teams Meeting; Meeting ID: 261 879 950 062; Passcode: tv9Kyg

+1 202 650-0123; Phone ID: 134 817 705#

michael.meltzer@usda.gov

7-7:15pm

Mindful Meditation

VHA Whole Health

Click here (MS Teams) to join the meeting

1 872-701-0185,,782222982#  ID: 782 222 982#

Kristen.Hill@va.gov

Tuesday

 

 

 

 

 

Time (EST)

Program

Agency

Web

Phone

POC

9:30-9:55am

USAID

USAID

Email Ajit Joshi via your .gov email address for details

Email Ajit Joshi for Link

ajoshi@usaid.gov


Wednesday

 

 

 

 

 

Time (EST)

Program

Agency

Web

Phone

POC

12:30-1pm

1st Wed: Meditation w/ Alex Snider
2nd Wed: Hatha yoga w/ Joseph Tripp
3rd Wed: Mindful Breathing w/ Kusuma Aralere
4th Wed: Yoga & Mindfulness w/ Monica Suber-Duffy

General Services Administration

https://gsa.zoomgov.com/j/1612441778?pwd=N1NlQUE4Z3ZCdkVWcDF2T1VMc3YxUT09

NA

monica.suber@gsa.gov

1-1:15pm

Mindful NPS

National Park Service

NA

877-363-8596;  Passcode: 8251916

Mindful@nps.gov


Time (EST)

Program

Agency

Web

Phone

POC

2-2:30pm


2:30-3pm

Meditation


Guided Meditation

NIH


VA Sierra Nevada Health Care System

https://nih.zoomgov.com/j/1617040108 


MS Teams

240-858-9308


+1 872-701-0185; 111 566 444#

resvan.ameli@nih.gov


Andrew.Carr1@va.gov


Friday

 

 

 

 

 

Time (EST)

Program

Agency

Web

Phone

POC


 


Last modified: Wednesday, July 24, 2024, 8:36 AM