“It is only through the senses that we experience what it means to be fully human.” ~ Laura Sewell, Sight and Sensibility
In previous posts, I’ve mentioned many times how important it is to pause; to notice what you notice and what you’re feeling. As Laura Sewell says in the quote above, experience happens through the senses. It’s not that our mind does not play a part. It’s gathering information from the senses, savouring, filtering, and storing. But, in the moment, the body is where the action is.
The problem is that we are so used to letting our minds lead, that we’ve become out of touch with what our body is saying and feeling.
During a photography workshop here in Niagara, we did an exercise where we practiced letting our bodies lead our minds. This is not easy to do! We began in a large park, where I advised the group to start wandering, letting their body tell them which way to go. Then, I asked them to notice when they felt resonance, a vibration in the body, that connected with something in their surroundings. At this point, they were to stop and follow these instructions, adapted from a previous post on resonance.
* Wander, letting your body tell you which way to go.
* Let your subject find you.
* Notice when you feel resonance, a sense of recognition. If, when you move away the resonance fades, or if it gets stronger as you approach, you’ll know you’ve found your subject.
* Sit with your subject and see if the resonance continues.
* Don’t try to make a photograph, but let your intuition indicate the right moment to release the shutter.
* If, after you’ve made an exposure, you feel a sense of completion, bow and let go of the subject and your connection to it.
* Otherwise, continue photographing until you feel the process is complete.
Via John Daido Loori, The Zen of Creativity (paid link)
The Point of the Exercise
The point of this exercise is to learn how to distinguish between what your mind is saying and what your body is telling you. For example, if you find yourself thinking “I’ll go down this path because I’ve never been that way before,” that’s your mind talking. But, when we walk with no agenda and wait until we have an emotional or visceral reaction to something, then we’re letting the body lead. There’s no right or wrong here. Sometimes, the mind leads, sometimes the body leads. They work together.
When you think of it, this is the way someone who’s at the top of their game in a sport operates. They’ve learned the mechanics and practiced over and over again. When the moment of competition arrives, the body has to take over and do its job. If the mind gets too involved, the performance is often impacted in a negative way. It’s also a way of uncovering our true photographic voice. When we are touched by something, we feel it in our bodies. Pay attention to that.
“A person’s identity is like a pattern drawn on a tightly stretched parchment. Touch just one part of it, just one allegiance, and the whole person will react, the whole drum will sound.” ~ Writer Amin Maalouf via Brain Pickings
I’ll leave you with a quote from one of my favourite movies, The Legend of Bagger Vance, about golf, the mind, and finding our authentic swing.
“Put your eyes on Bobby Jones… Look at his practice swing, almost like he’s searching for something… Then he finds it… Watch how he settles himself right into the middle of it, feel that focus… He’s got a lot of shots he could choose from… Duffs and tops and skulls, there’s only ONE shot that’s in perfect harmony with the field… One shot that’s his, authentic shot, and that shot is gonna choose him… There’s a perfect shot out there tryin’ to find each and every one of us… All we got to do is get ourselves out of its way, to let it choose us… Can’t see that flag as some dragon you got to slay… You got to look with soft eyes… See the place where the tides and the seasons and the turnin’ of the Earth, all come together… where everything that is, becomes one… You got to seek that place with your soul Junuh… Seek it with your hands don’t think about it… Feel it… Your hands is wiser than your head ever gonna be… Now I can’t take you there Junuh… Just hopes I can help you find a way… Just you… that ball… that flag… and all you are…” ~ The Legend of Bagger Vance viaQuotes.net
If you try this exercise, come back and let me know how it went for you.
It’s so great when your blog entries come into my mailbox. They always resonate. I’ve tried this exercise many times after seeing it in Loori’s book and also in a much earlier draft version of the early part of that book that he wrote in 1982. In that draft he wrote:
“In mindful photography, the self is relinquished. as are the facades and
other hindrances that stand between us and the world. The shadows cast by
separation. clinging. duality, and delusions of all kinds dissolve, consumed in
the intense and vivid brilliance of creative stillness. Mindful photography is
not a way of becoming a better photographer; it is a way of becoming who you
are, and of being one with what you do”
It’s something I try to do when I go out with a camera. But it’s also something I try to do in post processing.
I know that many in the contemplative photography world shun ANY post-processing. But I have had a few times where what Loori describes above also happens when working on something in Photoshop!!!
Thank you so much for sharing your thoughts and experience, Jim. I love this quote, “Mindful photography is not a way of becoming a better photographer; it is a way of becoming who you are, and of being one with what you do.” Now, that really resonates with me.
Re: Post-processing. I don’t do much of it myself but I’m also not a fan of rules in photography, no matter where they come from. I understand the point of replicating your perception as closely as possible, without manipulation, in contemplative photography circles. Sometimes, this can be achieved even more effectively by a little post-processing. However, there is also a whole other creative side to us humans, where we take our perceptions and create something new.
Yes, I understood what Michael Wood and Julia were getting at when I took their course in Vancouver some years ago, but capturing the flash of perception does not have to be all-consuming. I do practice what they taught, but I also feel much more connected with what Loori is saying and with the creative in us all.