Discontinuity
Get strong for what lies ahead
Our minds work with patterns, always searching for and predicting what comes next.
There are parts of what is happening now (climate wise, politically, etc) that we are familiar with the patterns of. But when we attempt to overlay these rapidly accelerating simultaneous patterns, we find ourselves in a time of discontinuity. Discontinuity is when the patterns become unpredictable. Our minds are spinning, trying to make sense of the complexity of what is happening right now.
To me it feels like laying in bed, in the dark of night, hearing very scary noises happening outside. I am safe and warm in my bed but the sounds I hear, but don’t see, are horrific and my mind is racing trying to decipher how to react, prepare, and take action. A navigator, friend and teacher of mine in Hawaiʻi taught me that when something wakes you up in the night, and you can’t get back to sleep, go outside and observe. You were woken up for a reason. Sometimes I get outside and sit in the cool night, and it is calm and silent. I orient, feel my body, watch, listen, look, and when I am at peace I return to bed. Sometimes I see animals, or there’s something in the sky. Sometimes I find something I need to tend to, or the weather changes. Sometimes I get clarity on something. The practice is to stay in my body, in this moment and to be open. My predictive mind, and fearful imagination prevent me from being open and actually understanding what is happening around me.
In Hawaiʻi there is a tradition of kilo. Kilo is to observe, watch, and forecast. There are lineages of Kahuna Kilo whose role is to observe and predict. A Kahuna Kilo observes from the same places generations of Kahuna Kilo have before and carries the knowledge of centuries of kilo. To kilo you need to be still and you need to be present. It is through kilo that one can forecast what to do.
I start and end every day greeting, thanking, and orienting to the seven directions. I need to orient myself to where East, South, West, North, Up, Down, and Center are. This is a spiritual and somatic practice. I need to understand where I am so I can engage with what is happening around me.
As the things around us are becoming more and more discontinuous and chaotic it has become more and more important to orient this body and mind in space and time so I can best understand what is happening around me as it happens.
Our attention is under attack. This attack is both very intentional and situational. In order to move in a good way in these times of discontinuity, we need to get serious about defending our attention, caring for our bodies, and cultivating imagination.
When you hear amazing stories of survival there are some themes. One of them is that there was someone who committed to keeping their body strong. They stayed active and with their bodies while others were paralyzed with grief. And when it was time to go, they had the strength. A second is imagination. To me imagination is different than hope (more on hope another time). To me, imagination is tending to the void of emergence with wonder. This is done by noticing what is happening around you with your heart and pausing a second before rushing into story. A pause long enough for something new that you may not have expected to slip in.
My answer to “What do we need to do right now?” Is to take the fight for our attention and our imaginations very seriously. These are the two technologies we will need the most in order to survive these times.
The practice is to be in our bodies. Right where we are. Right now. And to pay attention. To do the things we need to be healthy of mind. Breathe, take care of niggling tasks, tend to your nervous system as best you can, so as this continues to unfold, we can understand where we are and what is happening around us as it happens.
Right now this feels nearly impossible. Nearly impossible is a state of emergence. I want to know when it’s time to jump, build, act, and be still. If I rely on my predictive mind, in a time of chaos, I will not navigate with precision or power.
I am not hiding in ignorance from what is happening right now. I am in a practice of deep presence to what is happening right now. When I’m spinning out on whether I need to grab my family and run, stockpile, give up, fight, or hide amidst a blinding storm of information I cannot see. When I cannot see, I do not know where to move or what to do.
Yes, stay informed as best you can, check in with friends and family, read the things, care for your community. But above all, get VERY serious and fight hard for your attention. Get serious about orienting yourself in your body in time and space and tend to your senses. Breathe. This way you can perceive the actual movements happening here and now around you in the people, land, animals, resources and weather.
This is a serious fight. It’s a fight for life and I take it very seriously. I hope you will too. Slow down, call in the directions and commit the way a warrior commits. It’s going to get harder than it is right now and we will need to be very strong. Strong in our attention, perception, and creativity.
That we will be able to ACTUALLY see what is happening as it happens and to move as it does.