hurry, hurry!
a rushed decision
pressed for time
on the go
chop-chop
running about
frantic
hectic
a rushjob
in a haste
I have no time for you now, I am in a rush!
There are so many ways to miss the beauty of the present moment, miss the meaning of life that reveals itself when you deeply relax into the now.
You can’t rush the growing of moss on a tree-trunk, there is no way to rush the baby growing in a mother’s womb. Or the growth of a really big tree.
Or the velocity of the earth around the sun, we better not rush that!
We can’t rush to get old or the turning of the seasons.
Everything in life has its rhythm, has its timing.
At least in nature it is that way..
If we don’t disturb it.
So, what’s the rush?
Slow is beautiful!
The beauty of Slow
Let’s dive in!
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My definition of “slow”
– mentally dull – stupid
– naturally inert or sluggish
– lacking in readiness, promptness, or willingness
– not hasty or precipitate
– proceeding without speed
– not acute
– low, gentle
– having qualities that hinder rapid progress or action
– lacking in life, animation, or gaiety – boring
– marked by reduced activity
– lazy
Merriam Webster Dictionary
No, no, no, forget all of that! Obviously I don’t mean that kind of slow!
When I talk of slow here, I mean a deliberate, fully intended and felt action, something I do with my full and steady attention.
Something I give time and space and my full heart, to let it unfold at its own inherent rhythm.
Maybe I should choose a different word for that, but “slow” has already found its way into the mainstream of our culture:
Slow breathing, slow food, slow sex, slow rhythm of life
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Slow Breath
It looks so easy! Just watch a baby breathing in its sleep.
Or a young child.
Slow and deep.
Into the belly.
It is not so easy for us adults – at least for most of us.
We have lost this most natural – and healthy – way to calm our nervous system and renew our life-force – prana or chi – with every breath we take.
Primarily because we breath shallow and not deep down into our belly.
But what has been forgotten – or has never actually been done consciously – can be re-learned.
Conscious Breathing
Here are a few books with a wealth of wise advise. Feel free to download and learn from them at your own – slow – pace . . .
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Slow Food
“To practise mindfulness is to be deliberately present in our experiences.“
Thich Nhat Hanh
Slow Food – also known as mindful eating – doesn’t just relate to the mindful consumption of food – how I prepare it and how it tastes – it goes a lot deeper than that.
It involves noticing the emotional state I am in when I reach for and consume any food or drink.
It is to listen to my body and take stock of how I feel during and after eating and drinking.
It means offering my awareness and consideration to where the food that I choose has come from and how it was grown and produced.
In my view, mindful eating doesn’t require to learn anything new or to become an expert in nutrition. It doesn’t restrict, condemn or vilify any food that I or others choose.
Slow Food – mindful eating – is a practice of gentle curiosity, non-judgemental awareness, conscious choice and a joyful celebration of food.
It is about bringing my full, slow and deliberate attention to my relationship with food.
We are nourished and sustained by the food we eat – and by much more than that. On every level of out being we are constantly nurtured in many subtle and invisible ways.
Mindfulness is practice to be aware of that blessing.
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Slow Sex
We are no Bonobos – obviously, from the looks of it – and most of us are no pornstars either.
Bonobos are known for their highly active, flexible sex lives used primarily for social bonding, conflict resolution, and pleasure rather than just reproduction. Engaging in heterosexual and homosexual acts, bonobos use sex to reduce tension, greet one another, and establish alliances in their female-centered society.
Basically to have fun and to maintain peace and manage social stress.
About pornstars, i am not so sure!
Contemporary imagination of sexual attraction – whether it’s shown as porn, mainstream TV and movies, erotic romance, or literary erotica – always seem to drive on uncontrollable passion bordering on violence, a hectic and breathless rush towards some climaxing orgasm . . .
It is high time for our sexual behavior to turn away from ever more extreme thrills – and I don’t mean that as some moral judgement. I have no problem with such overwhelming energies (sometimes ; ).
But I know that there are other ways to utilize the energetic reality of male & female polarization.
Thats not a new invention. Such knowledge of slow sex, mindful cultivation of the powers of Shakti and Shiva inside our nervous system goes back thousands of years. Taoists in China and diverse Tantrik schools in India taught such practices in secret.
In the last 70 years or so, more and more literature has been made public and now everybody can become a Tantrika in a weekend seminar ( kidding, but I am not always amused by what i see on the New Age marketplace.)
In my humble opinion there is much to be gained from bringing mindfulness into the realm of sex.
Sensitivity and acknowledgement and deep intimacy.
Slow motion flow and stillness where usually there is sweat and haste and force.
Here are a few source books about Slow Sex. Give it a try!
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The slow, steady rhythm of Life
Everything in Nature and in Life has its rhythm, has its timing.
The turning of the seasons, the aging of man, they follow a silent, sure rhythm.
The growing of moss on a tree-trunk, the baby growing in a mother’s womb. The growth of a giant sequoia tree.
The velocity of the earth around the sun. The spinning of the Milky Way around the Central Sun. The expansion of the Universe.
The in-breath and the out-breath of Brahma.
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The rational mind alone will never understand.
It needs true poets, the musicians and the mystics.
They can grok all that.
Without thinking.
