#tds766 Counting, repetition and rice

Now we are not making soup! Get 2/3 kinds of grains and legumes you might have at home (lentils and rice will do) and put them in an old jar. Sit down in a quiet place with your jar and start counting. Why? Because, as you count, you may find a similar experience to that of Jenny Ann Low visiting a Marina Abramovic exhibition,

“My breathing slows, as does my heart. Counting the rice and lentils, a methodical, creative difficult endeavour, becomes a vital, repairing balm.”

Jenny Ann counted 3987 grains of rice, you get a little more variety for your practice today. The Artist suggests that  doing this kind of repetitive activity in silence with attention makes  ‘your heart slow down, your thinking process slow down, it brings you into a different cosmos’. Psychology agrees with the artist – repetition can be used to calm the mind. Try it. And do read the article too, it is well worth the time.

Tweet your response to @livedtime and be sure to include the hashtag #tds766

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This Daily Stillness has been recycled from previously published ones:

• #tds402 Counting, repetition and rice (Aug 5, 2016)