Contemplating locations and pathways

Your mindfulness practice could consist of contemplating a particular location (or theme) or it could involve following a pathway which encompasses a number of themes as waypoints on your journey.

Contemplating locations

The mindful 'staycation'

One way to use the mindfulness wheel in your contemplation is to hold your attention on particular themes. This is about increasing your awareness of a particular aspect of your existence. Getting to know the neighbourhood better. Appreciating the things you often take for granted and overlook.

Single themes

One way to use the wheel is to choose a single theme to contemplate. Keep your attention on that theme and whatever arises from considering it.

For each theme you could choose to contemplate just the ‘being’ aspect or just the ‘doing’ aspect or contemplate the interaction between being and doing.

You could also undertake active or receptive contemplation of the theme.

Theme combinations

As well as attending to the themes individually, you can contemplate them simultaneously in various combinations.

Adjacent themes — next to each other on a pathway
Parallel themes — at the same level between base and apex on the external and internal pathways
Facing themes — directly opposite each other on the pathways circle
90° themes — at right angles to each other on the pathways circle
135° themes — at an obtuse angle to each other on the circle

As well as attending to the themes in pairs, you could also attempt multiple combinations, triplets, quadruplets, etc. The ultimate, perhaps unachievable, goal is to simultaneously attend to all of the points on the wheel.

Contemplating pathways

The mindful 'expedition'

Another way to use the wheel is to plan (or at least keep track of) journeys between locations. This is about guiding your attention from one theme to another or noticing the movement of your attention. It involves noticing how the landscape changes as you move and appreciating the changing perspective that the journey provides you with.

Types of pathway

One-way - the finish is different from the start
Return - the finish is the same as the start, the route back is the route out in reverse
Circular - the finish is the same as the start, the route back is different from the route out

Pathways between being (Be) and doing (Do)

Causes and origins (Be → Do) — contemplating how certain traits, states or conditions lead to or constrain particular events, behaviours and processes
Effects and becomings (Do → Be) — contemplating how certain changes, events or actions create, inhibit or transform particular traits, states or conditions

Pathways between internal (In) and external (Ex)

Expanding (In → Ex) — opening your attention beyond yourself, projecting yourself into the world
Centring (Ex → In) — situating yourself in the world, inviting the world into you

Pathways between base (B) and apex (A)

Ascending (B → A) — moving contemplation from the concrete to the abstract, the here-and-now to the eternal, the physical to the spiritual
Grounding (A → B) — moving contemplation from the past-future to the present moment, the complex to the simple

Pathways within a specific location

Widening — increasingly focusing on more examples or multiple aspects of the things you are contemplating
Deepening — increasingly focusing on specific examples or single aspects of the thing you are contemplating

Contemplating pathways that have only two locations (start and finish) can be similar to contemplating two-theme combinations. The main difference is:

in a combined theme contemplation, you hold both concepts in your mind simultaneously and explore the relationship between them
in a pathway contemplation, you start by focusing on the first theme then you shift your attention to the second theme and focus on that (informed by the previous stages of your journey)

Combined theme contemplations can be harder (you have to keep two locations in your mind at the same time). One technique is to undertake a pathway contemplation with successive return journeys between the two locations until you eventually settle on a midpoint between them. You could also try this for pathways with more than two locations.

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