Adversarial Meditation
I love the idea that meditation is training for the mind (the attention aspect of it more specifically). Each time you go from being distracted --> paying attention to the present moment you have completed 1 rep. Congratulations, you have hundreds of thousands more to go.
While I find that this is easy to complete in the serenity of the Austin Zen Temple I arrive back in my day to day life and find my capacity to do this severely lacking.
It's like going from practicing my beach volleyball line shot on a clam day with perfect initial positioning and a buttery hand set at the height I like it with all my focus on hitting the spot... then magically... expecting myself to deliver that same line shot in a professional tournament with a serve that puts me out of position, a mediocre pass that puts my partner in a difficult spot to set me, and a cross wind 😵💫.
There is not a smooth gradient of difficulty that prepares my mind for day-to-day adult life in the same way there are progressively more difficult drills and scrimmage opponents. I can easily think of ways to practice volleyball in a controlled setting and a less controlled setting to gradually improve without the consequences of failing being any higher than momentary frustration. Howver, missing the opportunity to recognize the state of your mind in day to day life hurts. It frequently results in an argument with your partner, a missed moment of connection with your child, or a missed opportunity to personally develop that would break a years long rut you've been in.
What I need is progressively adversarial meditation. Something between the perfect calm serene environment and the flow of day to day life. 🤔