Something shocking (literally, as you’ll see in a moment) grabbed my attention today.
In a 2014 study done by Harvard and the University of Virginia, participants were asked to sit in a room for 15 minutes. No phone, no music, no distractions.
Except for a single button they could push to deliver a mild electric shock.
More than half the participants pressed the button. They chose actual pain over simply sitting with their own thoughts.
Absurd, right? But also revealing.
Most of us have been trained to do more, try harder, tense up – anything to avoid the stillness. The irony is that all this strain only creates more tension.
This reminds me of a book I’ve been reading, Improve Your Vision by Martin Brofman. (Because I would rather endure vision exercises than succumb to the need for reading glasses.)
His perspective contradicts conventional wisdom:
Clear vision isn’t discovered by straining to see; it’s what happens naturally when the eyes are relaxed.
People with poor vision tend to squint, strain and stare in an effort to see more clearly. And eyeglasses lock your eyes into the maladapted, tense state to offer correction.
When we squint or tense, our vision becomes more blurry. When we relax, clarity returns.
I’ve noticed this myself. When I’m stressed and overthinking my eyesight is worse. When I’m relaxed, it clears.
There’s a direct correlation between the clarity of my mind and the clarity of my vision.
It’s a powerful metaphor for seeing the world clearly.
I see a connection between the study and the book.
Whether we’re talking about our eyes or our thoughts, tension never brings clarity. Relaxation does.
Underneath the noise of thinking, the very thing that drove participants to shock themselves, is a deep, effortless silence. It’s from that place that peace, clarity and inspired action are found.
Doing nothing is the simplest thing to do, and the hardest thing to choose, when your mind is screaming for action and distraction.
I know how impossible this can seem, and my telling it to you won’t do a bit of good. The only way to know this is to discover it for yourself.
And so, an experiment.
Try this:
Take one situation that troubles you. For 24 hours, take a “thought vacation.” Don’t try to figure it out. Just relax and enjoy your life.
Notice what looks different after those 24 hours.
Or if you’ve noticed vision changes, like me, you can use your vision as a teacher.
- Test your vision now.
- Relax, through meditation, breath or simply resting.
- Test again. Notice the difference.
Both experiments may reveal the same truth: clarity is our natural state. We don’t attain it by straining, it’s revealed when we relax the tension creating it.
This reminds me of a moment on a retreat in Italy three years ago. On the last day, someone asked the teacher:
“What can I do to keep this beautiful retreat feeling after I go home?”
I watched the teacher think for a moment, as if she was searching for the best strategy. And then, she smiled.
“Relax,” she said. “Relaxation helps with everything.”
I knew it was true then, and it still is. Even if I forget it all the time.
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