Stand in Curiosity and Wonder
What seems extraordinary is often just ordinary experience perceived with greater sensitivity.
The Artemis II astronauts have gotten a ton of questions from people around the world who are stuck here, with our feet on the ground. One of my favorite exchanges came when The Daily collected children’s questions and played them for the crew, giving the astronauts a chance to respond directly to young voices from across the planet.
The bulk of their inquiries understandably had to do with bodily functions, but Leonardo from New York City asked the crew this beautiful question:
“Is there gravity in your dreams?”
Whether he eventually chooses to become an astrophysicist or not, I hope he continues to nurture his inner poet, remaining curious about what the body might carry into other areas of life, especially those that go beyond the constraints of physics.
Christina Koch responded first, saying, “I think we all dreamed that we were floating at different times. And one really neat thing that happened, I think, to all of us was, when we got back and woke up in our beds at home, we all felt like we were floating for a little while.”
Reid Wiseman added, “Do you ever wake up in, like, a hotel room, and you have to take a few seconds to figure out where you are? Even in my bed at home, I would wake up and look for the displays. I’m like, Oh, wait, where am I? Oh, I’m at home. I’m under gravity. I’m safe.”
They’re both pointing us back to the relatable facts of life on earth. Anyone who’s spent days at sea knows the body learns the ocean’s rhythm, and land feels unfamiliar when you return. That lingering sway is proof that our bodies carry the signatures of every environment we inhabit.
I’ve noticed something similar that happens during extended periods of intensive practice, like what you experience during silent meditation retreats, but it can also happen when you set up similar constraints around your house for the weekend — simplifying your schedule, taking a couple of days off from consuming information and performing your identity. With a bit of practice momentum, something interesting starts to show up in my body as I’m falling asleep and waking up. I notice wavy, undulatory sensations in my body, probably a heightened awareness of the typically subtle bodily functions like circulation and temperature regulation. It feels similar to the phenomenon of getting my sea legs, but it’s as if my whole body is flickering like a flame.
As my ability to focus becomes stronger and more flexible, and a kind of sensory composure deepens, I start to notice nuanced, satisfying sensations I usually miss. Internal friction eases up, and everything sharpens. Colors brighten, the rain sounds musical, and the slightest breeze dances deliciously across my skin.
Meditation doesn’t create exotic experiences. It reveals aspects of experience that were present all along, but in sharper relief.
We don’t need to travel to space or live on a boat to discover how profound the subtle details of our experience can feel. Sometimes a few days of sustained attention are enough to make the body feel unexpectedly alive—and to remind us that the subtle dimensions of experience, the elements of the universe and nature we’re part of, have been right here all along.
Subtle sensations are always in the background. While most of them will never demand your attention, they respond to it. That responsiveness can be cultivated to better reveal what’s already there.
The goal of today’s practice is to notice the quiet, often-overlooked sensations that become observable and surprisingly satisfying when we stop demanding that experience be dramatic.
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Exercise
This exercise offers a simple, practical way to carry the grounded awareness of sitting meditation into everyday movement, helping you cultivate mindfulness throughout your day. I’ve taken inspiration and used a few direct phrases from “The Small Dance” by Steve Paxton.
Circumstances for learning this attention exercise
Standing in line
Taking a shower
Before going for a walk
After returning from a walk
