OK we have established two sub states of Waking, Mindlessness and Mindfulness: focused and defocused waking. We are generally more productive when focussed. Generally most people see themselves appreciating their life more in mindfulness. And they are more productive too. Our bosses want our minds on our work and so do inner bosses. I noticed I did better in trying to learn the piano with my mind on the task. For a very long time I progressed very slowly. I was trying to read the notes, involved with chords and getting all the notes at once. I found myself almost unconscious, buried in the mechanics of it all and not getting anywhere. I was frustrated.
But later I focussed my mind on the project. I said to myself, you know the melody of the piece. In fact it is in your memory. Why not work in concentrating on that trying to play it, even if it’s complicated like a Chopin nocturne. Try playing without music. Then you could always go back to the music when you lose your way. Your chances are best when you recruit the rest of your brain trying to work it out, for yourself. It worked best for simple music as you’d expect but knowing where you’re at, keeping in mind the shape of the piece, the melodies and strategies for the harmony especially chords.
Will you always be more productive, being in the moment, as a mindful individual? We are lead to believe the preferred state for all of us all of the time is mindfulness. Surprisingly, the answer is NO! In the state of mindlessness your mind can wander. Mindlessness is the state of freedom you prefer.Leaving your mind untrammeled meandering around, things come to you, seemingly out of the blue, that is with no specific chosen stimulus. there is no specific stimulus.
Here’s an example. I like to walk and think. On a long walk, even purely to burn calories, generally I like to listen to books. When I was younger it was music. Even so my mind will wander occasionally. Sometimes the book I’m reading (listening) to will give me ideas. But I often find that if I walk without headphones allowing my mind to truly wander, I will spontaneously think of something. I’m also open to distraction by a sound or sight that often turns out to be supremely relevant to a problem on my mind. In the freedom of the Default State is tendency to come up with pretty nifty ideas which I wouldn’t have if I hadn’t taken a walk and freed my mind to come up with something new.
I believe this is similar to dreaming. When you are falling asleep and your mind is sinking into a state of a low hum and still later abandoning specific thoughts and you are falling asleep going through the known sleep stages, eventually your mind is free. Though free, certain thoughts come to you because they are still pocketed in niches from the previous day. Whatever’s most recent or you are reminded about is most closely held and bound to be connected. But you are falling asleep and aren’t working on anything in particular.
This process has been remarked upon by many others with great cases in the literature that I go into more deeply elsewhere. It has happened to me personally, that something I had incompletely worked out before falling asleep will eventually appear to me, usually in a dream. And it is just this untrammeled free flow of thought that leads to sometimes the most fruitful ideas. I have seen it reported in many instances and I know it to be true for myself.
We are encouraged to be mindful and not mindless especially by our bosses who would like us to be serious and put out one hundred percent of the time especially during hours you are paid, your mind supposedly belonging to them during your working day. And is it true they could care less what you do after you arrive home? Some of our employers are husbands who want you day and night. Anyway the truth is, both free and directed awake mental states are productive in their own ways.
Perhaps the Default Mode State of waking appeared in evolution as a sort of awake readiness for a possible emergency. You are just lazing thinking of nothing in particular when all of a sudden the woman of your dreams appears before your eyes. In that case you are rested but ready to start a conversation.
We have these two waking mental states, mindful and mindless, obviously from the viewpoint of evolution because these are adaptive, that is help us to survive in our world.
