The Ever-Present Mind:
Zan-Shin (残心), Mindfulness, and Magickal Awareness
- ⟡ The importance of presence
- ⟡ Zan-shin, mindful awareness—not the same concepts
- ⟡ How to train zan-shin or mindful awareness
- ⟡ Misgivings
THE IMPORTANCE OF PRESENCE
Imagine a high-end stock trader or businessman yelling commands into a cell phone whilst driving. That person is either going to make a mistake with their instructions—they’ll misspeak and order their subordinate to trade the wrong thing or the wrong quantity—or they’ll hit another person. They think they’re saving time (and over the course of a day of task switching you’re really not), but they’re not able to fully comprehend or devote themselves to either task, setting themselves up at the risk of failure and harm.
That driver not devoted to the moment can’t see the little white birds either, or the blue shadows on the streets, or the woman in red walking with a bouquet of brown flowers.
In the middle of a dance one must be completely in tune with the music, one’s body, one’s motions; one must be completely aware of their relation to all these things at all times. This is essential in the context of spiritual communion. A medium or shaman can’t connect with anyone or even dance in a non-spiritual context if they’re thinking about their next article (oops) or whether and how to curse the asshole who yelled at them at the gym that morning (guilty). If one is distracted by things that aren’t there, one won’t notice the things that are there—a friend waving them down in the street is passed by unnoticed, as is the gentle wind, the sweetness of the golden warmth of the morning sun, the flitting shadows of fast-moving clouds overhead, the wonderful life that surrounds us.
Zan-Shin, the heart that remains, or the ever-present mind, is a mind aware of one’s relation to their present surroundings—and as such a mind capable of ever-present wonder, of awareness of those wonders around them. If I were distracted all the time I would never have been able to make friends with the spirits around me.
It’s difficult to maintain any sort of mindful awareness in contemporary society. Too many demands from too many quarters, and nothing or no relations to really provide firm footing. Meet this demand, this demand, this demand, think about this, that, that, worry, worry, worry here, your grades, your debts, your upcoming bills, your hours, your ex, your stupid family, shit co-workers, you can’t afford a house and you’ll probably never retire and so-on. Just try to focus on the task at hand without worrying about what you’ll say to the next queerphobic asshole you meet in an environment that’s notorious for its level of assault and physical violence.
Everything about today’s world tells me to shut down every physical perception—there’s no way I can be openly autistic or synaesthetic in my current working environment. I’m constantly masking and bearing all my weight down on a lid to push down my senses, and this takes a massive toll on me. It’s like being forced to work in shoes two or three sizes too small, except instead of my feet, it’s my brain that I’m cramping. By the end of the day I’m usually nonverbal, close to autistic burnout, and physically hurting from the pain of overexhausting my brain so.
And so, there’s no room for free, naturally-coming spiritual connection at work on a busy day. That is why I always refuse overtime that extends over an hour.
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ZAN-SHIN, MINDFUL AWARENESS—NOT THE SAME CONCEPTS
Zan-Shin and mindful awareness (or mindfulness) are superficially, but not identical concepts.
The contemporary Western application of mindful awareness focuses on the objective awareness of one’s changing thoughts and emotional state as a cognitive therapy tool, especially as a means of promoting capitalist accumulation. The original Buddhist concept of mindfulness sees it as one of the eight vital pillars to enlightenment in order to end suffering in both oneself and the collective human community as a contiguous, unified whole. Not as attractive to CEOs and HR, huh?
Zan-Shin is a concept developed in the context of Japanese martial arts, and may be simply summarised as “Never let your guard down.” Always be aware of where you are and how you are, and don’t assume that you can slack and get lazy just because you’re “comfortable”. It’s the idea that being an effective fighter is a mindset that never ends, not just the attainment of this or that physical skill level. It isn’t the paranoid hypervigilance of PTSD, but the relaxed, effortless vigil of someone fully aware of their surroundings. It is perfect and total follow-through. One does not fall to complacency because they achieved an early lead, or becomes distracted by the thoughts of one’s next fight (or ritual). One is just focusing on the present moment at hand.
That means putting away your phone when you’re eating. That means not listening to a podcast when you’re cooking. That means not worrying about other things when you take a walk outside.
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HOW TO TRAIN ZAN-SHIN OR MINDFUL AWARENESS
The easiest way to train Zan-Shin outside of a martial context is to narrate the little everyday activities one does. “I’m going up the stairs.” “I’m making tea.” “I’m sweeping the floor.” Because it is in these seemingly empty moments of time that the clutter of worry slips in the easiest and becomes entrenched! Suddenly worrying about your next shift becomes a habit, an ever-present burr clinging to your mind throughout the day.
After you finish a chore, take three moments to consciously appraise what you’ve done. “I’ve finished sweeping. The floor in the living area is clean, now. It feels easier to breathe. I’m still holding my broom.”
It may seem odd or feel embarrassing to talk aloud to oneself. But you’re already practicing magick so what’s the deal?
One makes this habit of clearing the mind of extraneous, non-existent thoughts, and very soon the world opens up to them again. The wood grain becomes visible, the little red fibres in the broom becomes beautiful, the gentle swaying of the curtain in the wind—it almost looks like it’s breathing—becomes a subject of contemplation and appreciation. The spirits of the area will approach this person more easily—how approachable is a suit yelling into a phone? Not very—and strike up casual, natural, friendly, and helpful conversations with curiosity, due thoughtfulness, and pleasure.
It’s so much easier to talk to people who are listening than those who are distracted.
Aural and other forms of sensory stimulation are helpful in promoting and training Zan-Shin in an explicitly spiritual context. That’s a large part in why formal rituals can be so powerful—they help establish the correct, focused state of mind needed for this kind of work. Focusing on just the psychological aspects of the following examples:
- ⟡ Casting a circle and lighting candles explicitly delineates the mundane time from the transcendental.
- ⟡ Music, bells, and percussion signals the appropriate mood, in addition to aurally hailing and welcoming the spirits.
- ⟡ Vestments (or ritual nudity, e.g. Wiccan “skyclad”) compels the wearer to act in a manner befitting their role in this special occasion.
As the reader might observe, simply practicing magick may help one develop Zan-Shin—but they have to dedicate themselves to it. Irreverence, a lack of seriousness, an obsession with instant gratification, and a disregard for personal growth particularly in the context of communing beneficially with others are problematic character traits that should preclude one from any field of study, martial, esoteric or not.
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MISGIVINGS
There are many concepts and practices that have been ripped out of their cultural contexts and packaged to consumers in the “wellness” market. I’m not gonna be one of those insane jackasses that screams about white people culturally appropriating hoop earrings—really?—but I am wary about promoting something as an individualistic panacea to advance oneself in a capitalist arena. (See this Vice exposé, “The White Sage Black Market”.)
Zan-Shin implies an awareness of oneself in one’s surroundings so one can respond to any danger precisely and without hesitation. Much (not all) of the magick popularly practiced and promoted today seem to me to fall into two camps: light and fluffy and Pinterest/teen girl magazine-friendly, or deplorable practices of the psychosocially retarded. (If you really need a Hoodoo jar to “rule your man” you should just, go live in a cave. No one needs someone like you in their personal life. You’re not a good friend. You’re actually very unhealthy.)
Applying Zan-Shin in everyday life and connecting it to my spiritual practice, to me comes naturally—as a result of personal experiences and history, and I was interested in elaborating these connections in a written piece. But presenting it to someone not familiar with its martial context, or, worse yet, averse to martial arts? I guess that’s dicier. This was originally a set of notes and observations meant for myself, but I decided it was useful enough to publish here, and I wanted to see if maybe it could help people.
At the very least, it’ll help me, haha!