“You’ve got to flake the rope!”

Meditation has played a key role in my life for more than twenty-five years. I appreciate that meditation is a gentle but disciplined training for the excitable puppy that is my brain — teaching me to focus, to concentrate on just one thing, to notice if my mind is running hither and yon, and to bring my attention back to right now, here, where life is actually unfolding.

Sit puppy. Be still. Stop chasing your thoughts-just let them be.

A few years ago on retreat, the teacher had us focus on relaxing. It seems that after twenty-five years of meditating, I would have that part down pat. But the truth is the reminder was invaluable. The teacher took us seasoned meditators on a guided journey, encouraging us to slowly let the tension loosen from all parts of the body.

“Release your cheeks,” he said, “your whole face, your eyes. Notice if you are holding any tension in your neck, your upper shoulder, your shoulder blades. Feel the release as you work down to your mid-back. Release any knots there before we begin our concentration practice in earnest.”

As I felt the tension release from various parts of my body I didn’t even know I was holding tight, I did begin to relax more. The silent meditation that followed was a joy — bringing me quickly to stillness and peace. My mind settled more easily. Thoughts were still simmering in the background but it was easier to let them drift away of their own accord.

As we practiced that week and again at a later retreat, I began to start each of my meditations with this beginner’s tool. It was remarkable.

Then one day while on retreat, in a moment of insight, I heard the words, “You’ve got to flake the rope!” and in that instance the whole of rock climbing — a relatively new sport in my life that I took up in my mid-fifties — came tumbling forth as a metaphor for my awareness practice — perhaps a metaphor for Life.

Rock-climbing as a metaphor for life

Rock climbing, after all, captures viscerally the thrill and trepidation we have for scaling new heights — be they rock walls or the cliffs of consciousness. Either way our very life is at stake and we must move past our fears and stay present to the moment immediately before us.

So, what did I see in that flash of insight that can we awareness practitioners can learn from our fellow climbers?

Flake the rope

Before any lead climb (where you carry the rope up the wall and anchor it along the way) you must “flake the rope.” This involves systematically pulling the whole rope through your hands and allowing it to fall in a knot-free pile. Doing so ensures that the rope will not suddenly catch as it is played it out, which could pull the climber off the wall or keep him or her from securing the rope to an anchor. Flaking the rope is non-negotiable part of lead climbing. You always do it. Rock climbers accept the fact that carrying a once-flaked rope around will naturally create new knots that must be removed before the next climb.

The rest of us, however, often forget that no matter how relaxed and at ease we once were, our daily lives naturally create new knots in our bodies and tension in our minds, no matter how experienced or practiced we are at meditation. In life, as in rock climbing, tension thwarts our efforts to rise above. To grow as practitioners, we must take time out to systematically relax and release all tension. We must flake our body ropes.

Find a trustworthy belayer

Another integral part of rock climbing is belaying. The belayer’s job is to feed the line to the climber, to offer up support, and to catch us climbers when we fall. Any visit to a rock-climbing gym or rock wall will be filled with words of encouragement being hailed from belayer to climber: “Great job!” “Take a break.” “You’ve got this!” “Look for the hold to the right.” “I gotcha.”

The belayer to the climber is like the “Sangha” or spiritual community to a meditator. It’s hard to do this stuff on our own. Like a belayer, the community provides critical support to an awareness practitioner. Fellow mindfulness practitioners recognize the perseverance it takes to maintain a meditation practice amid a busy life, the dedication it takes to inquire deeply within, and the courage it takes to scale the cliffs of our own consciousness, if you will.

Whether we are alone on a physical wall reaching for the next unseen handhold or facing a mental obstacle, we need a lifeline, not only encouraging us to keep going, but catching us when we fall.

Follow a worthy guide

Climbers regularly take themselves to remote locations seeking out new rock walls to climb. Unless you are a remarkably advanced and practiced rock climber, it is dangerous, however, to tackle a new wall without getting some “beta” (i.e. advice) first. Usually, beta comes from a guide or perhaps guide book of the area. A guide will identify where specific climbs are, note loose or dangerous sections, rate the difficulty of the climbs, and advise how long and what gear is needed to be successful.

We meditators, too, travel into unknown territory. This is where a teacher can help. Having traveled the road before, they can point out some of the challenges, help prepare us, offer us appropriate tools, and share what their own experience was along the way. Like mine did, when he pointed me all the way back to the beginning and reminded me to relax the body first-mind will follow.

We may have to embark on the climb ourselves, but helpful instruction from someone who has already been there will help us to find our own way to the top.

Find the proper tools and practice, practice, practice

On each rock climbing challenge, climbers must bring along a host of gear they will rely on to help them climb and to safely anchor along the way: a harness, rope, carabineers, shoes, nuts, cams. It takes a lot of practice to learn how to use the tools of the climbing trade. You have to start on easy walls, following others, paying attention to what works and what doesn’t, discovering for yourself what your preferences are, trying out different shoes, for instance, and what your limitations are. Mostly, you have to practice — a lot. After all, it doesn’t take much to realize your life depends on it.

Climbing gear is to rock climbing as meditation and self-inquiry techniques are to awareness practice: breathing or mantra practices help us focus, yoga brings us back into our body, away from the habitually thinking mind; loving kindness rituals teach us to take care of ourselves and others, and Socratic methods encourage us to question our conditioning and to look deeper within.

An awareness practitioner’s tool kit, like the climbing gear, is what makes the journey possible. And, if we are going to rely on these tools, we must practice religiously, for, like rock climbers, our very well-being is at stake.

Pay attention!

Which brings me to the coup de grâce. More than anything else, when tackling a new wall, rock climbing requires one to pay attention. There is little room for what one Buddhist teacher calls “noodling,” which essentially boils down to stressing over something that has already passed or worrying about something that has not yet come. No. Rock climbing demands our full attention. When your life is on the line, nothing is more riveting than exactly what is immediately before you.

And truth is, rock climbing or not, we all yearn to live fully — to be alive to each moment as it unfolds — to decouple ourselves from the conditioning we are identified with — to end suffering.

If we wish to truly live, our greatest gift is simply to pay attention to this moment. Nothing is more significant or important than right Now.

We climbers of the cliffs of consciousness can heed the wisdom of seasoned rock wall climbers:

• Release all tension
• Find a community to support you
• Follow the direction of a guide
• Try out new tools and practice, practice, practice
• Most importantly, pay attention!

Thank you @vickiadair52 for re-posting the youtube on @harvardbusinessreview about how your career can be like a rock climbing wall. It reminded me of this piece I wanted to share about how rock-climbing serves as a perfect metaphor for how to approach my awareness practice…and life.