The Art of Rinsing Your Mind

The rain has been impressive this week! Flooding, road closures, rivers overflowing. The rain feeds life but it can also wash everything away. Sometimes I feel like the human brain could do with some rain to give it a good rinse every once in a while.

I’ve been feeling a bit like I need a strong rinsing lately. The stress of work and everyday life, coupled with constant bombardment from social media, TV and emails relentlessly fills my brain up to capacity. Perhaps you can relate?

I often listen to podcasts, they provide me with some relaxation, which while productive and informative, tend to still overstimulate the mind. Sometimes it’s fantastic and other times it just adds to the mix of “Stuff” the brain accumulates.
A recent podcast I listened to involved a character who goes by the name of Naval Ravikant. He’s an interesting person, involved in multiple businesses, intelligent, wise and a philosopher in many ways.

He mentions that he likes to “rinse out” his mind every once in a while. His method of choice involved meditation and switching off the devices that equate to “chatter” in the mind. I gave this a go the other day for the first time and discovered this was pretty difficult but from the short time I tested his instructions, it felt like I experienced some immediate benefits. Look him up, you may find some value there.

The next day I had scheduled a meeting in Sydney CBD and afterwards decided to go for a walk through the city admiring the impressive architecture in the rain. I love the rain. Something about rain is calming and positive.

After wandering around the city for thirty minutes, I eventually found myself walking through Hyde park. The rain was heavy enough that most people were inside or staying under cover, avoiding the park. The park was completely empty. I was the only one there, enjoying serenity in a place that is normally flooded with people. Ironically the park was almost on the verge of flooding and I was instructed to leave prematurely as they were closing the park due to “severe weather”. I was disappointed as the grass and surrounding fauna were thriving due to all the rain we’ve had. It was very pleasant.

Since I was kicked out of the park, I realised that I was quite close to the NSW Art Gallery. I haven’t been there for years. The last time I had visited the art gallery was around 2006 when I was still studying graphic design. I thought to myself, that’s a great way to do some “rinsing”.

When I got to the Art Gallery, you’re greeted by a huge sandstone building with six giant columns out the front. It resembles the Panthenon in Greece. Very impressive.
Once you get inside, there is an expansive main corridor that divides the left and right galleries. The left side is for Contemporary and Aboriginal art and the right side is reserved for International artists. I spent the next 40 minutes or so wandering around the gallery, arms behind my back, hands clasped together above my bum mimicking the walk that the rest of the “adults” were doing around me, as though I visit the gallery often and know what I’m looking at… Jokes on them.

Initially, I wasn’t really connecting with anything I’d looked at. By the time I was done with the contemporary arts, I reached the International arts area. This section is described as a “Grand Court” and it is. Each room is of a colonial style with high ceilings and elegant trimmings. Some paintings on this side date back to the 16th Century. All of the paintings here tell some interesting stories. You can sit and look at them for hours and imagine scenarios surrounding what each painting is about.
There was only one artist that really made an impact on me. His name was Eugene von Guerard. He was born in Vienna but moved to Australia in the 1800’s. He had some amazing paintings of New Zealand, best I’ve ever seen. His brushwork is amazing, especially the detail of the water and clouds – almost lifelike. I’ve never been to New Zealand but from what I’ve heard, these paintings represent exactly how I would imagine it to look.

The paintings were the very definition of “Peace” embodied on oil canvas. I could imagine him setting up a spot and just getting lost painting what he was looking at. Astonishingly, a plaque on the wall informed me that Eugene had painted these in a studio using drawings he had made on the spot and wasn’t in New Zealand at all!
The imagination is a powerful thing. It’s a shame we never get to use it to it’s full extent because of all the “chatter” we receive day to day through our phones, work and interactions.

While I only spent about an hour here, I can say that reflection and alone time is good. I think Naval the Podcaster is onto something. I recommend it. Make time for it.