Mindfulness, Museums and Memory: Creating Truly Transformative Travel Experiences
“The true journey of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes but in having fresh eyes.” — Marcel Proust
One of the most intense and rewarding parts of my job as a program manager at Context is our annual regional trip: engaging with sparklingly intelligent colleagues over coffee or wine, and discovering each destination anew.
Early every year, our local teams travel to their respective cities to deliver professional development meetings to docents, and work on storytelling for the season ahead. Ten days of non-stop meetings, train journeys, workshops, museum visits, dinners and drinks…
Knowing your stuff is crucial when you’re meeting with a group of academics and experts. But equally important is the ability to decompress, to rest the mind and be ready and energised for each busy day.
The above Proust quote featured in two books I’ve been reading simultaneously in preparation for the trip. Identity and the Museum Visitor Experience by John Falk (for the theory), and Arriving at your Own Door: 108 Lessons in Mindfulness by Jon Kabat-Zinn (for the energy). This synchronicity got me thinking about various connections between mindfulness and the immersive experiences we aim to create.
Our PD meetings this year are focused around the theme of engagement. In his book, Falk notes that, “an emotional experience, in particular an emotionally arousing visitor experience, result[s] in strong and lasting memories.” He goes on to argue that museums are unique places because they foster engagement, and that engagement, under the right conditions, can become a flow experience. “When goals are clear, feedback is unambiguous, challenges and skills are well matched, then all of one’s mind and body become completely involved in the activity.”
At Context, we see the city as an outdoor museum, full of such potential. Our docents encourage and facilitate engagement with the living landscape by asking questions, telling stories, and zooming into and out of particular aspects and objects.
Full immersion in a flow experience is comparable to a state of mindful awareness in that you’re not thinking about the past or the future. The only thing that matters is the present, and you’re fully focused on the task or object at hand. In Buddhist theory, resting attention on a specific object is a technique of what’s called “form meditation” — or simply using our sense of sight as a means for resting the mind:
“Whatever object you choose you’ll notice that it has two characteristics: shape and colour. Focus on whichever aspect you prefer. You could choose something white, black or pink, or round, square, or multiform… The idea is simply to rest your attention on either its colour or shape, engaging the mental faculty only to the point of barely recognising the object... The moment you bring attention to the object, you are aware.” — Yongey Mingyur Rinpoche, The Joy of Living.
Looking slowly and deeply — at artworks, objects, or corners of a city that are hidden in plain sight — is a meditative experience. When emotion is evoked, and the criteria for flow are fulfilled, we undergo an immersive experience that is also ultimately transformative, whether it completely changes our perspective on a topic, or simply allows us to rest our minds, however fleetingly, in the present moment.
When working with docents on a walk in the city or a museum, it can be tempting to drift off and think about my next meeting, or full inbox. But this time I’m determined to resist, and instead engage. Our docents — adept and knowledgeable as they are — also possess the unique ability to pull us into the present moment, and if you ask me, that’s the most valuable skill of all.
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Natalie Holmes is our program manager for Central and Southern Europe.
