Occasionally, over the first half of his years of teaching, Jan at the end of a talk would mention an excursion for us to individually accomplish (generally before the next meeting some days later). These tasks were almost inevitably something we would never have considered doing on our own. Most often they were mandatory and all involved the Aim of this activity.
These “excursions” could be episodic, e.g., acting blind in a local mall; or continuing, e.g., “never talk about yourself.” They could be public, such as “going into clearly inappropriate shops, such as a florist or bakery, and inquire if they make keys” while observing certain particulars. They could be internal, e.g., willfully attempting to “think what you feel.” They could be physical, such as “run or jog for at least 20 minutes each day without stopping,” or both, such as “walk for 45 minutes and consider the Right Angle Surprise where there is always another relevant observation to be made after one’s original insight.”
A short-hand synopsis of a particular excursion is listed on relevant talk pages. We suggest you listen to Jan’s version in the audio or video.