The (untrained) mind constantly wanders from time to time. If the mind is not focused on a single object, it tends to drift to something else. For example, when we are eating, we might think about work, vacations, and other things. It is not easy to keep our focus on eating consciously.
By saying “consciously,” we mean being fully aware as we grab the food, aware of how we put the food into our mouth, aware of how we chew it, and aware of the taste without judging—recognizing pleasant as pleasant and unpleasant as unpleasant. We try not to let the mind wander, and when it does, we bring it back to the eating process.
Not many people can conquer and master their mind. However, anyone willing to train their mind should be able to do so with some effort. Reflecting back on my post about The Mountain, you can always observe the mind anytime, anywhere, for various purposes. For example, when you are in pain, observe how the mind attaches to the pain. You will realize that it is the attachment of the mind that causes so much pain. Observing the mind that is attached to pain doesn’t take away the pain, but as you detach from it, the pain will somehow feel less intense. The more you tell yourself it hurts, the more pain you will experience.
Exercises in observing the mind will help you automatically observe your happy moments as well. When this happens, you may not become overly attached to your happy moments. Instead, you’ll gain the wisdom that happiness, pain, and everything else are temporary, and that all experiences in life do not belong to you; all things happen as they are.
You can also observe feelings, perceptions, and your awareness itself. Additionally, observe what causes these things (feelings, mind, perceptions, and awareness) to arise. Are they external factors like shapes, colors, sounds, touches, smells from our senses, or do they arise from previous feelings or thoughts?
Once you master observing these aspects and truly understand the wisdom that everything is temporary—how feelings arise from nothing, occur, and then disappear—you will realize that you should focus on something deeper. This understanding allows you to see things as they are and let go of attachments.
It depends on where you are heading. If you love the journey to insight as much as I do, then this is for you.
Who looks outside, dreams; who looks inside, awakes.
Carl Jung
Photo credit: OpenAI’s ChatGPT-4o
Views: 0
Leave a Reply