Minding the Mind

By. K.N.Subramanyam.

We live each day with thousands of things demanding our minds precious attention. We think incessantly about a million things that many of us become slaves to our minds. In fact, we think so much that as soon as we have time to be still we don’t even know how to enjoy being quiet.

The only way you will ever experience peace of mind is by learning to drop the analogical thinking mind. Meditation is a way to help you on the journey of achieving mental clarity and peace. 

  Meditation will be your tool for deep introspection of your inner being, and will prove to be very valuable in your day to day life.

It will help you develop an intimate relationship with your true self. As you develop your inner being you will become valuable to those around you, because you will be more in touch to who you really are.

You can only truly help others when you have become the master of your mind, free of false illusions. Many people feel that just because they have the urge to help they are able to help. Unless you really know what your true identity is, which is not your ego, you will only be trying to offer help from something that is  an illusion.

The beauty of proper meditation is that it helps you create immense distance in your inner space. It gives you perspective, your level of consciousness changes. It helps you create distance between your thoughts and the witness who watches your thoughts.

The problem for most is that they remain too close to their thoughts, being close means being identified. This is why psychoanalysis never actually solves the causes of your problems, it may help you function more efficiently in society, but you remain on the same level. Your problem is in your thinking and you try to solve it with thinking, still remains within the field of thought.

Meditation gives you vertical growth, it gives you a bird’s eye perspective to see your problems, awareness to freely observe, free of conditioning. You become an impartial observer, being impartial you will see the causes, you gain understanding. There is no need to solve the problem, you just need more understanding. It simply exists because you lack sufficient understanding, not enough awareness.

That’s why we are always able to give someone else great advice, we are far from the problem, we are impartial, we have clarity to see. The person with the problem is too close to it, to identified, he will say “easy for you to say, this isn’t your problem”. Meditation helps you create the distance for you to see clearly.

Many say that it would be nice to have peace of mind, to learn to be calm no matter what goes on around them. But as long as you make those things objects of your desire, you have already identified yourself as lacking them, thus keeping your self from experiencing peace.

When people begin to attempt meditating they say that is difficult and boring. When you learn to watch what’s going on inside you, if those thoughts of boredom come up, just watch them. Explore why you are telling yourself this is boring, pay attention to your feelings, where is it coming from? There is a huge growing experience hidden, you just need to explore it.

“There are strange moments in life when the mind rests without any kind of worries. When our mind is quiet, when our mind is in silence, then the new arrives.

  When you drop your mind you will experience oneness with the universe. You will realize that everything really is intimately interconnected and multi dimensional.

The only thing that keeps you thinking you are separate is your body and mind. When you are asleep and disconnect your mind from your body your consciousness is one with the universal consciousness. Mediation is your key in transcending the confines of your body and mind to consciously experience a higher state of universal awareness.

Through a daily discipline of meditation you will become more mindful and calm. Calmness is the ideal state in which you should receive and take part in your life’s experiences. Some one who is calm has the mental clarity to handle any situation that life throws at him. Even mindedness should be your goal, learning to maintain a clear headed mind state helps you with enjoying and dealing with a fast paced lifestyle.

The more that you focus your attention within, you will  begin to feel a new power and new peace rise up within you. Meditation is the ability to stay actively calm. Meditation does not even have to be what many associate meditation with, which is to get into a lotus position and start chanting a mantra.

Any activity that you enjoy can be meditation; you just need to learn to be watchful of whatever you are doing. Learning to be fully present in any activity is meditation. Jogging through the forest and being observant of everything going on inside you without judgment is meditation. It is however important to incorporate a daily routine of meditation and do it earnestly and consistently if you are to reap the rewarding effects.