e are all so BUSY! It just doesn’t stop, always on the go, planning the next THING to do. We’re living in the future, AND THAT’S WHERE WE’LL SLOW DOWN AND NOT DO, but not now because we’re rarely present. Working, travelling, exercising, walking the dog, shopping, socialising, looking after children and family, paying bills, eating, cooking, cleaning, manageing finances and holidaying rarely does ‘doing’ show us how or allow us to SLOW DOWN right now. We think we always have to do to be something but the good news is we don’t. BECAUSE YOU ARE NOT JUST YOUR MIND! YOU HAVE TO PRACTISE THOUGH! Practise BEING more and DOING less for a small part of each day, it’s about being present for that part of each day.
But why am I not JUST my mind? It’s based on the notion that we all have different qualities of mind, displaying different moods and emotions at different ‘times’. Expressions such as ‘an ‘open’ or ‘closed’ mind’, or a ‘sharp’ or ‘dull’ mind or ‘flexible’ or ‘rigid’ mind are not uncommon. Even ‘angry’ or ‘peaceful’ mind, we could go on; the ‘private’ mind is aware of these qualities of mind but perhaps not the ‘public’. These qualities of mind are essentially a product of the everyday mental activity we all live with. If the mental activity is not us, not the sum total of who we really then it must be but one ‘changeable’ aspect of self. You cannot wrap it up, touch it, throw it away, that’s part of the problem, but you can allow it to recede, you can with practice, ‘let it go’ or, as we’ll see learn to ‘hold on not as tightly’. We know when our ‘mind’ is relatively content; it feels as if things are going on ‘according to plan’. We also know when it’s not, when we may be ‘reacting’ to a succession of unplanned events or dealing with ‘new’ circumstances, such as accommodating continual ‘change’, wishing things were different from the way they are, which for many becomes the most familiar daily pattern. And then dealing with the associated stress this causes.
So to be your mind continually and to totally own it all is to have no respite, and, while that is fine for some, when things are not going well, that can promote ‘overly identifying’ with it. We can over personalise with mind taking everything far too seriously. This can place you on a merry-go-round of negative emotions, continually again wishing for things to be different from the way they are and that inevitably will leave you disappointed and drained. To be your mind continually can for some become a ‘prison sentence’.
In other words I know when I feel I’m ‘travelling OK’ my mind ostensibly isnot in turmoil and I feel relatively ‘in control’ (of my mind). This mind can be quite calm and relaxed and a presentation (judgement) something like this can appear: ‘life’s OK’, ‘this is good’, ‘I’m having a productive day’ etc. Even though all this feels OK we can often ‘not think’ nor question the role of the mind plays in this. We usually accept that whatever the mind says is fairly accurate. So we grow to value and appreciate the minds input or, we think it’s ‘our’ input, so as long as things are ‘going OK’ we are too. But we know in life things don’t always go OK. At such times having an awareness through accessing another type of mind will be helpful, because as we shall see there are really two sorts of mind.
1. The Doing (Ordinary) Mind
2. The Being (Original) Mind
Cultivate no. 1 and no. 2 reduces, cultivate no. 2 and you’ll get more done mindfully and be happier! Read the other posts to find out how.
But why am I not JUST my mind? It’s based on the notion that we all have different qualities of mind, displaying different moods and emotions at different ‘times’. Expressions such as ‘an ‘open’ or ‘closed’ mind’, or a ‘sharp’ or ‘dull’ mind or ‘flexible’ or ‘rigid’ mind are not uncommon. Even ‘angry’ or ‘peaceful’ mind, we could go on; the ‘private’ mind is aware of these qualities of mind but perhaps not the ‘public’. These qualities of mind are essentially a product of the everyday mental activity we all live with. If the mental activity is not us, not the sum total of who we really then it must be but one ‘changeable’ aspect of self. You cannot wrap it up, touch it, throw it away, that’s part of the problem, but you can allow it to recede, you can with practice, ‘let it go’ or, as we’ll see learn to ‘hold on not as tightly’. We know when our ‘mind’ is relatively content; it feels as if things are going on ‘according to plan’. We also know when it’s not, when we may be ‘reacting’ to a succession of unplanned events or dealing with ‘new’ circumstances, such as accommodating continual ‘change’, wishing things were different from the way they are, which for many becomes the most familiar daily pattern. And then dealing with the associated stress this causes.
So to be your mind continually and to totally own it all is to have no respite, and, while that is fine for some, when things are not going well, that can promote ‘overly identifying’ with it. We can over personalise with mind taking everything far too seriously. This can place you on a merry-go-round of negative emotions, continually again wishing for things to be different from the way they are and that inevitably will leave you disappointed and drained. To be your mind continually can for some become a ‘prison sentence’.
In other words I know when I feel I’m ‘travelling OK’ my mind ostensibly isnot in turmoil and I feel relatively ‘in control’ (of my mind). This mind can be quite calm and relaxed and a presentation (judgement) something like this can appear: ‘life’s OK’, ‘this is good’, ‘I’m having a productive day’ etc. Even though all this feels OK we can often ‘not think’ nor question the role of the mind plays in this. We usually accept that whatever the mind says is fairly accurate. So we grow to value and appreciate the minds input or, we think it’s ‘our’ input, so as long as things are ‘going OK’ we are too. But we know in life things don’t always go OK. At such times having an awareness through accessing another type of mind will be helpful, because as we shall see there are really two sorts of mind.
1. The Doing (Ordinary) Mind
2. The Being (Original) Mind
Cultivate no. 1 and no. 2 reduces, cultivate no. 2 and you’ll get more done mindfully and be happier! Read the other posts to find out how.