Thomas Leigh Diary

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How I meditate #3: how to handle the mind?

Notes:

    How I meditate #3: how to handle the mind?Previously I told You what could be a very helpful attitude towards Your body. Today I will tell You what about the mind or - to put it simpler - Your thoughts.

    We used to think a lot on a daily basis. But for the sake of meditation You need to manage this activity because while meditation You don't think so much. Some people perceive meditation even as a non-thinking state, but in My opinion it isn't necessary. The point is to have much more silence / or much less activity "in Your head". Here is My way of achieving this.

     

    Your thoughts aren't Yours

    If You have read the previous part of this series it probably sounds familiar :) . Because in fact My attitude towards My Own thoughts is similar or even the same like the one I've described in the body context.

    Remember? The whole thing was about treating Your body as it wouldn't be Yours. For example - when You are aware of any sensation originated in the body, You consider it as an outside sensation, not originated in You, so by no way referred to You. The same thing about thoughts which we used to name as "Ours". You can also treat them as something originated outside of You and not belonging to You. You can treat them as voices which You could sometimes unintentionally overhear.

    I consider the mind as a source of Our thoughts. And for the sake of meditation I visualize the mind as a radio blaring at full volume. On top of that it is broadcasting several stations at once - and some of them interweave each other. But usually it is like being at the disco when the music is very loud, and You can also hear many, many voices around You (the crowd). Although You can be quiet - You are surrounded by that "storm of noises and sounds". Like in the eye of the cyclone, where is total peace - although anywhere around is a raging storm. In the center is always peace.

    What I do next is I ignore the radio. Because in fact it is the same thing as it would be in the situation in which You physically hear a radio somewhere in the neighborhood: You ignore it.

    What the mind produces is very similar. If You have visualized the mind as a radio - and the thoughts as stations or programs, You can visualize Yourself as a person who can listen, but who hasn't been forced to do that.

    You know, one of My childhood dreams was to live nearby trains - because I love trains. At some point it came true and I heard trains every day, oh, every hour! :) During the day - and during the night also. But if You would ask Me how many trains were passed by today - I couldn't answer because I usually wasn't aware of that (!). Oh, it would be even hard to tell when the last train has passed by! Why it was that way? Because this is a matter of focusing Your attention. Usually I focused My attention on something different than the trains so I literally didn't hear them. They didn't exist for Me (what made Me even sad if I reminded Myself I had that childhood dream and now I can't derive any pleasure from it ;) ).

    So You are the person who can listen - but hasn't been forced to do that. While I'm meditating, I can treat "My" thoughts the same way: as an outside radio. What I do while meditation is observing. And it is possible to observe "Your Own" thoughts, isn't it? But if it is possible - who observe them? You were probably used to think that You are thinking, that You are producing thoughts. But if it is possible for You (and anyone else) to observe Your Own thoughts - are they really Yours? Are they really originated in Your activity - if You didn't do anything but observing? It is very easy to check that: stop for a while, don't think about anything and just observe if any thought happen? When it has happened? Were You careful while observing? Not really? So try again, be more careful this time and be sure that You are observing all the time. Sooner or later You will catch some thought :) . Because the mind is up and running - and it is running outside of You! Or to be more specific: it is running outside of Your consciousness - which makes You a really free man :) . Because whenever You want - You can not to listen, but only be aware instead. Be aware - but not necessarily pay attention. It works like that: when You realize You've caught some thought (You've realized its presence) - consider it as an unintentionally overheard voice from the outside (like the train) and forget it. There is no reason to remember, there is no reason to pay attention, there is no reason to hold it. But if You choose to pay attention, the music will be louder, the program will be louder, or the train. As long as You want to meditate - You however choose not to engage with all those "outside entertainment" - and focus only on observing. And when You just observe thoughts - the realization of its presence may be the last thing about them - it won't be "to be continued". Because in order to hear anything - You have to listen to it. And in order to listen to anything - You have to pay attention to it. But if You have that attitude in which You don't pay attention to any thought but You only consider them as an outside broadcasting - they already lost their power. And as soon as You realize its presence - they can disappear in the blinking of an eye, just because of that attitude, just because of that decision not to pay attention, but to only be aware of and ignore them - if they have been noticed.

     

    What happens then?

    Then You'll find Yourself free and You will be surprised how easy it was to achieve. Or even better: You realize that it was always that way - but You just believed in other interpretation: that thoughts are really made by You. While You are only the one who turns the radio knob.

     

    *****

     

    As a post scriptum I'll tell You that this attitude can also be very helpful in everyday life. We sometimes blame ourselves for Our Own thoughts - for example when we are in bad mood, we can think about ourselves badly, with the eye of the mind we can see ourselves in dark colors. Then we can call it "a lack of self-confidence or self-esteem". But in fact who was thinking badly about You - were not You, but Your mind! It was only "a radio" playing music similar to Your mood at the time. Because that the thing works: it plays mainly that kind of "music" which is similar to how do You feel. So when You feel good - it will play "good music": positive, motivational, full of self-confidence thoughts. And when You feel bad - it will play "bad music": negative, dark, doubting thoughts. But in both cases You are still the one who listen - and "Your" thoughts are still "the outside music". And the knob is in Your hand - although You may not be willing to listen some better music when You feel low. But back to the topic - whatever music You listen, You are not its author. You only select channels. And Your radio, Your mind can play many, many channels at Your command - and it can play them very clearly and convincingly. But when You hear some music via headphones - You don't say that You were producing that music. You just only listened. The same with the mind and its thoughts, its "channels". It always can play the music adequate to the moment (Your feelings).

     

    All right, I think it is enough for today :) - soon I will tell You another parts of the meditation series.
    Thomas

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