We like to think that we are in control of our minds, but in reality it is our minds that are in control of us. By indulging in an incessant stream of positive or negative thoughts, and jumping between the past and the future, our minds never allow us to completely relax and enjoy the beauty of the present moment – the only true thing there is.
Thoughts
Our thoughts: For, an average human mind gets more than 60,000 thoughts in a span of 24 hours.
We don’t have any control over our thoughts. Any thought can come and hit us from any direction. But what we do have control over is whether we want to pursue that thought or if we want to turn it into an action.
Whenever you are bothered by any lingering thought, simply ask yourself the following three questions and watch it become feeble in no time: From where has this thought originated? Where is it traveling? Where has it disappeared?
The anatomy of a thought; basically, its emptiness. They are empty. Thoughts have no definitive point of origin, no set course of travel, and no specific site of disappearance.
The lifespan of every thought, however good or bad, pleasant or unpleasant, is exactly the same. It emerges. It manifests. It disappears.
Thought residues: you don’t recall a thought or if you don’t pay attention to a thought, it must disappear on its own.Thoughts that you do not let go leave an imprint on your mind. That imprint is the residue. Meditation is the process of washing away that residue. It is the cleaning of your slate and keeping it that way. When we fail to abandon our thoughts, they assume different forms. They can become desires, expectations or emotions.
Om Swami – Spiritual Monk, Author – If Truth Be Told / A Million Thoughts
The Inner Voice
Are you the inner voice or the person who is hearing the inner voice?
The voice comments, speculates, judges, compares, complains, likes, dislikes, and so on.
The voice isn’t necessarily relevant to the situation you find yourself in at the time; it may be reviving the recent or distant past or rehearsing or imagining possible future situations.
It is not uncommon for the voice to be a person’s own worst enemy. Many people live with a tormentor in their head that continuously attacks and punishes them and drains them of vital energy. It is the cause of untold misery and unhappiness, as well as of disease.
The moment you start watching the thinker, a higher level of consciousness becomes activated.
You’ll soon realize: there is the voice, and here I am. This I am realization, this sense of your own presence, is not a thought. It arises from beyond the mind.
So the single most vital step on your journey toward enlightenment is this: learn to disidentify from your mind.
Every time you create a gap in the stream of mind, the light of your consciousness grows stronger. One day you may catch yourself smiling at the voice in your head, as you would smile at the antics of a child. This means that you no longer take the content of your mind all that seriously, as your sense of self does not depend on it.
Eckhart Tolle – Spiritual Teacher, Author – Power of Now / A New Earth / Practicing the Power of Now
Problem of compulsive thinking: Not to be able to stop thinking is a dreadful affliction, but we don’t realize this because almost everybody is suffering from it, so it is considered normal. This incessant mental noise prevents you from finding that realm of inner stillness that is inseparable from Being.The compulsive thinker, which means almost everyone, lives in a state of apparent separateness, in an insanely complex world of continuous problems and conflict, a world that reflects the ever-increasing fragmentation of the mind.
Eckhart Tolle – Spiritual Teacher, Author – Power of Now / A New Earth / Practicing the Power of Now
The Racing Mind: Don’t be worried about the racing mind; let it race. Allow it to race as fully as possible; don’t prevent it, don’t try to stop it—you just be a watcher. You get out of the mind and let the mind race, and soon, without fail, as a natural law, gaps will start happening. And when gaps happen, don’t get too happy that, “I have got it.” Remain relaxed. Enjoy those gaps also, but without greed and without desire, because they will disappear; and they will disappear soon if you become greedy. If you are ungreedy, undesirous, they may stay longer.
Osho – Spiritual Teacher – Meditation: The 1st & Last Freedom / The Book of Secrets
Emotions
Emotional see-saw: One day we feel powerful and the next we feel crippled. One moment we feel over the moon and the next moment we are grief-stricken. It happens even if there’s absolutely no change in our circumstances
.The see-saw of emotions suckslife out of the best of us, leaving us at the mercy of our thoughts and reactions.Lingering thoughts: Emotions are a group of lingering thoughts.
Om Swami – Spiritual Monk, Author – If Truth Be Told / A Million Thoughts
Recommended Books to Understand Your Mind
A Million Thoughts: Learn all about Meditation from a Himalayan Mystic
Authors: Om Swami
Drawing on his experience of thousands of hours of intense mediation in the Himalayas, Om Swami provides insights into how you need to meditate correctly, the various different techniques of mediation, different yogic practices and what it takes to travel the path towards the final stage of samadhi (or enlightenment).
Zen Mind, Beginner’s Mind: Informal Talks on Zen Meditation and Practice
Authors: Shunryu Suzuki,Trudy Dixon, Huston Smith, Richard Baker
“In the beginner’s mind there are many possibilities, but in the expert’s there are few”. Based on this profound idea, Suzuki enlightens the reader’s mind on the concept of Zen. His teachings range from the best way to breathe and the need to be mindful of the surroundings. The best part is that this book is easy-to-practice with simple and precise instructions.
Other concepts on Meditation & Mindfulness
Meditation Techniques
There are a wide range of different meditation techniques – being a silent observer, focusing on your breath, zen, dynamic meditations and the list goes on. There is no correct or preferred method, you need to find the technique that works the best for you.
Elements for Good Meditation
Meditating can be challenging, especially in the initial stages. To become good at meditation, there are a number of elements that are important to keep in mind including – the importance of a good posture, your mindset, your meditative space and how to deal with the various impediments that you experience while meditating.
The Now
Our minds are constantly racing between an unchangeable past and an imaginary future. In the process, we ignore the only real thing there is – The Now. All our fears, anxieties, worries, stress and other forms of negativity all stem from an inability of our minds to remain present in the current moment.
Letting Go
We often place much greater importance to things, than they really deserve. By practicing the art of letting go, we gain a great degree of freedom from thoughts, emotions and things that prevent us from realizing our true selves.