Meditation Guide: The Nature of Your Mind
When we are kids, our mind is in its early stages of development, extremely pliable and relatively unconditioned. For many it is their happiest time. Not because there is a lack of responsibilities, but because the mind has not yet taken control of us. Have you ever observed kids playing? One falls or hits the other, “ouch that hurt.” They cry, and they cry, and soon they get distracted by a fluttering butterfly or a rolling ball and they are off, happy as a bird, completely forgetting that they were crying and upset just a moment ago. That is the power of the mind, or should I say the lack of control of the mind over us at that tender age.
Now let’s go forward in time to a similar situation. We are hurt, we are in pain, a loved one said something hurtful or painful to us and we cry. No ball or butterfly will bring us out of this state. What has changed? We may think to ourselves at this point, “Aha, we are adults now, our lives are much more complicated and we have so many responsibilities. Life is not so simple anymore!” The truth of the matter is that although we do have more responsibilities as adults, this does not mean that life has gotten more complicated. Rather, we have allowed our mind to steering us, and now it says, “I want all emotions: negative, positive, hurtful, and joyful. It does not matter. Give me anything and I will cling to it.” That is the current state for many people. If only we could get that pesky mind to stop for just a moment, how wonderful would that be! How peaceful would we feel!
As we grow up, we begin to identify ourselves with the mind deluding ourselves into thinking that we are our minds. Through meditation and constant self observation we can reach the realization that we are not our mind. We are something different. In yoga it is called the seer. We are the seer and the mind is a pool of water which reflects that seer. Through some blunder we have associated ourselves with the reflection instead of the original image. It is like staring at yourself in the mirror and thinking that the image in the mirror is the real you.
See also: Meditation Techniques: How to Master Your Mind
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well said! i completely identify with what you’ve written. my mind had taken full control of my life and was leading me to some very dark places. thankfully, i had the good sense to try meditation. it has saved me. truly saved me. and positive thinking… i try and explain my theories to my friends who are in pain but it’s quite a lot to grasp. i see their eyes glaze over and realize they don’t quite get what i’m talking about. but this is the only way to find peace. i am so glad i followed my instincts to try meditation and positive thinking. i’ve said goodbye to depression after a 20-year battle.
Hi Simone,
Thank you for sharing your story. It always amazes me the paths that people follow to get to meditation, but it never ceases to amaze me how beneficial yoga and meditation can be. I have a close friend that says, “I don’t have health insurance, I do yoga.” The mind is a powerful tool, possibly the most powerful one we possess, and the realm of the mind is the greatest and most fascinating unexplored frontier. May you find something useful and inspiring in this blog.
Mindfully yours,
Vlad