I feel not like a thousand chains Around me, only a few, Enough to hide the fears, Enough to hold the tears. I feel oppressed unable to express The cries of pain, in vain. The more I struggle to be free, The more enslaved I be. What must I do, dear God? For time seems running short. The shallow breath- Is it a sign of death? The key lies not in trying to undo The fetters of the mind. To understand the whys isn’t enough; It only makes the pain so much more tough. It takes a silent moment To instruct that prisons Built by active mind Are simply not When mind serene Becomes.
Month: April 2020
Embracing Uncertainty Through Trust.
The way my logical mind reacts to the chaos of the coronavirus pandemic reminds me of the trust I place on the Global Positioning System (GPS) on my smart phone. GPS is an amazing navigational program that uses at least 24 satellites, a receiver and algorithms to give location, velocity and time synchronization for air, sea and land travel. That means its navigational database and capabilities are a heck of a lot larger and better than mine. The relationship works well when I trust it to get me around, particularly to unfamiliar places. However, when a glitch occurs and I choose an unexpected wrong turn, I lose trust in the application. More often than not, my ego interferes and judges that it is smarter and takes over. This leads to complications, getting turned around and lost. In the middle of this confusion, my anxious mind shows up and I start complaining and ranting. My persistence on following ego and not GPS leads to even more serious behaviors, such as arguing with my wife trying to justify my erratic choices. What gets me in trouble, then, is my rational mind, which thinks it is smarter than it really is. This isn’t any different when facing the uncertainty of a pandemic or any other life challenge.
The question is whom do I trust? My answer is to trust your instincts and intuitions. Our obsession with rational, deliberative thinking makes us unable or unwilling to let go and let our instincts and intuition be. Fear of lack of control associated with letting go reduces our trust. The tiny level of control that conscious, rational awareness provides is sufficient for us to cling to it. But I am talking about instincts and intuitions built on preparedness, on life experiences, on growing wisdom. Such trust provides a doorway to negotiate life’s obstacles in the face of enormous demands and uncertainties beyond the capacity of our rational mind. How do I begin? Times of uncertainty are actually good training ground to cultivate our intuitive and instinctual capacities. Here is one way:
EXERCISE: How to Cultivate an Intuitive Mind
Allow Associative Thinking
Associative processing occurs when you allow your mind to “wander” and “free associate.” It can automatically link up seemingly unrelated ideas, thoughts, observations, sensory input, memory of existing knowledge with your intuitive subconscious or intuitive interface. Associative processing tends not to provide a direction or a goal. Curiosity drives it and is the basis for the good monkey mind.
- Detach yourself from your thoughts and observe them from a distance
- Observe without constraint and rationale
- Permit and allow your mind to roam without purpose
- Discard nothing that comes up
- Note interesting ideas, write them
- Keep roaming without direction and avoid judging those ideas that crop up
- Increase your tolerance for ambiguity
The Monkey Mind
For most of us, a happy, productive life means having an active, adaptable, energetic, curious, and creative mindset. In the book Big Magic: Creative Living Beyond Fear, Elizabeth Gilbert writes that creative living is “living a life that is driven more strongly by curiosity than by fear.” She acknowledges a certain reality about the ever-present fear and assumes that circumstances, such as dealing with a pandemic, can push us in that direction. Despite our exceptional original mind, creative living stumbles and fear and anxiety can creep in. If this continues unimpeded, it reaches a point in which positive impulses turn more negative affecting how we manage life. It is then that original mind recedes, obscured by a bourgeoning, problematic shadow of itself. And as our life goes off the rails, we encounter monkey mind.
Siddhartha Gautama, the historical Buddha, identified our chattering intellect 2500 years ago as the singular psychological basis for human suffering. He used the term “kapicitta,” meaning monkey mind, to describe it. He identified the dilemma of the restless mind, diagnosed the source, and provided solutions. As a most gifted and insightful psychologist, his ideas are relevant for the uncertain modern life we live in. His concepts help us understand and deal with the anxious, fearful, unmanageable, ego-based thinking of monkey mind.
EXERCISE: How to Cultivate Original Mind
Practice Mindfulness/Still Your Mind/Present-Moment Centering
Mindfulness is an important first step in dissolving monkey mind and cultivating original mind. It involves learning to be in the present moment. Mindfulness meditation reduces the activity of the chattering and hyperactive mind. Practice mindfulness to help still obsessive worrying, and when that happens, you can access your calm and creative nature.
· Pick a time to practice mindfulness.
(You need not sit since practice can occur anywhere and anytime).
· Anchor your situational awareness to the present moment.
· Be present by focusing and centering on your actions.
· Attend to sensory experiences (sights, sounds, smells, etc.).
· Attend to mental activity and label the dominant opinions.
· Observe these thoughts without judging them.