CJ

Escaping mind by CJ

I always ask myself: “Why is it everything changes?” In fact, that is how life is. In modern science, we know nothing at all has lasting characteristic. At subatomic level, everything is changing. We are impermanent, and the influences of changes are also impermanent. There is nothing solid or lasting.

If we sit quietly and introspect our mind, it is constantly changing too.

I read from a book, says: The cells of our body are dying, the neurons in our brain are decaying, even the expression on our face is always changing, depending on our mood.  What we call our basic character is only a “mind stream,” nothing more.

Do we have any idea what we are going to think or feel next? Look at a thought of ours: it comes, it stays, and it goes. The past is past, the future not yet arisen, and even the present thought, as soon as I mention it, it becomes the past. What is gone is gone. What has not come is unpredictable. The only thing we really have is now!

There is a traditional practice of meditation which is bringing our mind home and to become aware of the present moment.

Sit in a posture which is comfortable to you and would not hurt your back. Close your eyes and turn your attention to breathing. You observe the air coming in your nostrils and the air going out your nostrils. You are training your mind in the art of living, to learn how to live in the present moment.

It is nothing magical. Observing your breathing and be with it, as it is: live in the present. As you do that, you will realize the mind wanders away because of its old habit pattern, and again you bring it back to the present moment. Turn your attention back to your breathing.

Another thing you will notice: the mind wanders in the past or it wanders in the future. There are only two types of thoughts that keep coming: pleasant or unpleasant. Whether it’s a pleasant or unpleasant thought of the past or the future, accept the fact that your mind wanders away. As soon as you realize it, bring your attention back to your breathing.

As you become more mindful of your breathing, you will find that you become more and more present, gather all your scattered aspects back into yourself and become whole.

It is useful to do at least a 30 minutes sitting everyday. Some people might think sitting for 30 minutes without doing anything is a waste of time and worry they might become inactive or inert. In fact, a sitting like this will make us more aware on the present moment and make us more concentrating on what we are doing. When we are doing something, sometimes our mind wanders away and this is the practice of bringing our mind back.