At some point during their meditative journey, almost everyone encounters the dreaded "mind" And, even before they ever start meditation, most people are cautioned, warned, or instructed to "clear your mind."
It took me almost 10 years to finally figure out that meditation has nothing to do with trying to "clear your mind." Unfortunately, almost all the newcomers are still being advised or instructed to clear their minds or keep their minds empty, or quiet the mental noise, in order to be able to meditate successfully. The truly unfortunate part is, even most of the long-time meditation practitioners out there - who have been practising for a decade or two - are still trying to "clear their mind"...without much success. (This includes many of the instructors, too!)
Most people, including many instructors and teachers, end up turning the mind into an enemy that they have to fight against, resist, or try to shut down. That is the exact opposite of what you should be doing.
Yes, I am aware that (earlier in this very report,) I myself stated the purpose of meditation to be about "cutting down on the mental noise and inner dialogue” so you can access that deeper place inside yourself. However, your primary focus should not be to "clear your mind" because doing so is almost impossible, especially if you focus directly on that task. Of course, if you are able to quiet your mind, that's wonderful. But, don't waste your time trying to do that. The mind is such a thing that the more you try to quiet it, the more you try to resist its thoughts, the more prevalent and persistent it gets.
Besides, meditation is not about fighting, resisting, or even "trying" to do anything. As I mentioned earlier, your only job during meditation is to observe. Without the need to judge, label, analyze, or change anything. When you let go of the need (or desire) to judge, label or analyze, a good amount of mental noise and ego simply dissolves. Not all of it goes away from your mind because some amount of mind chatter and inner dialogue still will remain. And, in the next section, I'll show you how to masterfully handle that situation.
How to handle your Mental Noise?
I am going to reveal the most powerful secret and a few cool tricks that can help you to become a master-level meditation expert in the shortest amount of time possible. Of course, the purpose is not to "get" it sooner than others, nor is it to brag about being an expert to others. It is simply about being able to start enjoying the amazing benefits of meditation as soon as possible. At any rate, let's talk about how to handle one of the most common challenges that every beginner as a meditator - and even most veteran meditators - has to deal with. Almost immediately after you start meditating, you will find your mind beginning to wander off. Certain thoughts will arise, and before you realize it, you will be lost in thought. Sometimes, you may catch yourself quickly. And, other times, 30 minutes or more may pass before you realize that you have been thinking about everything on the planet...except for the one thing you should be...which is to meditate, i.e. to simply observe. So, how do you stop the mind from wandering? How do you stop the endless thought stream that comes flooding in, the moment you close your eyes and try to be still?
The big secret is to start observing your thoughts as well!
Yes, it's as simple as that.
The concept of observing your own thoughts may seem a bit weird at first, but it's actually quite simple...and brilliant. So... instead of trying to not think about anything...or to clear your mind...or to resist or fight your mind, you can actually start to watch your thoughts. You see, most of us are so caught up in our thoughts all the time; we start thinking and believing that we are our thoughts. And, many of us also believe that we are our minds, that we and our minds are one. But that is not the case. You are not your mind, and you are certainly not your thoughts.
You are the awareness underneath your mind and your thoughts. And, when you start to really become aware of the fact that you are the awareness itself, instead of the mind that is the beginning of the powerful and all-important separation between you and your mind. That is the beginning of freedom from your mind, and from being lost in thought all the time. Our lives are run by our thoughts and our mind. The mind just does not shut up. It is always questioning, analyzing, tearing apart, labelling, and of course, judging everything! And, we as humans have started to believe that it's something great! We pride ourselves in how quickly our minds can analyze, label and judge things, situations, and especially other people.
Many of us have even made successful careers out of judging everything and everyone. The truth is there is nothing to be happy about it. Because the more we label, analyze and judge, the more we separate and isolate ourselves from everything and everyone around us. Wars between nations are started in this way. But our planet is starting to awaken. Our species is also slowly waking up. And, that is one of the reasons why meditation is so important.
So, how do we observe our minds and our thoughts?
We don't do it by fighting or resisting it. We do it by allowing it to be. We give up the need to change what the mind is doing, which is what it always does: think thoughts. And, by allowing our mind to do what it loves to do, and by simply observing each new thought as it comes into our mind, we take their power away. Because what you resist will only persist. So, allowing each new thought to come floating in freely, and simply observing what is happening with this new thought leads to losing its power of influence and manipulation over us. Once we realize that we dominate and are aware of our thoughts, that will make our minds free and our thought will flow through our minds without making any influence. So finally, we will be able to get out of its way so our thoughts can continue floating out and away, just as easily as they came in.
As soon as you recognize a new thought popping up in your mind, you could get the feeling of “Ah, there's another thought”. And, then you will begin to observe your next move accordingly. This will guide you to detach your primary thoughts from your physical response. As an example, we get irritated by other drivers and Pedestrians when we drive a car, I will let this thought be, without interfering with it, and just observe. Let's see what's next..."
Of course, you won't be saying those words or thinking those words specifically. But that is what your feeling and sense will be as you observe each new thought float in. Simply observe and let it be. Don't judge, don't analyze, and definitely don't resist. Just watch each thought float away just as easily as it came in. As you start to do this, you will keep taking your mind's power away because you won't be resisting it anymore. (The more you resist and fight it, the more power it gets.) And as you continue to do this, while you're meditating, you will notice fewer and fewer thoughts coming in. And, very soon after, you will get to that deeper space of quietness... calmness... stillness.
That's where the magic happens.
But remember, don't try to go there. Don't hope to go there. And, definitely don't expect to go there. Those are all ways to guarantee that you'll never get there. So, don't worry about whether you'll get there on the first try
Remember to just be. Just enjoy what is.
Don't expect anything...and you will get to see everything (which is nothing, i.e. the stillness) Simply by allowing it to be. Practice entering this space of stillness often. Spend as much time as you can in there. And, enjoy all the wonderful benefits it will continue to provide you with.
Cont... (The "Clear Your Mind" Syndrome ii) ..
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