Taming The Mind

Good Morning,

Since I have chosen a new path for myself here in this new year, many friends and family are curious as to why I have done so. The truth is I want to train my mind. I started this process many years ago when I was sitting in a college class one day. I had just lost nearly 50lbs of extra weight I had put on from many years of food abuse and letting my mind run my life. I had taken great pride in my accomplishment and realized I had changed my entire life and thinking process in order to accomplish my goal. Sitting in that class I realized that if I could seize control of my body and mind for that small period of time then taking control of my mind all the time would surely help me lose much of the emotional weight (baggage) I have carried most of my life.

The problem is we are not raised are taught that we can control our mind, most of us are controlled by it. Problem is no one gave us an owners manual for our minds! many of us simply think that the random scattered thoughts or "chatter" is a normal part of our daily functions. This is partly true, yes the random thoughts and chatter are what the UNTRAINED mind naturally does, it bounces from thought to thought, past to present, and current to future all without effort from us. And that is the point there is no effort from us.

This is a problem, it keeps us from truly ever understanding ourselves and our roles, it perpetuates the illusion that this is simply how things are. . . and believe me it is an illusion. What if I said that we do not have to follow or even listen to our mind? What if I said the thing we call self does not exist? What if instead of spending our lives trying to please self and keep self comfortable, we discard self (become selfless) and start to focus on taming the mind and controlling our thoughts? Can we do this? How would it help us?

I can only say this, it can be done, it will change your life and shake up everything you have been taught. It is not a journey for the faint of heart (after all destroying our perception of self tends to leave one empty). Realizing your entire life and everything you value or love is simply and illusion and that we spend almost all of our time appeasing this concept of self can be a shattering reality, but none-the-less a good one.

So why have I chosen this route so late in this life? I woke up, I took the green pill, I have seen the errors of my minds thoughts. I have chosen to tame the wild horse I call my mind, to keep it on the trail and not let it bolt into the pasture (random thoughts) whenever it feels like it. I want to develop control and clarity, to see my thoughts and emotions for what they really are: Just vibrations and thought patterns in my head. I want to lead my mind and not be led by it.

This brings me to the thought for today:

It is said that if you want to know what you have done in the past, look at your body now; if you want to know what will happen to you in the future, look at what your mind is doing now.

The Dalai Lama

I hope each of you has a great day! I appreciate all the comments being left on the blog so please continue to post or ask questions. I encourage each of you to watch your mind at work, you will be amazed at what it conjures up!

Peace and Love, Jim

jim@thedailybuddha.com www.thedailybuddha.com