Taming Our Monkey Mind

Our mind, on average, has over 50,000 thoughts in a day ­ even while busy with a certain task, it is forever racing ahead with numerous other thoughts ­ of potential rewards, missed opportunities, future actions and so on. Besides, for many of us, a large proportion of these thoughts have a negative slant ­ thoughts like, "I wish i were healthier; I dislike myself for being so socially awkward; I doubt if i will ever be successful; My spouse or colleagues don't really value me; What if i don't get promoted or lose my job? I wish my children were smarter or respected me more; If only i had taken that step", are all too commonplace.

This mental chatter is no passing cloud, but a permanent `noise' in the background. Driven by our karmic imprint and our life experiences, particularly during the impressionable childhood years, the monkey mind is a result of our deep inner insecurity about our physical life form and a constant endeavour to somehow control our destiny .

While some of this noise goads us towards personal and social development, much of it is dysfunctional. It restricts us from fully enjoying the present, resulting in lower effectiveness and a diluted sense of fulfilment. The negative undertones of many of our thoughts generate heightened emotions of fear, anxiety, anger or envy, making us restless, confused and impulsive.

Here are five ideas for taming the monkey mind.

First, eliminate comparisons. We routinely judge ourselves in comparison to others.Since there's always someone who's richer, more beautiful or more knowledgeable than us, it accentuates our inner insecurity. For a quieter mind, we need to get comfortable living by our personal values and inner yardsticks of evaluation rather than any external comparisons ­ build high self-respect and recognise that only when we respect ourselves do we earn others' respect.

Second, be more grateful. In our achievement-orientated society , we get easily caught up in wanting more of everything in life, making us discontented with whatever we have. We experience a sense of lack because we are constantly thinking about what we don't have rather than be grateful for all that we do. Focussing on the numerous gifts we are blessed with strengthens our sense of inner security.

Third, realise our wholeness. At a deeper level, slowing down the restless mind involves realising how whole and complete we already are, even if our mental models, steeped in the physical and material world, make us believe otherwise. We can break a glass container into as many pieces as we want, but the innate nature of each of those pieces remains the same. Each of us is one of those pieces of the perfect universe.

Fourth, trust the universe. We need to let go of our incessant desire to control all our outcomes ­ this requires trusting the universe and its flawless evolution. The sun rises and sets, the clouds turn into rain, and plants are born ­ some to become trees and others to die early as they need to. Trusting the universe and accepting that whatever happens, happens for our highest good, slows down our thought-patterns and helps us experience greater peace.

Fifth, practise mindfulness. Mindfulness entails trusting the present moment to be as precious as any other and valuing where we are, and whatever we are engaged with in the moment, over anywhere else that our mind makes us feel we could or rather be. Practising mindfulness stills the mind, deepens our clarity and calms our anxieties ­ thereby enhancing confidence and reducing the number of our thoughts.

By Rajiv Vij first published in www.SpeakingTree.in

Nine Stages of Attaining Bliss

The nine stages of samadhi are beautifully illustrated in this Mahamudra scroll. The nine stages of mahamudra are identical to the nine states of attention elucidated in my last post. The more I meet aspiring yogis or serious meditators, the more I realize how great the misconceptions are about meditation. What really pains my heart is that, most of the time, the seeker is not at fault. It's the teacher, the guru. Most aspirants are often being guided by teachers who can't demonstrate anything. These teachers never went into the depths of meditation themselves but simply mastered some theoretical material and are now guiding others based on second-hand knowledge. Today, I'll briefly touch upon the nine stages of tranquility and also answer the question we raised two weeks ago: "How great an effort is required to reach the final state?" If you carefully examine the picture in the post today, you'll find three key artifacts, namely, a monk, an elephant and a monkey. Additionally, the monk is holding a noose and a goad. The monk represents the meditator treading the windy path of meditation, where, until it's mastered, no two days are alike. Some days you experience good meditation and other times, it's the opposite. The elephant represents dullness and the monkey restlessness. The goad and noose represent vigilance and attentiveness in meditation. In the first stage, the meditator is like a rocky boat in a turbulent ocean. There's virtually no control on the mind. The concentration at this stage ends up wherever the drift of thoughts take it. The monkey and the elephant constantly disrupt the meditation and the meditator is struggling to tame them. In the second stage, there's a small white patch on the elephant and monkey. It shows progress. It means the meditator is able to have short periods of quality meditation when the mind is devoid of thoughts. Think of a flag that flutters whenever the wind blows. No wind no fluttering. Similarly, the mind at this stage is stable for a short period before the winds of thoughts start to blow again causing waves in the stillness of consciousness. The persistent meditator gets to the third stage and this is a significant progress in its own right. Now, they are able to detect their dullness arising in meditation. In the scroll, it is shown by a bigger white patch on the elephant and a noose leashing it. Restlessness or stray thoughts are still a great challenge at this stage. In the fourth and the fifth stages, while the meditator makes a giant leap by even greater taming of restlessness and dullness, a new challenge presents itself. You'll see a rabbit riding the elephant now. This signifies a state of calmness which makes the meditator go into a sort of torpor or laxity. Often, most meditators who get even a tiny glimpse of this calmness, mistake this as the ultimate state of bliss. In the sixth stage, the monk can be seen leading both the monkey and the elephant, but the animals are not fully white yet. It means the meditator has mostly tamed them, he's able to lead them, but, there are still subtle elements of excitement or stupor that can distract the meditator. The elephant is completely white and the monkey sits by the feet of the practitioner in the seventh stage. It shows that the meditator has nearly perfected the art of attention. They experience lucid awareness during the meditation but the presence of monkey shows there's still a chance of feeling excited or restless. Think of a still pond where dropping even a tiny pebble causes ripples. In the eighth stage, there's no monkey. Restlessness has completely disappeared for this meditator and a constant state of bliss always leave them calm. But, sometimes in this state of bliss, the lucidity of their awareness is adversely affected. Think of someone under the influence of a mild intoxicant. At this stage, the meditator hasn't yet learned to rise above the bliss. In the ninth stage, the monk is sitting down with the white elephant. Bliss has becomes a close companion and it no longer interferes in any worldly activity. All mental and emotional battles cease, the war of thoughts stop and there's virtually no effort in meditation now. The meditator has become the meditation. The stages beyond show the monk riding the elephant. These indicate other dimensions of existence. The meditator is ever calm, abiding in bliss. Any inner struggle or stress completely disappears. The meditator has gone beyond the meditation. Buddha once said, "The one who knows the reality of one thing knows the reality of everything." It applies to this meditator. Can anyone reach this state? Yes. What's required? Willingness, persistence, and time; undying willingness, unrelenting persistence and a lot of time. Let me give you a broad guideline: 1500 hours of quality meditation is required to cross each stage. With discipline and a quality effort, you can bring it down to about 1200 hours and with right initiation and guidance it can be brought down to 800 hours for each stage. So, who can initiate and who can guide you? How to know the person across the table is not just a smooth talker or even a charlatan but a genuine practitioner? For another time. Peace. Swami Original Post: Nine Stages of Attaining Bliss

What is Sakshi Bhava?

Question: Amma, what is sakshi bhava [witness attitude]? 

Amma: When you become sugar, then there is nothing but sweetness. Likewise, in true sakshi bhava, there is bliss alone.

It's not that emotions don't come, they will be there, but you see them, as if from a distance, and they don't affect you. So, when anger begins rising up in you, you are able to see it very clearly. You witness it and this helps you to remain calm and not translate that emotion into action. Reflecting on the truth that we are not the body or the mind but are the atma [the true self], we can use our viveka[discrimination] to reject that emotion as baseless.

Witnessing like this and keeping our distance from our emotions, is for our own safety. Visiting a zoo and seeing the animals in their cages is a blissful experience. But if you open the door the cage and let the animals out their cages it will be disastrous. It is the same with the mind.

When you understand the nature of the world and its objects, you will see things and remain detached, like a witness, and accept them. For example, a crow may evacuate upon us, but we don't get angry at the crow. You just go wash your dress and move forward.

In sakshi bhava, it is not that there are no thoughts or emotions. Just as there are waves in the ocean, there will be thoughts in the mind. But since you know how to swim, you are able to get in the water and blissfully move about them.

From - 

Friday, 18 April 2014 – Amritapuri Seashore Meditation and Question & Answer

read more...

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The Desert Retreat House: The Practice of Equanimity

"Buddha in the Garden"

At the store yesterday I heard a shopper say to the cashier, "I am so stressed out," and without batting an eye, the cashier responded, "Aren't we all?"

When I got home from the store yesterday, I put the word "stress" into a Google search - over one million responses were instantly returned. Imagine that, there are over a million online sites I can access to read about the causes of stress, the symptoms of stress, the ways to cope with stress.

Interestingly enough, people today are not only anxious and stressed out in the places and at the times when you might expect stress to be manifested - before a big exam, when the work report is due, when a relationship is tearing apart, when finances are tight. But people today also find themselves in a state of anxiety even when they are on vacation, or when they are spending time with their families, or when they are at church.

 As I think abut it, it seems as if stress and anxiety have infected the culture in epic proportions.

While the word "equanimity" is not used all that often in popular culture, it is a concept that is frequently found in the Buddhist literature. In fact "the practice of equanimity" lies at the heart of the teaching of the Buddha.

In an age when stress has become such a dominant force, I believe we would all do well to learn something about the "practice of equanimity." I recently came across this definition:

Equanimity is the taming of excesses of thought and emotion

Buddhists often use the term "monkey mind" to describe anxiety, restlessness, being easily distracted.  Like a monkey who can't ever sit still, quickly and chaotically jumping from place to place without a pause, people who are restless or stressed out suffer from "monkey mind."

A "monkey mind" is always filled up with constant ideas, strategies and plans about how to control everyday living. In a "monkey mind" emotions rage- anger, fear, doubt, despair, obsessive attachment to another - they pull a person from place to place chaotically and without a pause.

Maybe "monkey mind" is a better way of describing that national epidemic of stress and anxiety that so inflicts our culture nowadays.

 The way to cope with "monkey mind" is to "practice equanimity" - to trade "monkey mind" for "mindfulness."

When I sit in my garden for my daily period of mindful meditation, I am essentially practicing the discipline of equanimity. I clear my cluttered mind of all my ideas, all my plans, all my goals and aspirations. I open my heart to whatever comes my way, no matter how wonderful or how terrible it all may be, realizing that I can control none of it, only embrace it, because "it is what it is."

In mindful awareness I am indeed "taming excesses of thought and emotion" - I am practicing equanimity. And, of course my "practice of equanimity" in my garden meditation is practice for the way I try to live life every day.

As I sit in the silence of yet another beautiful desert day, the thought comes to me that the wisdom of Jesus is much like the wisdom of the Buddha. Jesus also taught his disciples to practice equanimity:

So do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' 
But seek first the Presence of God.
Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself.
Each day has enough trouble of its own.

With a clear mind and open heart I breathe it all in - what a glorious day.

Source: http://desertretreathouse.blogspot.in/2014/02/the-practice-of-equanimity.html?m=1

--

Aseem Seth

Christina Makisi - i miss you

This is a conversation between me and an enlightened spirit who made a brief but bright appearance in my life.... I wish Her well .... With my gratitude and efforts ...

Christina Makisi Speaks ...

if Shiva did not play, there would be no universe. I love that.

yes, no importance of winning or losing, it is the art of playing. now, as life plays its game, can you observe it without the slightest hint of taking your attention from it? not even a moment. I am showing you my inner being. from morning until i go to bed, there is this fullness of awareness in watching/listening to the mind/body all day and all night. please this is vital. not meditation, for that man has mad a mess of. this is simple watchfulness which comes as you are learning and understanding yourself; your thoughts and emotions and attitude. simply let the inner watchfulness take place.

as you go into oneself, you discover, you are the mind that is watching. then, through insight, there is the realization that beyond the mind, there may be something there that is not a part of the mind. the thinker realizes that it is nothing but thought. without thought there is no identity called Aseem. when the mind realizes that it is a false thing of time-space and causation, it questions this fact deeper and deeper. and, when you least expect it, the mind and all one took as real vanishes. this Divine silence comes into your being in which words cannot describe or capture. this comes uninvited as you cannot be conscious of it. it is the total ending of 'you.' that is why these words may seem abstract and vague when in fact your conscious mind cannot fathom what is beyond the mind. so, it is like I am speaking to that eternal essence that transcends conscious and unconscious to come into being as spirit can speak to spirit. blessed be.

the knower is a product of the known as the thinker is a part of thought. the thinker comes into being due to labeling, identifying and a lack of attention. so, through attention, which is not a thing of the mind enters your being, the false comes to an end. the false depends on inattentiveness. as long as you are inattentive, you are feeding the false, the illusive and the unreal. the Real comes when you see that the false is false and drop it altogether. The Real has no relationship to the false. as long as one is living and being in the false, truth cannot come to you. that is why the whole idea of finding God/Truth has no meaning as long as one is still living and clinging to the false. see the false, watch it, deeply. watch every thought, emotion and so on with rapt attentiveness. the lack of attention that brought the false into being comes to an end as attention enters to bring complete change.

the moth drawn to the flame is to be completely burnt within until there is nothing left. nothing at all. even the slightest ash of 'you' spoils the temple of your being. to be completely empty is to be the temple in which the Divine may enter.

go into what is fear. fear is thought/thinking. do you see this? watch it within yourself so that it is your own understanding. like being afraid of death. why? because the mind is there 'thinking' about it consciously or unconsciously. thought is the enemy. thinking is the culprit that feeds fear; which is the fear. seeing this within yourself gives tremendous energy. it releases you from a great burden.

you have become so attached and hidden behind so many images and illusions. drop all of them. that which gives you comfort also gives you decay and decadence. to cling to anything has no meaning. it all weighs you down. can you cling to Truth? can one be attached to Truth? no. so, whatever you are clinging to, be it a deity, an idea or a belief, obviously it is not the Truth. Truth has neither form or name. whatever can be held, touched and worshiped by the mind is not Truth.

Go beyond all such things when you let go of everything.

the thing is, knowledge cannot free you as knowledge itself is a slave. one may know a thousand texts and a thousand guru's but it will now awaken you. it is up to you to actually go into yourself. that is the book to be read; your own mind/thoughts/feelings. read that book from moment to moment and the end of it is not to another chapter but the total ending of everything you think you are. in the end, you discover that which cannot be written. blessed is he who goes beyond all books, knowledge and guru's.

Aseem Seth
There are so many things to distract the mind. Video games, YouTube, fantasies ... How to overcome these addictions?

Christina Makisi
simply observe them without the slightest interest in avoiding them. do not push anything away as a distraction or addiction. have fullness of attention when you are doing anything. the living flame of attention burns away the divisiveness of all activities. attention. not 'you'. understand?

If you do not do this one thing first and foremost, the knowing of 10,000 wise Sayings will profit little to nothing. without first entering the door of death, you will remain blind. Come face-to-face with inward death and see it for what it is. no one can tell you, you must do it within yourself.

Enter the doorway and see for yourself if there is that Reality which is not of this world of knowledge. Then, through self-knowing, you will truly understand what is spiritual freedom.

"If ye know these things, happy are ye if ye do them." ~ John 13:17

Aseem Seth
Amen Devi Amen

Please explain your last line in your previous message ..." Attention. Not 'you'. Understand?"
What is the living flame of attention? How do I identify it? How do I grasp it?
What is attention? How is it different from concentration?

Christina Makisi

again, you are trying to get 'knowledge.' attention is not knowledge. its not a thing of the mind. it is beyond the mind. seeing yourself, your thoughts/feelings from moment to moment points the way into nothingness.

attention is all-inclusive 'seeing'. concentration is the narrowing down of something by pushing and resisting other things to focus on a particular thing. so, drop the idea of concentration.

stop trying. there is no effort in this. trying implies a practice, a resistance. stop trying to resist. it is the art of being without trying to anything other than whatever you are.

knowing oneself is paying attention to oneself. that is all. don't think so hard about it. from the moment you get up in the morning letting that watchfulness take place in the totality of attention throughout the whole day and night. doing it is the learning. do not try to learn something to practice.

it is the artless art. no one can do it for you. simply listen to your own being and that points the way.

cease trying to become something other than what you are.

if you negate the 'I', perhaps love will awaken in you.

love is not an emotion. its not sentimental. its not feelings but the art of going beyond all worldly sensitivities.

If there is fear within you, then, there can be no love.

the 'I' is the unhappiness. they are one and the same thing.

because of division and duality, the 'I' thinks happiness is something that is separately attacking it. in actuality, the 'I' is unhappiness.

the 'I' is the conscious mind that is filled with resistance of the present moment. this 'I' is actually a dead thing perpetrating itself as being alive. but, how can it be alive when its a product of the past? it is trapped in the past of time but has the power to project the illusion that it can enter the present moment. but, this illusion has to be seen for what it is in order to be spiritually free.

there is no happiness if the 'I' is there. happiness comes when the 'I' is not.

I was never born.

yes, but, it doesn't 'see' this fact. by seeing this fact, you are then free of it. the freedom that comes from the negation of the 'I' transcends ones idea of happiness. true happiness is devoid of a cause. it is not a thing of the mind which is time. this happiness is timeless, causeless and beyond the 'I' consciousness. the ending of you is the awakening of this happiness.

forget the definition, taste the fact. the doing/living it is all that is important.

not HOW. when you say, how, then you are again back in the realm of using time instead of attention.

HOW... how means you are asking for a thing, a practice, a particular pattern to get from one point to another. this is not like that. spirituality is not time bound. you do not go from unhappiness to happiness. you end unhappiness and discover happiness JUST IS.

what is confusion? confusion means one does not see, yes? so, see that you are confused without trying to escape the confusion. then you are moving effortlessly. not from one state to another.
whatever state you are in is perfectly alright. simply observe the fact of it. do not try to jump into something other than.

you are. its just you want to remain conscious of it. flow with your life without the slightest resistance.

good. if you are frustrated, simply observe that fact. the fact is the key. use facts! not trying to reach non-facts. being frustrated is not a problem! trying to NOT be frustrated is!
do you understand what i mean by non-fact? if you are frustrated and confused, that is a fact. do not try to become clarity because that would be a non-fact. stay with the fact and observe it. the seeing of the fact in attentiveness burns it away. this is very simple but you are thinking so hard.
let's look at it from another point.

what if i told you that Christina does not think? her mind is still, quiet. it doesn't move at all in this stillness.

now, ask yourself, why does Aseem, who is also human like Christina, why does his mind move with thoughts/feelings/emotions?

question that and see into it. do not just brush over it. look into it.

Aseem Seth
Because it is scared. It defines its being by movement. If it stops moving it will die. Like planets move around the sun, electrons around the atom, the universe expands at the speed of light. It is all movement. There is no stillness

Christina Makisi
yes, that is it, there is the fear of coming to an end if there is not movement! that is it! lets go into this.
so, we see together, clearly that there is the fear of the 'I' consciousness that if there is stillness/quietude/silence there is annihilation? the mind being 'noise' has this intense fear that as long as it keeps making noise it exists and if it doesn't it is over, it is dead, right.
now, christina, who is also human says, see, i am here with you and my head makes no noise and yet I am alive.


yes, we will continue later. take care. and please go into this. Namaste

N.B. - These conversations took place on facebook between Christina Makisi and me on 10/11/12 & 11/11/12 - she was in her early 20s when she spoke to me.

• I miss you
• 16 November 2012
• 

  16/11/2012 18:30
  

  Christina Makisi
  

  
  

  No need to miss me. I am always within you. I am love, which is whole, how can you ever be separate from me? please, continue to work on understanding oneself. we will speak when I return from my trip.
• 16 November 2012
• 

  16/11/2012 21:36
  

  Aseem Seth
  

  
  

  Bon Voyage Mother Be careful ... You take my heart with you

Vipassana - My Experiences

SN Goenka's introduction to Vipassana-

Read About My Personal Experiences:

Vipassana: Ch.1: How It Began For Me …

Vipassana: Ch.2: A Free Holiday Or A Spiritual Adventure?

Vipassana: Ch.3: Nutshell - This Is What I Learned At Camp – Practically

Vipassana: Ch.4: Daily Schedule, Faculty, Practicals, Lectures, Facilities And Food

Vipassana: Ch.5: Goenkaji: The Guru & The Businessman

The Dhamma Pagoda

Vipassana: Ch.1: How it began for me …

That Goenka technique? ... It’s free na? … but You can’t do it…. 10 days is too long to waste … They starve you …  They torture you … They don’t let you speak … It is for old people who are bored… why do you want to torture yourself? … … they will brainwash you… it’s a Buddhist cult … once you join you can’t leave …

I had heard about a distant aunt, whom I admired, being a staunch follower of Vipassana – but other than a few fragments of truth … the rest was all hearsay. But there was a long-standing, deep desire in my heart that kept gently cajoling me to fulfill this long cherished dream of mine.

But I knew it was not going to be easy … being vegetarian, no smoking, no speaking … so I kept putting it off … until I quit smoking on 13 April 2010.

Three years later, having fully recovered from my nicotine addiction - I expressed this latent desire in June 2013 to treat myself for my birthday to this, and my supportive family, though skeptical, were very supportive, once they saw how genuine my desire was.  And so I booked myself for October 2 -12, 2013 course at the closest centre - http://www.sota.dhamma.org/

Me .... After the Course

Read More About My Experiences:

Vipassana: Ch.1: How It Began For Me …

Vipassana: Ch.2: A Free Holiday Or A Spiritual Adventure?

Vipassana: Ch.3: Nutshell - This Is What I Learned At Camp – Practically

Vipassana: Ch.4: Daily Schedule, Faculty, Practicals, Lectures, Facilities And Food

Vipassana: Ch.5: Goenkaji: The Guru & The Businessman