Mindful Voice Integration
Managing Moments on Life's Journey
Our mind is like an 'eager child'
'I realise that I don’t have to change my life or me, it is all right here. If I just notice, I can change my relationship with life.’
This comment was made during a mindfulness programme with a group of young people.
It is all here, around and within, we just have to notice. Seems that once we notice, just the noticing changes our experience of what is.
A beautiful lady who was on one of our Bali workshops described the mind as an 'eager child'. It is keen for us to follow its instructions so that we can be seen, heard, do everything right, be loved and appreciated and be safe from harm and pain.
But who is in control? Who runs this show? The mind? Or its owner?
Our mind is a little bit like a car, a strong powerful car. The problem occurs when we don’t realise that the car needs a driver! Who might that driver be?
The mind controls everything, in effect we could say that nothing happens in our lives until it has been thought of first. Everything starts with a thought.
The mind also runs the show without us knowing. We are only really present about 95% of the time. The rest of the time we run on autopilot. Not everything the mind does is in a thought format. Sometimes it may be an inclination or impulse, however it is still the mind in action.
One of the functions of the mind is to protect us from harm and another is to move and direct us towards having positive, pleasant experiences. The problem is that the mind gets a little carried away at times, is a bit hyper or overprotective, at times to the point of crippling it's owner.
Imagine if a master was running the show and thoughts could only be let in if they had been invited in? In this way only thoughts that were wise, supportive, kindly challenging, creative, useful etc. would be let in.
This is what we cultivate in mindfulness, we cultivate being aware, being aware of our mind and inviting in only those thoughts that serve us.
All change starts with awareness, we can’t change anything until we are aware. Quantum physics and common sense tell us that. And awareness is only to be found in one place - in the now, in the present moment.
It is also worth remembering and noticing that certain emotional states invoke certain types of thoughts.
From a melancholic or anxious mood the mind is likely to think dark thoughts. In effect it says; ‘let me give you proof that you are right and justified in being in this mood’. Your mind goes hunting, sweeping the environment for further proof and reasons for the dark mood. The more proof it finds, the more we get swept up in the ‘truth’ of our own mind state!
I wake up in a dark mood and my mind scans….. hmm ‘yes’ now we know why we are in this mood, it is this horrible pain, or this horrible comment made to us yesterday. We may even indulge in this pain a little more before gathering further evidence.
The mind is merely a function. If it runs the show, and we believe that what we think is a truth, then we are in trouble. We will be swung around on every ride that the mind chooses to take. Like any function it needs someone in the driver’s seat. It needs someone to be in control.
‘I don’t allow my mind to think a thought without my permission’. This is the attitude of the ultimate driver, the formula one driver, or the master of the mind.
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