Heart Paths and Practices

Tags

awareness, distractions, heart matters, mind, practices, spirituality

Some autumn mornings start off cold, dark, gray and wet, and mostly stay that way. The state of the outdoors really ought not to matter much to our indoor practices; and yet, our mind is adept at sending us all the old messages to distract us from our path. “Hit the snooze again.” “It’s cold outside the blankets.” “Just foe today, sleep through the hour of meditation.”

I let the mind run through its games and then smiled at it. “Not today. I’m having none of your wiliness,” I said. “You will move on to other things in a flash, but if I listen to you, I will miss out on the best part of my day!” For the practitioner who has experienced even one of them, the morning-hour is rife with possibilities of peace, joy, light, lightness, relaxation, silence, stillness and more. What would the irascible an unruly mind know about any of those rewards?

Forty five minutes after stepping out of the warm cocoon of sleep to sit in the warmth of daily practice, I feel the familiar glow within. As often happens, the heart is lighter, and the still dark morning feels a little brighter. The small decision to ignore the entreaties of the mind often results in rewards that cannot be described in words. I sometimes wonder why the mind keeps doing this same song and dance every so often, despite the fact that I can’t remember the last time it was actually able to convince me to ‘sleep in’ on my morning practice.

When we succeed in creating a new habit or practice which adds a sense of permanence, stability and value to our life, the mind isn’t going to be able to break us away from it. The practice can take any form. The form of the practice May not matter, as long as we remember to practice it. Our daily practices help us remember who we are, where we are and where we are going. The duration of the practice may not matter, as long as the practice creates a measurable, qualitative difference in our life’s path over time.

A mentor once told me that “ten years of your life will go by, just like that, whether or not you are paying attention – so wouldn’t it be better to pay attention?” Yes. The question becomes: what are we going to pay attention to? How are we to take back our attention from our mind, which is always driving awareness outwards, and re-direct it inwards, towards the heart?

I have to admit that I don’t think much about the next ten years, the next year, the next month, and so on. Why? Too-much forecasting can empower the mind and its games, and make us forget that it is our daily practices that build the heart‘s resilience for the paths ahead.

I’ve been up for two hours, and yes, it’s still cold, gray and damp outside. But so what? Time to put on some layers, walking boots, a warm hat, and go visit with the trees, the waters, and the birds. No matter the weather, it’s a practice that has yet to do anything but lighten my heart. Even the mind now knows not to try and sway me from the trail. What else is it to do after watching me walk the heart path for all these years?

Kumud

P. S. Join us for our weekly gathering with the #SpiritChat community on Twitter on Sunday, October 24 at 9amET / 630pm India. We will talk about the heart, the mind and the path. Namaste ~ @AjmaniK

Treasures found on the path… keep inviting my heart back to the trail

Directing our Senses

Tags

direction, focus, intellect, mind, senses

A road trip on our own is a good way to catch up with one’s thoughts. At least, that was my intent. On my way out the door, I grabbed a six-CD set that I had bought a few months ago at a Vedanta event. The CD set was like one of those many books that I buy, that sit unread in the bookshelves, till it is time for them to see the daylight of my eyes. I popped in the first CD, titled “why should we meditate” as I got on the highway.

Four hours later, as I pulled into the parking garage at the hotel, I was still listening to the fourth lecture. The conversation was about our senses – their direction, what directs them, if and how we can control them, their contribution to the minute by minute state of our mind, and much more. The sense of taste (tongue), sight (eyes), smell (nose), hearing (ears) and touch (skin). The speaker focused on the five senses, their physical seats of perception, and the bondage that they can create.

For the honey-bee, the attraction is to the taste of the honey. All its life, the honey-bee’s is bound by its seeking of the sources of honey. For the fish in the water, the attraction is to the smell of the bait. The extent of freedom of the fish depends on the sense of smell. The elephant loves the sense of touch – of dirt, of water, and of the thin rope around it’s foot. The deer’s attachment is to the sense of sound. And finally, the moth is entranced by the sense of sight, which feeds it’s irresistible attraction to light, to heat of the flame (Shankaracharya – Vivekachudamani, 76).

Such is the attraction and dependence to the physical world created in the bee, the fish, the elephant, the deer and the moth. And they each only have a single strong sense. So, what is to be the state of (mind of) us humans, who have all five senses present within us? If we were to pause and examine our daily lives, we indeed bound by all five of these senses. Our intake from the external world through the five seats of perception contribute directly to the mind, or our mental state.

And this is why, when we attempt to meditate, we very often get frustrated. The outward-directed mind has been fed all kinds of inputs by our senses all day along, and even during our dream-filled sleep. What chance does it have to be controlled, let alone be quietened without a change of direction of our senses? The probability for most of us, to control our mind as long as it retains an outward focus, is extremely low. The five horses are going to keep running our chariot amuck, unless we strengthen the charioteer (the intellect).

How is one to strengthen the intellect? One way, perhaps the only way, is to direct the senses inwards. What if we were to train our senses and their preceptors to direct their energy inwards, towards the divine? Can we direct ourselves to see with divine sight, hear the divine words, feel the divine’s touch, taste with divine purity, and smell the divine fragrance? If we were to direct our senses inwards, with strengthened intellect and power of discernment, could we become the charioteers of our inner, and hence outer lives?

On the return trip, I listened to four more lectures, for a total of eight hours of listening on the first CD. I have five more CDs to go. I cannot wait for the next road trip. In the meanwhile, I have a lot of inner re-direction to do.

The bridge awaits.

Kumud @AjmaniK

P.S. Come join me and the #SpiritChat community as we explore our sense of direction, and some (re)directing of our senses – Sunday, July 18th at 9amET / 6:30pm on twitter. Namaste.

Inner Workings of the Mind

Tags

mental body, mind, spiritchat, spirituality

In the book titled “Light on Life – The Yoga Journey to Wholeness, Inner Peace, and Ultimate Freedom”, the author BKS Iyengar dedicates an entire chapter to a discussion about “the mental body”. Specifically, the author delves into the working of the mind, and the elements that constitute the mental body. The intersection of the physical mind, the ego, intelligence, and our consciousness, is where the mental body is said to reside.

We are all too familiar with the mind as the pathway for thoughts. Our behavior, constructive and destructive, seems to be dependent on our thoughts. The mind tends to run wild with thoughts all day long, and very often, the more we try to control them, the more frustrated we get. Some of us may have tried techniques like meditation, mindfulness, self-awareness and more, in an attempt to bring our wandering thoughts under control. In fact, this may be one of the toughest tasks of all – “to still the movement and fluctuations of our mind that disturb our consciousness”.

Let us step back a bit. If we want to repair something that is not working well for us, it would behoove us to first know how it works. Similarly, an understanding of how our minds actually work, can provide us the key(s) to the origin of our thoughts. We can then employ tools and techniques, which may help us still their movement. If we practice enough, and master these techniques, we would have overcome a significant obstacle on our spiritual journey – the distracted, unruly mind.

Indulge me for a few moments. Imagine a quiescent lake, perfectly still, with no ripples on its surface, or below the surface. Quiescent and translucent. If one were to throw a stone into the lake, the stone would sink, and cause waves on the surface that would appear as concentric circles around the point of impact. In addition, the sinking stone would create waves in the depths of the waters – waves that an observer standing on the shore would not see clearly, but they exist. So, there is breadth and depth to the disturbances created by the stone falling into the lake.

Now, imagine, that our mind is like that lake. It is constantly being pelted by stones, which are the external inputs from our five senses of touch, taste, smell, hearing and sight. In addition, memory from past inputs, stored by our brain, creates additional inputs. Every input creates surface waves, which manifest as our external actions, and are perceived as positive or negative reactions by others. Every input to the mind also creates depth waves, which may be said to manifest as inner reactions, say, our emotions. It would seem that one way to lessen the disturbances in our mind, is to decrease the inputs that it receives – the fewer the inputs, the fewer the chances that surface waves (reactions) and depth waves (emotions) would perturb us.

This is perhaps why practices like self-care, silence, stillness, solitude and such are on the rise in modern society. We are waking up to the awareness, the realization, that unless we teach and train ourselves to modulate our inputs, our mental ‘lakes’ have no chance to withstand the perturbations. In the absence of modulation, we slowly degenerate into a lake full of dangerous algae, whose water becomes undrinkable. And if our minds cannot be free of perturbation, even for a few moments, we have no chance of experiencing the Joy that comes with inner peace. It is inner peace that opens the door to that awareness, to that consciousness, to that joy – which lies beyond the mind – and gives credence and credibility to our spiritual practice(s).

Thank you for reading this far. It is perhaps self-contradictory that I talk about “stilling the mind” while giving you even more “food for thought”! But I won’t stop here. I invite you, on behalf of the #SpiritChat community, to join us on Sunday August 17th at 9amET in our weekly twitter chat. We will talk about the importance of overcoming mental chatter, developing a quiescent mind, and its relationship to enhanced consciousness.

My friends, my brothers and sisters – may your lake be still, and may peace and light be yours…

Namaste.

Kumud

On Play, Service, the Mind and Inner Peace

Tags

mind, peace, play, service

The month of September started with our weekly Sunday conversation on twitter discussing the nature of play, and how playfulness influences our spiritual health. The consensus of the community seemed to be that we don’t nearly play enough as adults (as compared to children), and that if we incorporated more of this sense of play into our daily lives, we would be much better of in all areas of our lives.

The role of Service was our topic of discussion on the second Sunday of September. The concept of “service before self” was explored and we examined whether this is a realizable ideal or not in today’s fast-pace world. One theme that emerged during this chat was that we have to make service to others a priority in our lives – and that the lack of doing this can stunt our spiritual growth.

The third Sunday in September was a discussion on one of my favorite topics – the nature of the Mind. The mind can be our best friend and yet, when unrestrained (like the loose reins of a chariot), it can be lead us astray in response to the inputs from our senses. Several concepts like discretion, discrimination and intellect were brought forward during this particular chat, and will be explored in future discussions.

Inner Peace was our topic for the fourth Sunday of September – perhaps a natural follow-on to the discussion on the nature of the mind. Some questions that were explored during this chat were – where does inner peace come from? what disturbs it? what techniques can we use to maintain inner peace, and so on. A theme that emerged from this chat was that inner and outer peace are deeply interconnected, and that our inner peace impacts our families and communities deeply.

This brings us to the final Sunday of September. As has become tradition, we will try and find the common thread among the topics of the past month, and look forward to the next month of October. I invite you to join the #SpiritChat community on Sunday September 30th at 9am ET / 2pm UK / 6:30 India as we continue our journey on twitter.

I hope you will join us,

Kumud

Update: Here is the html Transcript for the chat. Here is the pdf version for download. Also see the questions asked during the live chat held Sep 30th 2012 at 9am ET. Feel free to answer in the comments or tweet with hashtag #spiritchat to share your answers with the community.

Q1. Let's begin with play. What are a few, NEW playful things you did in September? #SpiritChat

Q2. Spiritual growth is serious work. Not much room for play. Agree or disagree? Why?  #SpiritChat

Q3. What is it about trying NEW, creative play that lights up our spirit? #SpiritChat 

Q4. Service before Self. Who did you observe practice this recently? Please share. #SpiritChat 

Q5. What changes occur in our minds when we engage in service to others? #SpiritChat

Q6. What are some occasions when your mind feels most at rest? During play? During Service? #SpiritChat

Q7. How does the state of your mind affect you inner peace? #SpiritChat 

Q8. What three lessons will you take from September into October? #SpiritChat 

The Mind and the Spirit

Tags

mind, spirit, spiritchat

The nature of the mind. This subject has been of interest to spiritual seekers, perhaps since time immemorial. Some ancient texts liken the mind to the reins of a chariot, which controls our senses. The senses are likened to the horses which drive the chariot of our body. The five primary senses – sight, hearing, speech, smell and touch – send inputs from the external world to our brain. These inputs are processed by the (finer nature of our) mind, which converts them into thoughts, and sends feedback to our senses.

The reason why spiritual seekers have always been interested in understanding the nature of the mind is because understanding enables the possibility of control. The consequences of an uncontrolled mind can be felt by us in our senses – imagine a chariot with wild horses where the reins are loose and the charioteer is not paying attention. The consequences of our senses being out of control are stress – physical, mental, psychological – perhaps even spiritual stress.

“I would rather have a mind opened by wonder than one closed by belief” – Gerry Spence

In the chariot analogy, who or what is this charioteer that holds the reins of our mind? What are some techniques that we can use to study the nature of our mind? (Very often, a good beginning is observation). What are some ways that we can control the mind? (One of the oldest techniques is to engage in silence and stillness). Can we understand the nature of the mind by ourselves, or do we need a teacher to help us? Once we do understand its nature, and even learn to control it – where do we go from there on our spiritual path?

I invite you to join the #SpiritChat community on Sunday September 16th at 9am ET / 2pm UK / 6:30 India as we explore some of these questions and explore the nature of the mind. I hope this hour will serve as the continuation of this exploratory journey for all of us…

Kumud

Questions asked during the live chat from 9am to 10am ET (Sep 16th 2012)

Q1. The nature of the mind. Why is it important to examine it? #SpiritChat 

Q2. What are some techniques that we can use to study the mind? Do we need a teacher? #SpiritChat

Q3. What are some ways that we can control the mind? Is control even necessary? #SpiritChat 

Q4. What is the origin of our thought patterns? Internal or external? Or... #SpiritChat

Q5. Some say that developing our intellect can helps us control our thoughts? Agree or disagree? #SpiritChat 

Q6. Can too much intellectual growth hurt spiritual growth? Why or why not?  #SpiritChat 

Q7. By what means are we influenced by the minds of others? How does this impact our spirit? #SpiritChat

Final Q8. What three things will you add/subtract this week from your life to transform your mind? #SpiritChat 

Update: SpiritChat Transcript for Sep 16th 2012 – The Mind and the Spirithttp://d1.scribdassets.com/ScribdViewer.swf?document_id=106093816&access_key=key-1vimj6s6leeiskuqdu1d&page=1&viewMode=scroll

The Personality of Santa Claus

Tags

mind, peronality, santa, spirit

A child one day came to its guardian, very perplexed. A boy had said to them: “Do you believe in Santa Claus? If you do, then it is not right, because there never was such a being as Santa Claus.”

The child was very disappointed, because they had just written a letter to Santa Claus before Christmas. And in its great despair, they came to the guardian to ask: “Is it true that Santa Claus exists, or is it not true?”

Now suppose the guardian had said: “It is true. Santa Claus exists.”

Then, in four or five years time, the child would have come back and said: “No. It is not true.”

And if the guardian would have said: “No it is not true. Santa Claus does not exist.” ~ then all the child’s belief would have been totally destroyed…

But the guardian said to the child: “Remember, all that the mind can conceive, exists. If it does not exist on the physical plane, it exists in the sphere of the mind. So, never say it does not exist. To the one who says, it does not exist, say that it exists in the sphere of the mind.”

A child can remember such an answer all its life.

The Sufi Message of Hazrat Inayat Khan: The Art of Personality

Choice. It is a powerful thing. I hope you choose well.

Kumud

P.S. What do you think? Is this a right approach to ‘teach’ our children? Please do share in the comments. Thank you!