In our day to day life we get in to internal conflicts on trivial issues every now & then. Such as - breakfast served in time but not what I wanted, my blue shirt still lying in washing machine & no body has attended to it, office assistant reported sick & so on. These seemingly minor issues irritate & bring frown on the face. The face remains distorted for few seconds or may be for few minutes till you let out a curse or get busy in something else. The distortion in face is proportionate to amount of non-fulfilment of desire.
At times it is traffic jam & while sitting in the vehicle you start fuming 'damn this city' out of helplessness or frustration. Or boss wants a file which you are unable to lay your hands on & you exclaim 'stupid boss' out of anger, hatred, jealousy or fear. Or this is rainy season & 'where are the bloody rains?' These reactions manifest in body language to others as well. The symptoms might spread.
Back home you are warmly hugged by spouse & the face lights up in a smile. Negativity of the day evaporates partially if not fully. This again gets reflected in body language say in a smile or in sudden dancing steps 'wow'!
Extend the desires & feelings to include higher salary, a good house, loving spouse, good kids, a good pension & so on and consequent further reactions to these desires which could be partially or fully satisfied. The desires or cravings & reactions thereto run concurrently & keep on getting stored in nooks & corners of the mind.
Broadly mind reacts to various situations, incidents & persons based on our accumulated wishes, desires, jealousy, fear or anger or may be lack of desire. Each reaction leaves an imprint on the body for a while. Since mind is active so long as we are alive, reactions are also continuous. Thus we collect a lot of garbage in due course knowingly or unknowingly.
Our stock of garbage may be result of desires fulfilled or unfulfilled or reactions there to, unspent anger, hatred, jealousy the works. This accumulation has distorting effect on self - mind & body. Also desires fulfilled means we want to have more of such desires. No stopping that & no stopping of reactions thereto. They come back & pop-up at odd hours or on wrong occasions.
What do we do to purge & clean-up? Where is the 'delete' button?
On a pleasant day in a pleasant state of mind sit down all alone with eyes closed, mind focussed & start thinking.
And think hard:
- how & why I am happy & what is the root cause of happiness?
- how & why I am unhappy & what is at the root of all this ?
Thus begins the journey of meditation.
At times it is traffic jam & while sitting in the vehicle you start fuming 'damn this city' out of helplessness or frustration. Or boss wants a file which you are unable to lay your hands on & you exclaim 'stupid boss' out of anger, hatred, jealousy or fear. Or this is rainy season & 'where are the bloody rains?' These reactions manifest in body language to others as well. The symptoms might spread.
Back home you are warmly hugged by spouse & the face lights up in a smile. Negativity of the day evaporates partially if not fully. This again gets reflected in body language say in a smile or in sudden dancing steps 'wow'!
Extend the desires & feelings to include higher salary, a good house, loving spouse, good kids, a good pension & so on and consequent further reactions to these desires which could be partially or fully satisfied. The desires or cravings & reactions thereto run concurrently & keep on getting stored in nooks & corners of the mind.
Broadly mind reacts to various situations, incidents & persons based on our accumulated wishes, desires, jealousy, fear or anger or may be lack of desire. Each reaction leaves an imprint on the body for a while. Since mind is active so long as we are alive, reactions are also continuous. Thus we collect a lot of garbage in due course knowingly or unknowingly.
Our stock of garbage may be result of desires fulfilled or unfulfilled or reactions there to, unspent anger, hatred, jealousy the works. This accumulation has distorting effect on self - mind & body. Also desires fulfilled means we want to have more of such desires. No stopping that & no stopping of reactions thereto. They come back & pop-up at odd hours or on wrong occasions.
What do we do to purge & clean-up? Where is the 'delete' button?
On a pleasant day in a pleasant state of mind sit down all alone with eyes closed, mind focussed & start thinking.
And think hard:
- how & why I am happy & what is the root cause of happiness?
- how & why I am unhappy & what is at the root of all this ?
Water makes its own path |