Monkey Mind Huh-Bub!
© By Allen Merritt
(2017)
I found myself thinking about distractions this
week. I suspect that distractions in life are now a given. They happen and they
are everywhere. What's up with all this hub-bub?
For me, I feel such distractions are more than just
forthcoming; they are nonstop. It makes me wonder how I can get anything
accomplished. When I refer to distractions I am thinking of anything which
keeps us from doing what we believe we ought or should be doing. They keep us
from a task or help us fall behind on completing them.
Sometimes, though, these
distractions are figments of our own imagination. In other, words, we stand in
our own way. For example, have you ever had a list of things to do and then you
turn on the television only to become engrossed in a program? When this becomes
routine and habitual, then the television becomes a distraction.
The Buddhists refer to something called ‘monkey mind’
meaning "unsettled; restless; capricious; whimsical; fanciful; inconstant;
confused; indecisive; uncontrollable".¹ I would think of these as
distractions, things that get in the way.
Even in the middle of seeking out some peace and
quiet we can likely discover some kind of disturbance invading our space
bubbles; noise, noise and more noise.
I was at a coffee house yesterday morning and the
noise level was so highly prevalent; you could not escape it. The noise was
enhanced when a young man sat at my table chattering away to no one in
particular. I noticed he was writing numbers on a piece of paper. It was
interesting in that I was trying to have a little morning read to start off my
day and it was all I could do to concentrate on the text. Between the clamoring
and conversations going on around me this one man’s voice was louder then all
causing me to cover my ear in an attempt to focus on my reading.
I find this happens a lot now. The television is on.
The radio is on. The papers are filled with nonsense. Noises permeate the air
from upstairs, downstairs and to every side. I guess it’s hard to be quiet when
everyone wants to be heard, which would explain why there is very little
listening going on. I hear a ton of discussion and every bit of it seems indiscernible.
In any case, it’s distracting.
I have heard it said that people cannot be alone
with themselves anymore. I think that may be truer than I can imagine. While
noise can be beneficial in certain circumstances every now and again one needs
to take a break from it all.
Recently, I was working on a project requiring
silence. A house guest was visiting. I asked them to be absolutely quiet for a
while. Interestingly, they simply could not do it. They had to make noise. It
seems to me that peace and quiet is an undervalued commodity now. If you were
to place it on the stock market, it would be worthless. Yet, I would propose
trying to indulge in more of it to calm the mind, body, soul, spirit and
senses.
Even with peace and quiet our minds can become
noisy. As mentioned previously, this is referred to as monkey mind, which is
why Buddhist practice encourages meditation to empty the mind and allow life to
just simply be unencumbered as it naturally will be. Meditation can aide in
clearing out the clutter and distractions preventing life’s ebb and flow.
I used to do a listening exercise with children when
I visited elementary schools conducting workshops. I asked the kids to shut
their eyes and open their ears and sit there listening to whatever was going on
around them. Then I would have them share what they heard. It was a great way
to promote hearing and taking note of what was going on around them.
So when I found myself surrounded by a ton of noise
this week I decided it would be a nice idea to promote positive well being by
encouraging some peace and quiet to achieve better outcomes toward a happier
existence in this moment and on into the next moment.
Makes me think of the line, “Stop and smell the
roses.”
We must take time to make time to be still and know.
Here are some things to remember this week as you move through your week
clearing out the clutter, the noise and anything oriented to the monkey mind.
Stop
Turn off everything
Sit
Be still
Don’t talk
Listen
Hear
Notice
Observe
Take it all in
Don’t cling
Let things come and go
Take note
Discover
Find clarity
Enhance the moment(s)
Here’s to a little less noise and lot more clarity;
a few less distractions and much more positivity.
Here is a link to a song by Mac Davis about stopping
and smelling the roses along the way.
Have a great week reigning in the monkey mind!
Cheers!
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mind_monkey¹ (Viewed
on 3/24/2017)
No comments:
Post a Comment