Pay the Mind no mind

(Originally written for The Philistine, March 2012 - since revised.)


The ultimate goal of Yoga is to transcend the Mind in order to be able to reach a state of blissful meditative Awareness called samadhi. While many of us consider the mind to be the definitive plane of existence, yogic philosophy argues that although our cerebral capacities are indeed what separate us from the "lower" animals, we do not give ourselves enough credit if we believe that our experience must stop there.

The function of the brain or the Mind is to create thoughts in response to stimuli communicated to it through the sensory cells. This is its job, and the mind does not necessarily care what kind of thoughts it creates - it takes information in from the senses and then gives orders to the cells in our nerves and organs about how to respond. 

Yet, we possess the ability to have some control over this system of thought-production. For example, say your co-worker yells at you for making a mistake. Your mind's initial reaction may be to yell back, or to run away in fear, or to cry (depending on your 'state of mind', as it were). But if we gain mastery over our impulses - i.e., our brain's auto-response communication, we can stay calm and steady in this or any situation. Instead of letting that rush of adrenaline determine our reaction, we can first tap into the truth of what is happening and let our greater awareness guide our actions.

Love is a Battlefield

The Bhagavad Gita, an ancient Hindu epic, compares the world to a battlefield and each of us to a noble soldier-prince named Arjuna, who fights for Good and Truth in spite of many challenges and obstacles. Our war machine is a horse-drawn chariot -- in this parable, the chariot is seen as our physical body, driven by five wild horses representing our five ("wild") senses. The Mind is symbolized by the reins of this chariot, which have the difficult task of controlling the wild horses (senses) so they can lead the chariot to battle in the most focused way, there by increasing the chances of victory. Our five senses are equated with wild horses because they are seen as pulling the body and mind in many different directions - and usually not the direction we intend to go.

Learning to "rein in" these distracting impulses and control the body's response to stimuli comprises a significant portion of a yogi's journey toward enlightenment - and most humans' journeys toward adulthood. Much of this work is accomplished through the reasoning powers of the Mind, which help us differentiate between negative and positive actions (e.g., eating an entire pint of Ben & Jerry's vs. going for a bike ride around the park). So the brain is very important on the path toward achieving clarity of mind, as ironic as that may sound...

To consider here: if the Mind - our logic, our rationale and reasoning - is simply keeping us from over-indulging our sensory desires enough to survive, who, then, is actually driving this chariot?

Something must exist beyond our mundane logic -- right? Doesn't our "reason" simply come from our parents or the social conditioning that taught us how to behave?

Thought: If we lived in a vacuum, free of distractions, impressions, and influences, What or Who would tell us what to do? Who or what would direct the way our mind responds to stimuli? How would we know how to think and imagine and dream? Would we simply revert to primal behavior - or is there some other guide behind it all that keeps us ever reaching toward something higher, evolving toward something better?

In the Bhagavad Gita's parable of the battlefield, Arjuna the soldier-prince asked the powerful guru-deity Lord Krishna to take the reins of his chariot because he felt that he was too weakened by confusion to lead his people into a fight by himself. Krishna skillfully guides the chariot onto the battlefield and aids the hero Arjuna in the war against Evil. 

Prince Arjuna, who represents us earthly beings, had to relinquish his control to an intelligence greater than his own conflicted, doubting mind could conceivably achieve. With this request the Gita tells us that there IS something more powerful, more clear, and more knowledgeable than our minds and our selves - and we're not talking about alien beings, or even the concept of an Angry-Old-Man-in-the-Sky; no, this Something exists within us as well as outside of ourselves -- if only we can quiet our mind long enough to hear its wisdom.

Krishna, a handsome yet impish blue-skinned god, represents our inner, pure or "divine" Intelligence - also known as our Intuition or the Buddhi mind. This Intelligence serves as our personal teacher and is accessed most effectively when we have cleared any physical, mental, and emotional blockages that bring a cover of darkness over our inner spark or intelligence.

Whether or not you are seeking enlightenment, and regardless of your religious persuasion (or non-persuasion), Yoga and yogic philosophy offer tools to bring more focus, discipline, and clarity into our lives and our minds, as well as our bodies and souls. By learning to relinquish our tendencies to excessively indulge our physical senses (as well as our sense of power over others, i.e., our ego), and to release the chatter of our thoughts and the memories of our emotions, we free ourselves up to let in the light of a truer, less affected form of knowledge than our logic alone could realize. Now, who wouldn't want a piece of that?

Try this at home (or work or school or anywhere - just not while driving!):
1. Find a comfortable place to sit for a few minutes. It can help to close your eyes half-way while you do this, but you can also keep them open (try to have something pleasant in front of you to look at), or close them completely.
2. Become aware of the quality of your breath - how long is your natural inhale and exhale, where do you notice your breath goes inside your body, does it feel shallow (chest-breathing) or deep (belly-breathing)?
3. While "watching" your breath for a minute or two, some thoughts may arise. Take note of what these thoughts are, and then let them go without engaging them. For example, perhaps your grocery shopping list pops into your head. Rather than letting yourself continue on this 'train of thought' (i.e., all the things you have to get, how long it'll take, etc), simply acknowledge that there is grocery shopping to do, tell your mind that you'll deal with it later - "hey Mind, take a break, it's relaxation time now" - and release that shopping list out with your next exhale.
4. Now, allow your breath to become slower and steadier. This is where the control comes in - count to 4 on your inhale, then 6 on your exhale. Once that feels comfortable, extend the exhale to 8 counts (still inhaling 4). Our exhalation has a direct calming effect on the nervous system, so lengthening the exhale allows for greater relaxation. Continue this for 7 more inhale/exhale repetitions.
5. Practice this daily for a week or two, then start to increase the in4-out8 breath to 14 reps.
**Note: Thoughts will inevitably continue to arise while practicing, which is fine. Just use your breath as your focal point, to keep yourself from getting distracted by thoughts.

There's a yoga saying that goes, "where the prana (breath) goes, the mind follows." By practicing this pranayama (breathing practice) daily, you may begin to notice that it's easier for you to tap into a quiet space that exists between all your usual rushing thoughts. This is one of the benefits of mindful breathing and meditation.

Once you've been practicing this for a while, please share about your experience!