Wednesday, July 18, 2012

மாதேரன் குதிரையும் நானும்


Mind Works II


Hence, it is important to watch our mind and what we are bringing from the subtle sub-conscious world to the physical world.  How do we do that? How do we heal the mind?

I am getting back to blogging after considerable amount of time. Mind works II is posted after considerable delay.

The fundamental objective of any living being is BEING HAPPY.

What IS happiness?
What BRINGS happiness?

I bet very few of us have ever thought about these questions – leave alone finding answers. We just take happiness for GRANTED.

On the other extreme is suffering.

What IS suffering?
What BRINGS misery?

I bet this is an easy question.

I am suffering because of ………… (my boss, my relationship with so-and-so., my situation at work/home/in-between, and so on. You may fill in the blanks with your own)

Ah! Everyone has got few or many things to write about.

It is as if suffering is given; Inevitable. Not an option. It is never a choice.

And it is the suffering we always run away from, all the life – proactively and reactively. And there are few clever business people who write, talk about eliminating suffering and make millions of dollars in the process.

Am I one of them? No, certainly not. I am also a co-sufferer like you. What makes me more qualified is, I perhaps suffered more and hence I tried to find a bit more about how mind works.

Fundamentals first, But what is happiness and what is suffering?

Both are states of mind. Ok. Umm.. Sounds simple? But why do I suffer more than being happy? Why do I suffer more than others?

Now, we need to dig deep into understanding what causes different state of mind and how mind works.

Hey, I am not a psychiatrist (or psychologist?) or a MD. So, do not expect to babble medical or para medical terminologies.

It is very simple to understand. And hence, many of us just ignore - Never have bothered to look at it deeply.

 Let’s draw the analogy of water boiling in a kettle, placed in a stove.

Conscious mind – This is the top most layer of the water in the kettle. We can visualize lots of bubbles exploding on the surface, releasing steam. It is never calm. It is the place of visible action.

The analogy is good enough to understand what happens in our conscious mind.

We are battered by thoughts, more and more thoughts, coming up every moment like bubbles. Conscious mind is through which we learn, memorize and our day to day existence depends heavily on the conscious mind.

If the conscious mind is better organized, it will do wonders.

But, for most of us, it is always not the case. We don’t know why we feel in a particular way. Why we get angry? Why we feel jubilant? Why are we elated? Why we feel depressed? Why we feel victimized? Why there are mood swings?

The emotions are always there and the surface of the conscious mind has one or more emotions breaking surface by way of memories, or interpretations of the world around us. The conscious mind is a battlefield of the emotions of the past or the future.

How much ever, we try to calm the mind; the mind always seems to have a way on its own and carries on with its own business; never in control; Very difficult to stay calm; focused and relaxed.

I hope you have experienced what I am saying, right?

It is suffering when mind is agitated; Confused; full of emotions. It is a damn chaotic place.

Exercise:

Where do this thought bubbles come from?
How do I control?
Why I calm some times and why am I agitated more often?
Why do I think in a particular way?

The answer lies not in the surface, but little deeper. Lets go.

Subconscious mind:

As an analogy it is the layer that starts near the bottom of the kettle and extends up to the layer below the surface of the water.

It is the area where the bubbles emerge from the bottom, gradually expand as they rise and builds momentum near the surface.

What if we try to put a mesh filter or a spoon in the kettle and block the bubble path?

The bubbles simply circumvent the spoon and continue to rise up. The bubbles always try to find the shortest path of escape.

What if we try to block the bubble path entirely?

The bubbles accumulate below the block and with time, they build enough momentum and energy to push the blockade out of their way.

If there is sufficient heat, and the blockage is not removed, the result is a pressure cooker situation. It can lead to an explosion also!

The sub conscious mind is no different.

The subconscious mind is the area what holds our identity of what I am, who I am to whom, ego, likes, dislikes, afflictions, etc.   This is the mind that is not normally seen or observed. It comes out during our sleep, as dreams.

I am not going to bring up Freud and other mind experts here. I assure, you, it is not very difficult to comprehend either.

All you need to understand is, many of the things we consciously do not know, why we feel so, come from subconscious mind.

Many times when we question our own behavior of why I did something that way, have their answers in the subconscious mind.

Point is, we never bothered to peep in to the dark areas of our own mind.

The subconscious layer is actually very deep – like an ocean.

Now, linking the analogy with the mind:

The subconscious mind produces thought bubbles - Random thoughts to start with.

And every one of us has a sub-conscious design on our own. (Call it DNA/genetics or the basic personality).

The subconscious design act like a filter in the kettle and it blocks some thought bubbles and it allows some thought bubbles to escape out.

In real life, we are born with a set pattern of subconscious mind. Only it is a matter of time that the subconscious mind gets revealed /manifested, bit by bit.

It is the set subconscious design pattern that traps thought bubbles. With time, the thought bubbles start accumulating on the design.

The random thoughts become thoughts with (sub conscious) attention.

With more time, the traps store considerable amount of energy waiting to be released or waiting to burst the trap open.

The trap holds enough energy that the thoughts with subconscious attention have become recurring thought patterns.

The subconscious mind is always active and absorbing stimuli from the external environment and suggests back our response to the external environment.


Why some children are optimistic?
Why some children are pessimistic?
Why we fear certain things?
Why we avoid certain incidents? Why we like some? Dislike some?

The subconscious design with its associated recurring thought patterns create its own pattern of learning, self-image and sets us how we react/respond to the conscious world.

When the thought bubbles explode, they rise to the conscious mind as an emotional outburst – anger, sadness, rage, despair, joy etc.

The net result is SUFFERING as seen from the conscious mind.

Ok. Now, that I know how my subconscious mind works, how do I reduce my suffering? How do I release the pressure out of my subconscious design?

(To be continued)

Friday, July 06, 2012

WTF?

What do you expect, when you don't know what to expect?

A holy Ghost in the Internet



I see
But I ai'nt seen
Am in between your windows
Just looking at you.

I want to speak
I can't say a'thing -
what i see and what i saw
But I am not heard

I can relate
Your every emotion
But I am not in relation.

I do  my part
with many others
In the play with an unseen Director 

I have always been with you.
Up close and near.

Ask your heart
In the language of love


I will be seen
As you see yourself.


A holy ghost in the Internet.