Lost in a Sea of Jargon…and Beyond
Sorry it’s long, but it’s been a while. Add to the list if you dare. Sheila
Sorry it’s long, but it’s been a while. Add to the list if you dare. Sheila
Lost in a Sea of Jargon and Beyond
Lately, misconceptions about meditation and attending jargon have plagued my mind and kept me from attaining inner peace. I share a few with you in the hopes that I can get back on track and together we can all share some greater insight. Feel free to extend this list and share your wisdom with us:
2a. Clear the mind. Let go of thoughts, watch them come and go. Instructions like these are meant to be helpful, but can be frustrating instead if they add more thoughts or come with a bonus, like guilt or judgment. Be vigilant about what thoughts you clear and be clear about not inviting them back.
2b. Clearing the mind is not quite as simple as mowing the lawn. You may only be able to clear a few weedy thoughts, one day at a time.
3a. Empty the mind. Don’t. It’s not like dumping trash. The mind is never empty, not until you’re dead. And who knows what’s up after death? Have you ever asked a dead person if their mind is empty?
3b. Who wants an empty mind, anyway? Seems like it can get kind of boring.
5a. Trust your inner voice but not completely. There are people who make simplistic claims, like that listening to their inner voice guided them to their soul mate or great fortune. You can, however, partially trust your inner voice, especially when it’s backed up by common sense, deep thought, or contemplation.
5b. Match your inner voice with gut instinct, especially when it comes to real estate.
9a. Negative emotions aren’t real. Do you ever notice that there are more negative emotions than positive ones, and they are harder to let go of? That’s because whoever created the human mind had a very mean sense of humor. So laugh at your mind-made misery. You can always try on different emotions. Pick the ones you like.
9b. Release suffering. If you are overly attached to suffering, repeat a mantra. If you don’t have a mantra, try “I am not my mind, I am the Self.” Even if you don’t understand what that means, so what? Real mantras come in ancient languages nobody understands. As for “all suffering is an illusion,” don’t even go there. When you’re suffering, your deluded mind will not grasp what an illusion is.
Mindfulness is a word. Behold, mindfulness or lack thereof, called by other names, has been around forever. Mystics and spiritual adepts of all traditions practiced meditation un-filtered and un-branded. Sometimes it was called prayer. Today we use the word “mindfulness” to refer to watching the mind, being aware of its ever-changing nature, regulating it through practices, and so on. There are people who love practicing mindfulness, and don’t mind the overuse of the word. Others skirt their way around its use and get very creative.
What we mean by the concept Mindfulness is beneficial. But it doesn’t always make people more mindful, just like meditation doesn’t always assure inner peace. Practitioners can still be pushy on lines, self-absorbed, dry-hearted, and unconscious. Mindfulness is aspirational, a practice and a path. Just because you do it doesn’t mean you’ve mastered it.
Words that describe practices are no substitutes for actual attainments and experiences. Meditation, mindfulness, and the family of “jargon” words that go with them are what we have to describe the indescribable, and will do for now. In other words, it’s good to know that margarine is not butter, and not a substitute for the word butter. What matters is what the spread tastes like on our muffins.
By Sheila Lewis June 28, 2015
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