If we model our mind as a computer. Active thoughts are ideas that are running on top of the mind, cpu. These are like threads. Now, there is an important thread that is always present in all the human beings. Let's call it Idle thread. When we are not actively thinking about anything this thread gets a chance to run. Also when we are doing something, this either gets small time quanta or gets a chance at broader time interval to wake up. So it might look like a small chatter or a sudden distraction and flow to other direction.
What does this Idle thread do? Well it does different things for different people. Some of the common questions it asks are, "Am i wasting time? I have to hurry up", "I have to do these things also x,y,z. So many things to do", "What bad happened to me today, yesterday etc?", "Things are scary", "Let me dig up a bad past for you", "Let me cook up a scary future for you", "Why is this person saying so?", "This is Good. This is Bad" etc. One important characteristic is that this thread doesn't dwell on any one idea for long. It either loads lot of data to process or lots of short-lived thoughts, in both cases causing mind to be overwhelmed and causing a flood of emotion.
What are the effects? We feel a heaviness in head. We sometimes want to rest, but are not able to. And many times we see that it scares us, overwhelms us and distracts us.
When are the effects less? What experts call "In the Zone", "Flow" are situations where we are so intensely into the work we are doing that this thread does not get any time to run. Consciously we can build our concentration and alertness by way of meditations and learn the art of keeping mind focus on only one thing. It is also that effects of the thread get weak when the thinker is aware of this thread. That is, cpu does not become thread, screen doesn't become the movie. "Satori" is also a term used to describe a state of no-mind. Sufi philosophy gives lot of importance to what one does. Some of the Buddhist meditation is about making doing important and be a goal in itself. So one walks for walking not for reaching a destination. This takes a person into the task. When one's body and mind are involved in one act, there couldn't be anything better to prevent this Idle thread. This gets little funny as sometimes this Idle thread takes the task of "preventing Idle thread from running". And more you think about preventing Idle thread from running, more you are running it. Buddha's philosophy of neti-neti, Neither this nor that is useful here. You do not want it to run, you do not want to stop it.
It is interesting to know what would happen if this Idle thread was in total control of the Thinker. Indian spirituality says that "Self" gets a better chance of showing. This Self is eternal, joyful and fearless. This also gives a clue on how do i know i am running this thread? When i have irrational fear taking over, i know that it is not me and i can check to find whether this Idle thread is running. When i am not joyful, probably the Idle thread had lot of its undue time.
Probably that is what they meant when they said, "Idle mind is Devil's workshop".
Thursday, July 29, 2010
Monday, July 26, 2010
Booting yourself everyday
I look at Mind as a computing machine. Over years it has built a huge set of rules, data and emotions tagged with it. These are interrelated. It looks to me that Mind rules me. Everyday morning it hands me a card and on it is written how my day will go. Fewer times it will hand me a card that says, today will be great. And this if from its inclination to stick to negative. This is what our mind does, someone comes and says you are good, we ignore that. Somebody comes and says you are bad and we remember it for long time. While strategically it is a good thing because this makes us better person continuously. But overdose of this causes lot more sadness than is necessary. And Mind doesn't know what this overdose is, where to stop.
But there is a variable that is in our total control. Mind cannot load all of its rules, data and emotion at the same time. It has smaller RAM. So we can exercise some control. If we consciously load good data, good emotions and good rules are loaded. And then there is no place for other not-needed data to be loaded. Everyday if we boot up this computing machine with something exciting that we plan to do, compassion, love, peace and happiness, there can only be more of that whole day along.
In the beginning we will find it hard doing this daily. Mind would come back and say, hey you are fooling yourself. Reality is different. But with practice you can make it an everyday affair. Waking up, booting right OS (operating system) could fetch you a great day with lots of productivity and joy.
This is booted up OS will govern what you perceive (Generalize, Delete and Distort). And depending on what you perceive your actions vary and depending on actions you get results. And the vicious circle goes on.
Remember that once you are booted properly, you might still take on issues of life and deal with them. But it will not be by fear but by a well thought and cool Mind.
As a Guru said, meditation is slowing down mind, increasing focus/attention and then thinking about any of divine quality (peace, love, strength ...). This to me is booting up of mind. As Shri Shri Ravishankar says, the prayers we sing (for e.g. hanuman chalisa) is praise for lord. And by praising we dwell on the divine qualities. And by the Mind just listening to these qualities loads right OS. I find that writing makes it more stronger as this causes your mind to consciously think, and hence load the right OS. That is why diary and blogging might be such a cool idea.
But there is a variable that is in our total control. Mind cannot load all of its rules, data and emotion at the same time. It has smaller RAM. So we can exercise some control. If we consciously load good data, good emotions and good rules are loaded. And then there is no place for other not-needed data to be loaded. Everyday if we boot up this computing machine with something exciting that we plan to do, compassion, love, peace and happiness, there can only be more of that whole day along.
In the beginning we will find it hard doing this daily. Mind would come back and say, hey you are fooling yourself. Reality is different. But with practice you can make it an everyday affair. Waking up, booting right OS (operating system) could fetch you a great day with lots of productivity and joy.
This is booted up OS will govern what you perceive (Generalize, Delete and Distort). And depending on what you perceive your actions vary and depending on actions you get results. And the vicious circle goes on.
Remember that once you are booted properly, you might still take on issues of life and deal with them. But it will not be by fear but by a well thought and cool Mind.
As a Guru said, meditation is slowing down mind, increasing focus/attention and then thinking about any of divine quality (peace, love, strength ...). This to me is booting up of mind. As Shri Shri Ravishankar says, the prayers we sing (for e.g. hanuman chalisa) is praise for lord. And by praising we dwell on the divine qualities. And by the Mind just listening to these qualities loads right OS. I find that writing makes it more stronger as this causes your mind to consciously think, and hence load the right OS. That is why diary and blogging might be such a cool idea.
Wednesday, July 21, 2010
Hypothesis : ego as a set of rules
GOD created us as a self learning rules engine with multiple sensing organs. The basic rules given were,
1. Stay in default happy state
2. When hungry get sad. On sadness cry.
3. Take in data from sensing organs, process it with existing rules and if needed, learn.
4. When in new condition, choose fight or flight.
5. When in fight mode, but safe situation - reflect the situation.
When kids see parents smiling at them, they imitate the parents as per situation 5. When strangers smile, sometimes kids cry taking it to be unsafe situation of 4.
We see our parents, learn their behaviors. When in situation X, do situation Y because success was achieved doing that or it doesn't matter so try what has been tested. So most of the times we tend to be like our parents in basic traits.
Then we learn from friends, teachers etc.
All these are being stored as rules. We have now become a huge set of rules. We learn how to make meta-rules, rules about rules. For example, learn things from good person, not from bad person. So each observation gets colored by such meta rules. Then we make meta-meta rules. And this goes on.
A big set of these rules goes in at such a deeper level that we don't question them. They go into our sub-consciousness. These rules become so complex, big in number and convoluted that they start forming a mind of its own. They invent a concept of I. They then start defending themselves against what they perceive as attack. They do not allow conscious mind to question some of the basic rules. They control emotions of mind - fear etc.
If these rules were correct, complete, non-contradicting etc. things would still be fine. But most of these rules are made by single situation like all men do not have heart and most of them are not true when time or situation changes. There are rules that talk about I like i am not a fighter and these were formed because of a situation when somebody was weak. Even after attaining good amount of energy the rule is not ready to be changed.
Is it possible for us to keep these rules aside as per our will? Ofcourse we need them most of the times but can we exercise control on them? Before you know some rule in you would have already triggered a discomfort feeling, a mild fear. And you are now focused on something else.
This could be the aim of meditation. How can one keep these rules aside at will for a time one chooses to. Once one can do that, one can also transform some of the most fundamental rules, also called as context. One can also follow a goal instead of being lost and most of the times creating more pain for self.
1. Stay in default happy state
2. When hungry get sad. On sadness cry.
3. Take in data from sensing organs, process it with existing rules and if needed, learn.
4. When in new condition, choose fight or flight.
5. When in fight mode, but safe situation - reflect the situation.
When kids see parents smiling at them, they imitate the parents as per situation 5. When strangers smile, sometimes kids cry taking it to be unsafe situation of 4.
We see our parents, learn their behaviors. When in situation X, do situation Y because success was achieved doing that or it doesn't matter so try what has been tested. So most of the times we tend to be like our parents in basic traits.
Then we learn from friends, teachers etc.
All these are being stored as rules. We have now become a huge set of rules. We learn how to make meta-rules, rules about rules. For example, learn things from good person, not from bad person. So each observation gets colored by such meta rules. Then we make meta-meta rules. And this goes on.
A big set of these rules goes in at such a deeper level that we don't question them. They go into our sub-consciousness. These rules become so complex, big in number and convoluted that they start forming a mind of its own. They invent a concept of I. They then start defending themselves against what they perceive as attack. They do not allow conscious mind to question some of the basic rules. They control emotions of mind - fear etc.
If these rules were correct, complete, non-contradicting etc. things would still be fine. But most of these rules are made by single situation like all men do not have heart and most of them are not true when time or situation changes. There are rules that talk about I like i am not a fighter and these were formed because of a situation when somebody was weak. Even after attaining good amount of energy the rule is not ready to be changed.
Is it possible for us to keep these rules aside as per our will? Ofcourse we need them most of the times but can we exercise control on them? Before you know some rule in you would have already triggered a discomfort feeling, a mild fear. And you are now focused on something else.
This could be the aim of meditation. How can one keep these rules aside at will for a time one chooses to. Once one can do that, one can also transform some of the most fundamental rules, also called as context. One can also follow a goal instead of being lost and most of the times creating more pain for self.
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