FINDING IT
Wait a minute! That’s all very well, you may say. Maybe that’s the way it is. Maybe not. But there’s a great deal of unsubstantiated doctrine wrapped up in all of that, and one way or another, we common or garden human beings have to get through our daily lives. That’s the reality we know. And that’s definitely no metaphysical doctrine. That’s humdrum, nitty-gritty, everyday existence, isn’t it?
Well, let’s have a closer look at this everyday existence. Perhaps its most obvious feature is change. Life is changing; things are changing. Everything is always on the move. Change is something you can rely on. We’re always busy dealing with it. And as we try to keep pace with it all, we get distressed, and lose our cool. Our minds start shifting, prompted by all the change without. Emotions, moods, thoughts, feelings, desires, likes and dislikes, all pass through our minds in an endless conveyor belt of confusion, all clamouring for our attention. Ceaseless mental and emotional chatter. And, whether we realize it or not, that is suffering. So what’s the solution?
Some say the answer to all this excessive busy-ness is a retreat. Get away from it all. Cool down a bit. Well, going on a retreat might help for a while, and give us some breathing space to see things in perspective, but change goes on wherever we are. And we take our minds with us wherever we go, as well. So there’s a clue. Maybe, the essential key to peace lies not so much in tranquil surroundings, as within ourselves. Maybe we’ve got to address ourselves. Maybe we’ve got to face our own minds.
If it is movement and change in the mind that causes distress, then if we could only control and still our own minds, maybe we would solve all our problems. That way, we could find stillness in the heart of busy-ness. Our body is like a house in which the mind dwells, all tangled up with our primal essence of being, our soul. But whatever commotion is going on outside the house matters little, if it is peaceful within.
But first of all, we have to acknowledge that we can’t control our own minds – something that’s not too difficult to demonstrate. Just try repeating the phrase “Who am I?”, silently, in your mind for five minutes without letting your thoughts wander off into other things. Or choose any other word or phrase that appeals to you. Do it with your eyes shut, to avoid external distractions. You will find that unless you have practised this kind of thing, you’ll be lucky to repeat your chosen mantra for more than a minute without your mind heading off in several other directions. So much for the “I’m in control” image we might have had of ourselves. But to acknowledge that we don’t have much control over what goes on inside our head is a major step on the road to self-discovery.
So what’s to be done about it? How are we going to regain some inner control of ourselves? Well, it’s not a new problem, and there’s no new solution. The mystical traditions of the world’s many religions and cultures have all sought similar means to this end. We’re talking about meditation, of course. Or contemplation, or interior prayer. It’s been given many names, and these days everybody’s heard about it. Even doctors, sports coaches and business executives recommend it to help you relax and to be more productive. And the basic idea of meditation is to find our own centre of being, within ourselves. For in that centre lies stillness and silence, blissful peace and joy, and relief from all the frenetic activity going on around us.
It doesn’t matter who you are, where you come from, or what you believe in, people of all times, places and cultures have tried to bring their minds to a point of stillness, so that they can regain contact with the essence of being within themselves. The little being that is a part of the one, big, silent Being. This is fundamental human stuff, way beyond all external differences and doctrines. All our problems are resolved if only we can once again regain contact with the One Being. If we can only climb back up that Ladder of Being to the One Source.
And for that, we have to learn to really live. And actually that means learning to die.
