The Role of the Mind

‘Peace of mind’ is a contradiction in terms, as the mystic, Osho, puts it. The mind is a compulsive commentator, forever poking its nose into all that we experience.

To see if this is so for you, try this small experiment. With your eyes closed, for the next few moments stop your mind. Don’t allow one thought to intrude. Put your total attention into finding that 'peace of mind'....

.... The odds are that you weren’t plunged into a space of endless silence – not because it is impossible to be peaceful but because the mind is not the right faculty to employ when we want to be peaceful, to find relaxation, serenity, stillness, and a sense of spaciousness.

We can appreciate its role as a highly effective and sophisticated machine; a lively mind is a vital resource in our everyday lives. But it does have limitations. Look at it like this: The mind has a function just as do, say, our clothes. You wear clothes in certain situations, but when you don’t need them – for example, in the privacy of your house – you can remove them. If you become so attached to them, so identified with your clothes that you can’t bear to take them off, not even when you are alone, not even when you take a shower, something is out of whack. Similarly, we’re so attached to our mind, so identified with it, that we can’t imagine being without it. And the reality is: We can only really be without it!

To be, to experience the qualities of stillness and calm and direct knowing, we need to move into a deeper region than the cerebral – that of consciousness. To do that we don’t need to control or ‘tame’ the mind. Trying to control, train, tame or in anyway modify the mind involves tension, and tension is antithetical to meditation. For example, in that little exercise above, chances are that in trying to stop the mind you only succeeded in feeling more tense; your thoughts were even more persistent.

As you move towards the state of being, if the mind persists in its chatter – and invariably it will – no need to try to stop it. That only engages you with the mind again. The secret of meditation is to let the mind do its thing, aware of it but not giving it any attention – just as you would an unruly child. For more about awareness see Awareness or Mindfulness. By and by there will be moments of no-mind, but they happen indirectly, as a byproduct of your meditativeness.

                                                                                    *

We’ve looked at how to prevent the mind getting in the way. Given that it is so resourceful, can the mind play a positive role in meditation?

The mind functions as a springboard for some methods. In a method called Gibberish, you utter nonsense sounds. You are also invited to move your body about, wave your arms and so on, if that helps the flow. That activity is preparatory to a second stage – in which you stop all noise and movement. In the ensuing moment you find yourself plunged into a deep and deeply delicious silence and stillness.

Working with the Mind
The mind can also be an ally when we are just starting a meditation practice. For example, you decide to commit to a regular meditation practice – perhaps the Vipassana method (aka Insight Meditation), in which you will sit with your eyes closed, watching your breath.

You plan to spend 20 minutes each morning, but as you near the actual event, your mind finds reasons why you can’t do it: you can’t afford the time, and so on. Rather than trying to repress that thought, or give into it, make a bargain with your mind, along the lines of: ‘I’m going to meditate. How about if I commit to 5 minutes each morning for the first week?' The mind will probably concede: 'What’s 5 minutes, after all?' And because you’ve consulted it rather than just trying to shove it aside, it can afford to graciously cooperate.

After that week, perhaps you reach another agreement with the mind: You’re going to double your meditation time. Again, the mind feels taken into account, and thus will probably cooperate. If this ploy is successful continue it, until you reach the 20-minute session time for which you had originally planned.

The mind can be helpful, too, in keeping your motivated.
For example, if your resolve to meditate today falters, recall how good you felt after yesterday’s sitting. Remind yourself that then, too, you’d wavered, but you’d gone ahead anyway and meditated, and you were so glad you did.
Perhaps you’ve committed to using one particular method for 3 months (as is recommended with all methods, in order to benefit from the full effect). But now you start wanting to miss a day here and there; there is always something more pressing to do; you’re even tempted to drop the whole thing. Remind yourself of similar commitments you’ve made in the past – to lose weight, for example – and which you successfully stuck to. You stayed true to your resolve then; you can this time too.