The Useful Monkey mind

So, it has taken over a year but I am finally contributing my first official post on our blog. My name is Craig, and it is lovely to meet you. I am a Sheermind Trainer situated in Johannesburg. We have a long journey together ahead and I look forward to it.

There is a critical point I wish to share as I have been using this realization myself quite a bit lately. When a lot of people set out on their meditative journeys there is a great desire to settle all of the mental activity, as surely this is how one finds inner peace right? Wrong, that is called silence. For anyone who is not a monk, incredibly experienced or actually currently in a very deep state of meditation this unrealistic desire is simply that, unrealistic. This is where the mindful aspect of meditation comes in. One will find inner peace when they manage to become the objective observer rather than the helpless victim of their mental processes. Yes, I am saying that you can still be the proud owner of a monkey mind yet at the same time liberate yourself from the suffering that inevitably occurs when one cannot separate them self from their thoughts.

What this actually means, both inside meditation and outside, is that each and every thought becomes an opportunity for us to practice the art of observation. Observation of the thought, and observation of the sensations that accompany the thoughts. This observation is a critical first step toward objective perception of the thought process. How can we objectively observe something without learning to simply observe it in the first place.

This point has helped me tremendously in the past, I urge you to keep it close by to deal with any unnecessary frustrations that may arise.

May we all find the peace, happiness and compassion that we deserve.

Craig