How To Re-Make Your Mind
As irrigators lead water where they want, as archers make their arrows straight, as carpenters carve wood, the wise shape their minds. – Buddha
Your experience of life, and your results, come from your thoughts.
For the great majority of us, our thoughts are sometimes scattered, occasionally chaotic and insistent, and often rapid-fire.
How can we, as the Buddha exhorts us, shape our minds?
Our scattered, chaotic, insistent, and often, rapid-fire monkey minds?
By meditating.
“Meditating!? My life is too busy and full to sit lotus-style for a hour each day!”
You don’t have to.
Each day, find a quiet dark place, sit quietly, close your eyes and notice you breath going in and out.
For one minute.
As your mind gets distracted by thoughts and your attention drifts from your breath. Return to your breath, gently and lovingly and peacefully.
As your skill with this practice increases (and it will), increase the time.
Perhaps to 90 seconds. Maybe even two minutes.
But never more than you think you manage, consistently.
Just doing this, every day, will transform your ability to be present and manage your thoughts well.
* * *
Be patient, persistent and loving with this. It took you many years of using your mind as you have to create the patterns that exist – it will take some time to create new patterns.