When you are completely tired of struggling with the mind you are finally ready to just let go of it. You became addicted to the mind because it’s so in the face, so noisy, always in the foreground, always trying to sort things out, trying to solve problems that don’t exist, telling interesting/dramatic stories, creating unnecessary interpretations, producing engrossing images and most importantly telling you who you are. You became so devoted to your mind that you took it to be who you are, not realizing that it’s a conditioned machine – you forgot who you are and lost yourself in the mind’s story.
The word “mind” is just a pointer to the conditioned movement of brain in a human body. You become finally ready to let go of this addiction when you realize how much suffering this identification is creating in your life. When you let go of the mind, it doesn’t become silent immediately, it takes several months (6-7 at least on an average) before the mind’s momentum can slow down and finally come to its natural rest. But each day that you stay in a place of letting go, you will see transformation coming forth in your reality – both inner and outer.
Don’t be frustrated if the mind doesn’t shut up
If the mind wants to be noisy, allow it the freedom to be noisy. If the mind wants to be agitated, allow it the freedom to be agitated. If it has several questions, let it have its questions. Let go of trying to sort out the mind because it’s a losing game, no matter how hard you try to solve the mind’s questions, it will keep coming up with new ones – until you finally realize this pattern and simply let go of trying to solve it. When you let go, the mind, miraculously, starts sorting itself out on its own and comes to a rest.
Usually people let go of their mind addiction when they can no longer tolerate the sad/fearful/angry/hopeless stories of the mind. For example, there are several incidents when prisoners, who get long terms, are known to let go of their mind and find a realm of deep peace because they could no longer take the fearful story of the mind. A lot of people wake up to their true nature when the dream of the mind becomes a nightmare.
When you wake up you realize that you were never the mind, neither were you the “story character” that your mind made you out to be. But just because you woke up from the mind doesn’t mean that the mind will “shut up” immediately, because it has several years of momentum going for it and is connected with the universal human unconsciousness. It will slow down in its momentum slowly, but surely, now that you are no longer totally identified with its movement – be patient and don’t get too frustrated too soon.
It’s common to feel a little “dis-oriented” for a while
For years you have been identified with the mind, and so when you start waking up from its trance it’s very normal to feel a little dis-oriented for a while. It will feel like your whole world is turning upside down, everything you so strongly believed starts becoming almost irrelevant. This is normal, and it’s temporary – you will soon find a new grounding in this new way of being which is moving from the intelligence of life itself instead of moving from the past, conditioned, patterns of the mind. You can say that the wisdom heart takes over from the mechanical intelligence of the mind. Initially when you wake up you are like a baby Buddha just learning to walk, but soon you find your footing and are ready to stand on your own two shoes.
If you feel confused for a while, just let it be – it’s fine, and it’s normal. Be assured that you will find your footing and find a deep stability as you continue waking up. It’s quite like how you feel when you are woken up from deep sleep – for a while you are confused, for a while you might even be angry for waking up, you might find the surroundings a little unfamiliar for a bit, but as you continue waking up you become more and more comfortable with this new way of being – soon you start realizing that true joy of life comes when one is awake, not when one is asleep.
Hi Sen,
In working with allowing and slowing down the mind, and looking for balance I face several obstacles.
The main one are about the body reactions. I am so used to by busy, doing, occupied, active that now that I only do the needed, my body rebels.
My arms “hurt” or feel as if they are “hollow” and often I find myself moving them towards a dictraction almost involuntarily. For example, if I wait at a red light, my arms themself reach out for the cell phone so check text/email and or ANYTHING! I decide not to, so they reach for the radio, I decide not to, so they reach out for the mirrors. I decide not to, so they play with my hair. etc etc. It is eerie as if they are not my arms at all. I find myself breathing heavily
Simultaneously I deal with the emotional responses, these I think you mention are normal: depression, sever anxiety, panic attacks, a sense of imminent doom, guilt. My mind is yelling for me to engage in all sort of occupations, and unnecessary errands or tasks. This is not new, but now I don’t have the distractions I used to have.
I feel inadequate in dealing with others, friends, family. Any unfulfilled desired looks like an enormous void.
It is tough because I know this will bring me to the other side where there is balance, but at the same time I feel I just have to stop it because I call it too much, too painful, too raw.
I try to trust this will eventually get better….
Any words of wisdom about this?
Radiance, you need to understand that there is no need to bite more than you can chew. Don’t be in a rush to hit balance, it takes time and you need to regulate your pace according to what feels comfortable to you. The body/mind can only adapt slowly to a new vibrational state, quantum leaps are very uncomfortable and there is no need for you to push it beyond what’s comfortable for you.
Sen, what is your personal definition of ‘quantum leap’ here?
Does it simply mean going from an unconscious state to a conscious one?
Basically, the transition is comfortable when its allowed to happen at the pace regulated by your life-stream’s intelligence, allowing the body to adapt to the changes in vibrational states as the release of mind momentum, and suppressed emotional energy, happens. It’s possible for one to get too “serious”, or too impatient, with this process and try to force the change too quickly (what I call trying to achieve a “quantum leap”, or leaping ten steps beyond what you are ready for) by not following the inspiration for rest or recuperation that arises, and thus tasking the body beyond its threshold leading to unnecessary intensity of discomfort.
Sen, when you say lets the body/mind get rest as needed during the phase of release but what about those who are suffering from Anxiety, sleeplessness during this period..I feel very hard to rest & sleep as again my mind starts pulling me inside to the point I get frustrated.