Living to the Maximum in Mind, Body & Spirit: Pt. I

The Mind

“Feelings come and go like clouds in a windy sky. Conscious breathing is my anchor”

— Thich Naht Hanh

The mind is powered by a very wondrous organ, the brain. But, I have learned it is not to be feared or taken too seriously.

All in the blink of an eye the mind may have an image of Chris Farley doing a cartwheel on Saturday Night Live and then immediately slip into a grizzly depicturement of a loved ones death.

Attempting to control the mind ends in frustration. Years of shoving thoughts (and feelings) down with substances has proven this to me.

I choose to take these thoughts and feelings like the responses of any other organ. Sometimes we eat something with the best intent but end up with a stomach ache. When this happens I don’t sit in a puddle and believe that I have become a stomach ache. If I get the hiccups I don’t think they will last until my dying day (although this is one of my greatest fears).

Likewise when a thought is disturbing, fear-based or generally offsetting I don’t have to let it control me and I don’t have to control it. I knew my whole life that I didn’t have to let thoughts control me. I only recently learned I didn’t have to control my thoughts.

All I have to do is control my action. I will never be able to control my diaphragm from tightening and hiccups beginning. But, I can take action in my breath. I can always control my breath. I don’t have to let thoughts into my being.

“To master our breath is to be in control of our bodies and minds. Each time we find ourselves dispersed and find it difficult to gain control of ourselves by different means, the method of watching the breath should always be used”

— Thich Nhat Hanh

Mark TurnipseedFebruary 26, 2019mindfulness, mental health, mental stregnth, mindComment

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