Читать книгу Mental Resilience - Kamal Sarma C - Страница 12
Оглавлениеmeditation metaphors and models
We learn a lot of things, but we don’t learn how to deal with our inner life.
PAULE SALOMON
WHILE LEARNING MENTAL RESILIENCE TRAINING, you will likely wonder, “Am I doing this right?” Let me introduce you to some metaphors that may help you make sense of the question. If your meditation practice helps you identify with the following metaphors, you’re doing it right.
The soul never thinks without a picture.
ARISTOTLE
Metaphor 1: Clarity in a Glass of Muddy Water
Many meditation teachers liken the mind to a glass of clear water that you can see straight through. There are no obstructions; there is nothing clouding your view from one side of the glass to another. Now imagine putting no more than a teaspoonful of dirt in that water and giving it a stir. What do you see? After just a bit of stirring, the water becomes so muddy that you can no longer see through it. The water is so murky, you couldn’t see a light on the other side of the glass.
Now imagine that you’ve set down the glass of muddy water to allow the water and dirt to settle. As the turbulence stills, the elements begin to separate, and the water becomes less murky. The longer you leave it, the clearer the water becomes. Left for a couple of hours, your glass would have crystal-clear water at the top and sediment on the bottom.
This is very similar to the way the mind works. Stir it up, and it’s hard to see much; let it settle, and there is clarity. The mud in the water represents the various challenges thrown at you daily.
Imagine an extremely challenging day. Say you had a tiff with your partner before work. You have numerous deadlines looming and meetings to prepare for, your phone has been ringing off the hook since you got to the office, and your in-box is full of urgent emails you haven’t had the chance to open. At this point, your mind is probably like the glass of dirty water, with flying thoughts clouding your vision. And if this dirty water represents your current state of mind, it’s not truly a desirable standpoint for important decision making or effective action.
What does meditation do? Simply, meditation provides the same relief from the muddiness or confusion in your mind as allowing the glass of dirty water to settle. The challenges do not go away — the dirt is still in the glass — but it is settled, and you can see clearly.
