one of the most important thing a meditator can do is to understand his mind. now this understanding does not come via studying books on mind but by witnessing the mind and the tricks mind plays on you.
now what is mind – mind is a bio-computer. which does not have any intelligence of its own. it just accept any information fed into it. its a storehouse of all information and experiences you have in life. all these experiences and learning form the conditioning of the mind.
everybody gets different conditioning. which is decided by your family, society, country etc. e.g. a boy born in hindu family believe in hindu way of thinking. mind always work as per the conditioning it has got. so your thinking is majorly decided by the upbringing you have received.
now the real meditator is one who can respond to a situation from his awareness/consciousness and not from his past experiences or conditioning.
few tricks of mind to fool you in meditation:
1. postponement – mind loves to postpone meditation to old age. mind hates meditation. because meditation means death of mind. as you become more meditative then the hold of mind on you decreases.
2. guilt – it makes you feel guilty. if you are guilty then you can never be total within. guilt is also a thought. so via guilt, mind comes back from backdoor. so whenever you have any guilt thought then no need to do anything with it. just watch the thought and move on.
3. moving in past or future – mind can never stay in the present moment. it is either moving in past or in future. as a meditator, always try to stay in the present moment. live life moment by moment and with full consciousness.
4. mind loves comparisonย – in meditation, never compare your experiences or progress with any one. everyone is unique and have different stages of progress. as a meditator you should mind your own business.
5. mind is never total – mind is always fluctating. it is never total about any decision. this is because mind has no integrity in it. it is composed of many thoughts of conflicting nature. one moment one thoughts dominates the other thoughts and next moment another conflicting thought can come to your mind. as a meditator be total in whatever you do. totality in action is key to meditation.
6. mind is ambitiousย and greedy – in meditation, you are not suppose to chase any target or goal. but be careful, mind will bring its ambitions or greed in spiritual world also. it might put the idea of having occult powers or to become guru or to have an ashram. be a witness to every desire of mind.
7. mind loves contemplation or analyzing a problem – as a meditator you don’t need to get involve into all this. no need to analyze your thoughts as good, bad or ugly. just be a witness.
8. mind is confusion and ever doubtful – mind is never clear about anything. how it can be? mind is just a storehouse of all your experiences, all your thoughts and desires. so mind is always in confusion and doubt. never rely on your mind if you want to be intelligent or have clarity on any situation. instead meditate. meditation will make you intelligent and will give you clarity.
9. mind is never content – mind cannot be satisfied. no matter how much abundance you receive. because mind is another name of desire. desires can never be fulfilled. only way to deal with the unnecessary desires or mind is to become a witness. witnessing is the cure of all mental troubles. these troubles could be jealousy, possessiveness, anger, greed, lust, hatred, comparison and so on.
10. mind is unconsciousness – more you think, more you will become unconscious. whereas meditation is pure consciousness because in meditation, mind is not there. meditation is no-mind. the more you meditate, more conscious you will become.