Letting the mind be free is a good way to control it

Ooh, ooh! I wrote a Zen koan blog post title. And I don't even practice Zen. 

How does one control the mind? By letting the mind do whatever it wants.

This could be the key to... everything! Or maybe... nothing. Which could be the same thing.

Whatever, it's one of the main things I've learned since I signed up for Headspace, the trendy meditation app/approach that I started trying out a few months ago and wrote about here and here.

Since, I've done Andy Puddicombe's guided meditation thing every morning. I've worked my way into Day 28 of the Self-Esteem series, which involves 20-minute meditations that get increasingly silent and on-your-own'ish as Andy does less verbal guiding.

At several points in each session he says something like he wrote here: 

Just allow the mind to be free. Without any sense of control or effort, just let it do whatever it wants to do.

This reminds me of a tweet by _2020mojo_ I came across today in my Twitter feed.

Clinging to "letting go".

During most of the guided meditation sessions, I'm doing something or other.

Feeling my bodily presence. Following my breath. Scanning through my body from head to toe, becoming aware of sensations. Counting breaths. Returning to present moment awareness when my attention wanders.

All this is pleasingly relaxing. But there's some effort involved, even in letting go. 

However, I've found that when Puddicombe says, "Now, just let your mind do whatever it wants," my mind doesn't want to do anything.

Well, at least not much of anything; less than what it wanted to do before, when I was trying to be mindful and not be captured by thoughts.

A bit of Googling led me to someone else who had the same Headspace experience. 

With the aim of ‘demystifying meditation’, Headspace cuts through all the usual myths – that there’s not enough time, it’s impossible to stop thoughts etc. The focus is on the concept of short periods of mindfulness – simply becoming aware of your own thoughts and feelings – rather than having to shut your mind off in any way.

At one point in the meditation, Andy instructs you to let go of any focus and ‘let your mind do whatever it wants to do’, and bizarrely it’s at this point that my hyperactive mind stops trying to leap and vault into a thousand different thoughts at once, and can’t seem to think about anything at all. I’m positively blank, and perhaps that’s the point.

Alan Watts speaks similarly in his books. Our attempts to control ourselves lead us into a bizarre mental maze where "I" try to make "me" do something, even though we're the same entity.

Even more strange is when I try to make me do nothing -- to be calm, relaxed, mentally motionless. Trying to let go of tension and effort introduces, duh..., a bit of tension and effort.

So when Puddicombe says "Let your mind do whatever it wants to do," I'm thrown into an intriguing state of mind. I can think, or not think. I can imagine, or not imagine. I can worry, or not worry. 

Somehow that or, that freedom, brings me to a difficult-to-describe sense of peace. I'm more peaceful when I'm not trying to be peaceful. 

The same principle probably applies to other areas of life.

Likely I'm more moral when I don't try to be moralistic. Likely I'm a better dancer when I don't try to be a good dancer. Likely I'm more humble when I don't try to lose my ego.

But I don't want to think too much about this. Likely this will be a better blog post if I don't try to improve it any more.

Comments

[OshoRobbins]

Nice piece, Brian.
Zen is wonderful at freeing the mind.
It's quite the opposite of RSSB teachings.
The focus is on no-effort and awareness of what is.
And allowing that "what is" to be.

"To Be" or "Not to be" - that is the Question - Shakespeare

It turns out that quite by chance Shakespeare made a very profound statement, because it's about "Not to be"

When you was born - you simply existed. You simply experienced life - without any effort - without any knowing - without any interference.
You had no idea what was happening - it just happened. The mind was not developed enough to interfere.

Slowly, as the days and weeks went by, you began to figure things out. Ahhh - there's this woman - who keeps getting in my face - and smiles at me and feeds me and gives me comfort.
All this happens without words - it is simply an experience. No mind - no justification - no evaluation. Just pure experience in which "what is, simply is"

This is how our life began.

Then our mind develops and we create labels, and put labels on everything. "I'll call this woman 'mother'"

Of course the child does not actually use the word "mother" - but just his own label, which initially will be wordless.

The point is that slowly the act of 'figuring things out' creates an awareness that there is a ME here - and there is a YOU there. This is the birth of the EGO. The separate self.
With the birth of the ego - the quality of life changes. The "I" wants to "DO" - it wants "TO BE" rather than not to be.

"The Great Way is easy for those who have NO PREFERENCES. Bring in the slightest preference, however, and it becomes impossible" - Zen saying

Letting go of the mind is akin to letting life happen, wihtout any interference. It means stop trying to "be" anything in particular. Stop trying to still the mind or to meditate. But don't make the act of trying to 'stop' a goal, because 'trying to stop' is then effort again.

The ultimate effortless means to simply let it be.

"There will be an answer - let it be" - John

The mind loves to jump around and decide on what is RIGHT and WRONG. It loves to be the DOER. It loves to be praised, because that means it was RIGHT. It loves to create MEANING.

In RSSB you are trying to STILL the mind, which is impossible. It's nature is to jump around, and if YOU (whoever YOU are) wants to stop it (the mind) then it's going to be frustrating and impossible.

However, let it do it's thing and just watch it, simply enjoy watching. Like in the movie "being there", Peter says "I love to watch".

When you can just watch life - it becomes profound, amazing. Just watch the mind - allow it to do it's thing.

Why is stilling the mind any BETTER than allowing it to roam? There is no achievement - no medal to be earned. No goal to arrive at,

All goals are empty once you get there. Yet the mind keeps on chasing hoping the next one is going to satisfy. Stop chasing and satisfaction is already there, because it's HERE not THERE.

Nothing is RIGHT and nothing is WRONG. Nothing is GOOD and nothing is BAD. Everything is simply what it is. No judgement.

What is judgement after all - other than the process of catogorizing into GOOD/BAD/RIGHT/WRONG? if they don't exist then there is no need to categorize.

Why does the mind categorize? because it feels important in the process and it knows it is RIGHT and GOOD.

The whole effort is to be RIGHT and to be GOOD. But they don't exist in the real world, you made them up.

Once you realize this, that you made all this shit up, and that you are not a soul trying to get to sach khand or whereever, etc, then something profound happens - a deep letting go - a relaxation that's not just skin deep.

Your life then becomes a living zen koan and there are no answers to seek - no mind to still - no goal to reach - simply nothing.

That is where the Buddha got to under the Bodhi tree. All his effort failed and he realized in that moment that there is nothing to seek. God's seat is empty. He's been missing for quite a while. You'll never find him because I think perhaps he went on a long holiday and got lost, and all the flights back got cancelled, and now she's wandering around and forgotten all about going back to sach khand to reign as the supreme being.

You see - every story of creation was simply a metaphor. There is nothing to figure out - what a fucking relief.

[OshoRobbins]

Someone once asked Osho "What do you do all day long"

He smiled and said "nothing"

"where do you do this 'nothing'?

"Sitting in my room" replied Osho.

Nothing to do - nothing to seek - nothing to know. Just let life happen without any preference.

[bulo]

And Huang Po did beat his deciples to feel their zen in their asses.
Next time Osho just let it go when you start being hungry just let it happen don't eat don't do anything I wonder how long you will last. Then come to me and preach your Zen and pseudo advaita.

[fafalafelio]

quote osho
Nothing to do - nothing to seek - nothing to know. Just let life happen without any preference.

fafalafelio:
he was so druged up he couldnt move his ass

bravo Robbinsonovich you made it from suratshabd to a junkie

[G]

You see - every story of creation was simply a metaphor.

Baba Gurinder said that at the national satsang

[Nietzsche]

My experience is that there is a huge psycho chemical component in mental stillness. There is little knowledge on research with mind altering chemicals but somewhere in that is the key why some are very restfull in their mind and others worrie to dead. DMT might play a keyrole. If someone forbsome reason gets a lot of this stuff in his head he might think god handled him stillness. I do not think meditation can do much. Your food can. Just a hypothesus after personal experence. My mnd s silent like an ocean do not know why it was not allwas like that.

[x]

You are "your mind"
There is no "you"
The mind makes what's false
Seem like it's true

[777]

I'm somewhat curious Brian , from the actual practical psychological even neurological ( associations ) point of view.

Your mind repeated/remembered rudimentair Simran during many years

I suppose you dropped the habit or tried to

So now letting your thoughts "free", . . . does Simran restart or is it still on the background or not at all ?

RS

777

[Jen]

Interesting studies being done on meditation and mindfulness:

http://www.forbes.com/sites/alicegwalton/2015/02/09/7-ways-meditation-can-actually-change-the-brain/

Meditation Reduces Activity in the Brain’s “Me Center”

One of the most interesting studies in the last few years, carried out at Yale University, found that mindfulness meditation decreases activity in the default mode network (DMN), the brain network responsible for mind-wandering and self-referential thoughts – a.k.a., “monkey mind.” The DMN is “on” or active when we’re not thinking about anything in particular, when our minds are just wandering from thought to thought. Since mind-wandering is typically associated with being less happy, ruminating, and worrying about the past and future, it’s the goal for many people to dial it down. Several studies have shown that meditation, through its quieting effect on the DMN, appears to do just this. And even when the mind does start to wander, because of the new connections that form, meditators are better at snapping back out of it."
...

"Some researchers have cautioned that meditation can lead to ill effects under certain circumstances (known as the “dark night” phenomenon), but for most people – especially if you have a good teacher – meditation is beneficial, rather than harmful."

[Nietzsche]

I think there is no problem when the mantra appears in your mind. I have it appearing now and than in a dream and it helped me. It is my mantra as I trained on it. The lier masters have little to do with it they are powerless. Again it is my mantra it is not for someone else to sell it to me and it is not possible to take it away.

[Brian Hines]

777, pretty much not at all -- regarding simran (the RSSB mantra) coming into my mind unbeckoned. Occasionally this happens. Or it happens semi-beckoned, as when I'm going to sleep and decide to repeat the mantra for old time's sake for a little while. Usually I stop soon, because the words don't mean anything to me any more.

[777]

Thank You Brian, Thanks Nietzsche
A strange difference between you two
Seems N values it more even while actually detesting the giver

Wen I was initiated
and started the repetitions we lived in a little guards house of a property and there was a very big and heavy fence.
Image : this 2 tons rotatable fence started to move each time when I started the simran and each time at the second word.
An immense almost frightening noise
specially in the middle of the night !

Next days I started to kind of 'playing" with it but then slightly it didn't come back.

Another interesting observation is : " meaning "
Like you B, I see no meaning in a semantic way
When I read books from Swami Ram Das ( Anandashram , Kanghangat, Kerala ) , the old" swami and did the mantra he experienced and gave ( lots about this on youtube )
I found that that complete mantra
"Om Sri Ram Jai Ram Jai Jai, Sri > Om Sri Ram . . . etc ) "
had the "vibration" of the second word
This gave me a certain idea of what is said about the subtle energy values
I mean
The First : the Vibration of Brahma, top 1/7 time_space_environment ruler , even overpowering him
so that the Master can fool that power
Same for the 2/7 word
And yes finally it's stupid to say fooling the Lord but that's what happening - It is really is :
BEING THE LORD
It doesn't mean you are always in that state of bliss but between the flashes there's less time that passes and their impressiveness increases and the "betweens" are delicious.
Like Charan said : "It ever grows"

Nietzche , they don't lie
But in the beginning they just follow orders.
Then, to their own amazement They have super awesome results, outside with serendipities and inside

Appointed Gurus have these flashes faster, deeper and more frequently,
it seems to me, but on the other hand
they take shit from their disciples which isn't fun

I wouldn't call it a lie when you see ( and THAT is for sure ) the super radiations of your own Master , even when you just start the mastership

It(s very mysterious and nobody can understand it which I consider as a good point on behalf of God
Imaging only high IQ could do the path !
That would make all the others a loser.
Now everybody can follow, . . and what I like :
"The First are the Last and the last will be the first; as we frequently see on this forum"

It makes us all equal - sometimes I wonder there are so few happy commenters .
50 Years with each second in heaven gave it to us overhere
Trust You both will have that too

777