THE MIND IS YOUR HAPPINESS

The thoughts that cross your mind will either make you happy or not. It is not your life or what`s happening in it which makes you happy, but your perception of it. This is the half full/ half empty cup which we talked earlier. If you think negative thoughts, you will not feel good and vice versa. Now you know that you can control your mind. So you understand that you are solely responsible for the quality of your life and your state of happiness. There is nothing wrong in being delighted in dramas, fears and worries if it is a conscious choice, and if somehow that makes you happy. But if it is true happiness that you are after, peace and bliss, then only you can provide it for yourself. No one else can do it for you. No outside circumstances will bring it to you and no amount of money can buy it. This is your work, decide how you want to walk this journey which is life, happy or not.

CONTROLLING THE MIND

Learning how to control the mind is work that we should all learn at elementary school. We do learn to develop the left side of our brain, and to focus and concentrate our mind on some given problems. But we are not taught that it is also important to use our mind wisely outside the school facilities. And more importantly we are not taught how not to use the mind when we do not need it. The western way of teaching has created children with a very intelligent mind but which quickly becomes out of control because of its overuse.  We make them forget it is just a tool, and encourage identification with the mind. That is one of the causes of the many depressive and suicidal tendencies developing during teenage years. The burden of the mind and negative thoughts become so overwhelming that the person cannot cope with their own thoughts. They do not know how to find the peace and the awareness of who they really are outside the mind. In an ideal world, school would teach children to develop equally both sides of the brain. And they would learn how to focus and use their mind to solve problems, as well as how to turn the mind off in order to not over load it and stay stress free. Power surges of the brain have become way too common in our western world. How many people have turned to drugs, alcohol or medication to find, even if it is for a short time, that peace and quiet inside them?  And then it becomes an addiction. We want to stay high. We want to stay happy. We want to stay blissfully peaceful. We`ll do anything to escape the incessant chatter inside our head. If only someone had taught us that we do not need any outside substance to turn it off. If only someone had taught us that we could be in control. People are telling you right now, all over the world. Don`t search for any more excuses not to start doing the work. It is never too late. You`ll never be too old or too young to learn meditation. It is just a question of will. Do you want to be controlled, or do you want to be in control?

LIVING WITH THE MIND

Imagine a life where you are totally free and happy, where there is no fear, no worries, and no problems. Imagine if you could live each day to the fullest. Carpe diem! Imagine if you could play life as if it was a big game. Imagine…When you know your mind and how to control it, that`s when you start living in harmony with your mind. That doesn`t mean your mind will disappear altogether. It just means that your mind won`t have any more power over you. You will choose to listen to it or not. You will choose to listen to it when it offers you reasonable solutions to a concrete problem in your life now. For example: what is the best way to invest my money right now? Which is the quickest way to go from A to B? How much is a two kilo bag of apples if they cost five dollars a kilo? Etc. You will choose not to listen to it when it mumbles on and on about improbable stress situations in an improbable future, such as: what if I don`t make it in time for my dentist appointment? Maybe I won`t be able to pay the rent next month. What if my car breaks down while I’m driving a country road in the middle of the night? Etc. You will choose to smile when you hear fearful thoughts, as if you are smiling at an innocent child, as you will know these thoughts are not real. And then you will start living, as you will understand that there is actually no fear to have, that there are actually no problems in life. You will know that each fear, each problem is a creation of the mind and as such they don`t really exist. You will be walking hand in hand with your mind but you won`t be fooled by it any more. There will be no more separation. You will be at one and at peace with life.

Extract from 7 Illusions

https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/434387