Navigating Your Mind PDF Download

The untrained mind is like that of a child. It wants to grab shiny things, pick them up, hold them for one minute and then throw them away and start walking around looking for the next shiny thing to grab. It is constantly unsatisfied, grasping for this and that, seeking approval, acknowledgement, and attention, crying when something is taken away from it or when it doesn't get its way. Do you know children like this? Do you perhaps know teenagers with the same capacity, the same self-centered mind? Do you also know some adults that act like this? We should not judge them or look down at them. To do so is to look down and judge ourselves, for they are a reflection of ourselves. The only judge is God. People are usually not at fault for their untrained minds. When we understand why their mind is untrained, we can't help but have compassion in our hearts for them. The child often replicates and reenacts what it sees its mother and father do. Programming can come in numerous forms: culture, media, and society all play a role. Our fast-paced life takes a toll. Sometimes it's diet. A poor diet high in sugar can cause the mind to stay in a state of anxiousness. Some- times it's a lack of mindfulness in the community. If no one is there to teach how to water the seeds of the present moment and find fulfillment in the here and now, how can one be expected learn it? From a young age, we are pushed to act a certain way, think a certain way, and told we need to obtain certain things for happiness, security, and comfort. If no one is teaching us how to connect with our breath and body, then we go on living life in a state of ignorance and frustration. This in turn can breed mass disconnection to the present and mass ignorance. Only in the last 10 years or so have I seen more meditation classes being offered in schools to replace detention. It makes me very happy to see this taking place in the U.S.