Your New Best Friend: Meet Your Mind

Every day we wake up ready to start a day that is filled with goals, relationships, plans and experiences. We each do our best to succeed and to do things meaningful to us and those we care about. In that magnificent enterprise which is your life, your best friend is with you each moment and in every place. Your best friend is your mind.

Your mind is subtle and powerful. It responds to every thought or feeling, even the unnoticed and apparently insignificant ones. It helps you to perceive your experience and act effectively. It is so close and intimate that you may not even notice it. You might even neglect it and assume it will just be there with no need for a conscious relationship. It is like your eyes. You see through them so you do not see them. You can see that everyone else has eyes but you cannot see your own unless you have a mirror—a way to observe yourself.

Meditation is a mirror in which you can see your mind reflected. Meditation creates a conscious relationship between you and your mind. Your mind has its own qualities, actions and play. It has a practical structure in its flow of thought and feelings. You have your own quality as a human being. You are just you; you are not your mind. You are a presence and a witness; a consciousness that has a fundamental quality of calm clarity—the sattvic guna.

Most of the time, we are simply unaware. We are inattentive or careless and act only on impulse, reaction and automatic habits. Meditation creates a natural relationship between you and your mind. It frees and empowers you. It opens space for your soul and intuition. As a human being you have the right to originate a thought, feeling or intention. You can plant a seed that will mature, express who you are, and manifest your intentions. You cannot stop the constant production of thoughts and feelings, but you can align, filter and originate ones with your consciousness to fulfill your purpose. In The Mind book Yogi Bhajan teaches that:

“Every human being who wants to excel and to develop the character and caliber that upholds the values of the soul, needs a direct, fundamental relationship to the mind. You must have a basic practical understanding of the mind’s conception, properties, aspects, projections and 81 facets….It is not an intellectual debate, but an intelligent confrontation with your own experience….How can we accomplish this relationship? That is why we meditate…In the world of the mind you may have control or no control. In meditation you begin to realize that there is a world of you…where your mind is your servant and not your master.” pages 3-6

First STEPS The first step is to meet your mind. Turn your attention to your mind by consciously witnessing its play from your own still presence. Watch the way your particular mind behaves. We all share the experience of a personal mind and our connection to a universal mind. Each individual mind has its own tendencies and characteristics shaped by history, environments, genetics and karma. Knowing your mind and accurately recognizing the vast differences between minds is critical for good communication, relationships and success in our life. What flows through your mind? What thoughts, feelings, sensations, intuitions and stories? Where do those thoughts come from? What stimulates them? Can you distinguish an image from a dream, a fantasy, a memory and an intentional thought? How do you react to your own mind and its flow? How does it react to you?

By simply directing your attention you can create a stronger relationship to your mind. Attention is a kind of invitation to your mind to participate with you. Just as in a meeting with a potential friend, you pay attention, listen, and are fully present to allow and attend to whatever your mind brings to the meeting. You will quickly recognize its character and characteristics if you stay neutral and present. Once you establish this relationship you can use your mind to understand, analyze, create, express and project. Your friend will help you succeed and fulfill your goals.

The good news is that this can start with as little time and effort as a single conscious breath!

• From the Level Two Mind and Meditation Manual

Do you wish to take the next step in your spiritual path? Consider joining us on a journey to the sacred land of India for our Level Two Mind and Meditation Immersion. This unique retreat in the sacred landscapes of Anandpur Sahib and the Golden Temple offers an unparalleled opportunity to deepen your practice and enhance your intuitive abilities. 

Don’t miss out on this transformative experience. Enroll today and embark on a life-changing adventure to the spiritual heart of India with Level Two Mind and Meditation India Immersion.

Teacher