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As a consequence of losing ourselves in our thoughts, which are sometimes fantasies that do not tie in with what’s actually happening, our sense of reality will be depleted, as will our feeling of happiness.
The more thinking that we do in our mind alone, the more useless thoughts we’ll accumulate. And when that happens, we become impervious to reality and the flow of our own thoughts. The klesha of ignorance will make us seek an escape from reality to the safety of the thoughts in our mind. Once we make it a habit, we easily develop a tendency to withdraw into our own thoughts, and it is hard to break out of that.
Step 1 – Setting rules for yourself and developing an inner strength that will prevent you from faltering The right thoughts (to correct your thoughts) The right speech (to correct your speech) The right conduct (to correct your actions) The right livelihood (to correct the way you live) Step 2 – Developing your concentration The right concentration The right cleansing of the mind Step 3 – Becoming aware The right mindfulness (to hone the sensors of your mind) The right views (to enable you to understand) The first part of the first step is to have the right thoughts, as indicated at the top
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‘What is my mind thinking about now?’ ‘What is it looking at?’ ‘What is it listening to?’ ‘What types of smells is it smelling?’
The passive state of seeing and the active state of looking. The passive state of hearing and the active state of listening. The passive state of noticing a smell and the active state of smelling something. The passive state of tasting something and the active state of savouring it. The passive state of touching something and the active state of feeling it.
In Buddhism, we believe that there are only four emotions that we should nurture in order to live happily: kindness, compassion, joy and equanimity. Kindness is the virtue that wishes for peace and tranquillity for all living beings. Compassion is an emotion of sympathy, wishing to eliminate problems and suffering in others. Joy is the ability to see others who are happy and to feel the same pleasure. Equanimity is a peaceful state of mind in which you eliminate the habit of feeling anger or confusion.
Everything affects everything else and is part of an interconnected whole, like the stars that make up a constellation. Don’t discriminate between those stars.
