So much to worry about. When will this plague dissipate so things can get back to normal, when will I be able to go back to work in the office, and what about the elections. How many times do you catch yourself throughout the day worried about things that are out of your control? When you start to do this it almost seems like you’re in a different place you’re no longer paying attention to what’s going on around you, you’re just obsessing over this thing that’s causing you worry. And then finally when somethings snapes you back your mood has undoubtably changed for the worse. This can happen to any of us at any time, for some of us it happens when we’re least occupied at night. You can picture yourself laying on your back staring up at the ceiling or maybe your eyes are closed and you’re just worried, thinking about all those things that need to be tended to, or maybe there things you have no control over.
You can picture yourself laying on your back staring up at the ceiling or maybe your eyes are closed and you’re just worried, thinking about all those things that need to be tended to, or maybe there things you have no control over.
So how are we supposed to find peace of mind when we’re constantly obsessing over things that need to be done in the future? There’s this old koan, a koan is a story that Zen monks tell to illustrate a point about something. So this one goes like this. Once there was a Zen master named Zuikan who would always address himself by his name. “Zuikan?” He would call to himself and then he would answer “yes” and then he would call himself again “Zuikan?” and he would answer “yes” yet again. Zuikan was living by himself in a small zendo and had not forgot his name or who he was. He did this for another reason. Whenever he would lose himself in thought as soon as he caught himself he would say his name out loud as to snap him back into reality. You see these old monks no matter how much time they spend practicing “zazen” or sitting in meditation they still would occasionally lose their grasp on the here and now. You see sometimes the mind just wanders, we lose our concentration and we give in to worry or regret.
Now you probably don’t want to start wandering around your house calling out your name when other people are there, it may cause some confusion. But having something readily available to remind you to draw your attention back to the here and now is helpful. I wear a small cord around my wrist and I probably am looking at it hundreds of times throughout the day. I am reminding myself to maintain my concentration, and not tolet my mind wander to things that I don’t have any control over. I know other people that use a rubber band and whenever they catch their mind wandering they snap it on the wrist. Another thing that is helpful is to have one place to write down anything that comes to your mind. Any tasks you’re worried about or just things in general. If you have one place to write them down you can put them there and take them off of your mind.
If you find these things useful use them, make them you own. If there’s other things that we can help you with feel free to reach out to us at MindfulRhino.com