The Monkey Mind And Meditation

         The Monkey Mind And Meditation

Some may find the term, “monkey mind”, upsetting, derogatory, and insulting. That is a shame, as the point is completely lost, the ego is involved, and a natural human defense goes up. After all, we are supposed to be the “king of the primates,” aren’t we?

The first time I heard the expression, “monkey mind” being used in regard to meditation, I thought of Swayambhunath Stupa, in Kathmandu, Nepal. Sometimes, this is called, the
“monkey temple,” and it made me laugh to myself, as monkeys need supervision in human settings. The picture of unsupervised monkeys running amuck got into my head, and I was suppressing laughter during a serious lecture.

Monkeys can be nuisances when allowed to roam without some guidance. It is the same with the untrained mind that jumps from topic to topic, without getting much of anything accomplished. So please do not waste your time with being offended by the term, and try to allow yourself to see the comical side.

When you really allow yourself to enjoy life, and do not take anything too seriously, you can see that monkeys do not have it so bad after all. Far too often, the human mind spends too much time defending, worrying, posturing, influencing, fearing, and feeling embarrassed, to enjoy life to its fullest potential.

In fact, you are not your mind. You are responsible for your actions of course however, many things happen in the thought process before you do take action. For example: when you think a thought, images and options are created in the mind. As a result of those images, you get a physical feeling somewhere around your heart.

Whether the feeling is perceived as being good or bad, you either take action on it or you treat it as a fleeting thought that passes and may be forgotten. So if you have a fleeting evil thought and it passes - should you waste time feeling guilty about it? The natural safeguard for ethical behavior is your heart or “gut feeling.” This is the best indicator of what feels wrong or right.

Mankind is the only species that has the ability to influence the Universe, and create different realities. However, separating what is sacred from what is evil has been a dilemma for thousands of years. The disconnection from your inner self, nature, and Universal Energy, has led to excessive confusion in the human race.

I have much gratitude for meditation; it allows us to harness the power of the mind, calm down, get quiet and focus on one subject at a time. If you take the time for a daily meditation practice, your decision-making process will be much more controlled, focused and clear. The end result will be to look at the monkey with much more respect, appreciation, and a bit of humor.

To Your Freedom From The Monkey Mind!
Bryan Shumway

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