Crossing the Inner Chasm: From MindLESS to MindFUL

From MindLess and MindRapt to MindFul As we begin to be more mindful in our lives and shift away from living mindlessly in an auto-pilot manner, we need to acknowledge the chasm that exists between these two states of being. We usually tend to categorize things into just two buckets – whether they be good/bad, right/wrong, rich/poor, kind/rude, and so on. So here again, we tend to create two buckets—Mindless and Mindful.

Unfortunately, the chasm in between the states of operating in a mindless manner and being more present and operating in a mindful manner is a big one. In my opinion, this is a state where we are consumed in thought and our minds. I refer to this state as MindRapt. I struggled many months trying to describe this state of awareness and finally labelled it Semi-Aware in my book Beyond the PIG and the APE: Realizing Success and true Happiness. Finally, I came across this word rapt, which seemed so appropriate for what I was trying to communicate. The word for those who would like to know more, means several things including—engrossed, absorbed, fascinated, blissful, captivated, engaged, immersed, oblivious, consumed, lost, and more. So, it seemed like a good neutral word that could be used in both positive and negative contexts.

The MindRapt state is the one many of us tend to live most of our lives; incessantly absorbed in thoughts about the future or our past. We are almost never where we are. We are constantly worrying about the future, whether it be ours or our children’s. If not the future, we regurgitate the past and ruminate on it over and over. Doing so, we completely miss out on the present, the only real moment there is. As our world moves faster and we try to keep up with it, we even trade our rest that we so badly need for thinking.

At a meditation workshop that I attended several years ago, the instructor asked the group to share what they thought meditation was all about. The answers that came back ranged from, “It’s a technique to control the mind to it’s a method to stop thinking.” After listening to our descriptions, he posed this question and quickly got our attention. How does your body get rest? Everyone said sleep. He then asked, “How does your mind get rest?” He then explained that sleep does not always help the mind rest. Only deep sleep does, while REM sleep does not. How many of us have experienced a long night of sleep only to wake up completely exhausted. Ever considered how that happened?

Balancing the needs of the Heart and the Mind While a lot of importance is given to thinking, it can also ruin our present, if we are not vigilant. While we may never be able to shut down or control our thoughts, we definitely have the power to gentle set them aside. Identifying ourselves with our thoughts is a source of a lot of misery.

So, how can we shift from the MindRapt state into the state of being MindFul?

One way that has worked well for me is to see thoughts as just thoughts, and that they are not me. This helps me to avoid getting hijacked by my ego. Another way is to distinguish between the voices of our heart and our mind. This level of presence can also help us discern when is it appropriate to listen to one over the other. It is perfectly fine to use the product of our thinking to solve practical problems that are present in front of you, while it may be futile to attempt solving imaginary problems using pure logic and thinking. Another simple way to create more MindFulness in your life is by following any regular contemplative or reflective practice that works for you.

Peace and be well,

Krishna

P.S. You can find a lot of great resources at www.mindful.org

Up Next: Better Choices = Better Life.

Discussion

Louise Cox Chester May 8, 2013

Thank you for a lovely post today, by the way! 🙂

Please excuse typos. IPhone screen too small for Pitman standard to prevail.

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Caroline Hopkins May 13, 2013

And in that Inner Chasm of Mindrapt we can also be aware of non-judging and being kind to ourselves which we tend to do when we are being Mind Less.

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Alex Landefeld May 17, 2013

While one can view the “MindRapt” state as a negative thing, detracting from experiencing the “present”, it can also be viewed as neither positive nor negative, but as “situation normal”. By moving this MindRapt state to a point of normalcy, we allow ourselves to not worry about the “fugue” state that our mind is always in (not to be confused with the “fugue state” term used in psychiatry). The thought stream is like a river we’re swimming in – we are constantly swimming in, using, drinking, using the thought-water. Meditation is a platform in the middle of the river, allowing us momentary respite, an intentional vacation, from the thought-river. While “blanking” the mind can provide this respite, like the white space in “The Matrix” to which Morpheus introduced Neo, distracting the mind can be more productive. Distracting the mind can be as simplistic as focusing on a sound or word, or as complex as purposely focusing on two or three activities, like while doing Tai Chi or Qi Gong, where you are paying intentional attention to breath, movement, and energy flow. Focusing the mind therefore gives a brief pause from the normal MindRapt state, and gives one an easy place to retreat to during times of unusual stress.

..Alex.

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Varun Viswanathan May 18, 2013

Hi Krishna,

Thank you for creating this amazing blog! After reading your book and doing t’ai chi and meditation regularly for the past year I have noticed that I can reach the MindFul state easier and have a clearer idea of what it looks like. Yet despite many benefits, such as increased joy and relaxation, improved health, having more energy, and improved social interactions, I notice that the heightened awareness is still not loosening some of the more habitual thought-patterns. When you discussed watching your thoughts and seeing them as they are, as just thoughts, I was thinking that my skill at this changes in waves. Some days, especially when I’m in a good mood and there are less activities going on, it is easy for me to witness my thoughts as they are and accept them. But when I have a more hectic and stressful day I have trouble with this. Additionally, with the more major, recurring problems in my life I am not able to keep the awareness focused and accept my thoughts for long enough to bring solutions to these issues. Sometimes the awareness feels forced and it the effort to raise my awareness leaves me mentally exhausted- I was wondering if you had tips on how to keep the awareness flowing naturally, especially in frustrating situations, when my PIG, APE, and ego are at their most stubborn and intense levels.
Many people seem to have trouble increasing their awareness because they think their mind and ego, and level 2 awareness, are all there is. I was wondering how people who do not believe in or have access to a spiritual teacher or training in a spiritual practice can detach from their thoughts and reach level 3 awareness where there decisions can occur through the “big you”. Some people also seem to dismiss intuition as mystical nonsense and assume that logic is a more practical and efficient method to make decisions. How could one explain the process of using intuition to make decisions in a way that is more operational if that is possible?

~~~Varun~~~

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