Tuesday, April 1, 2008

The Utilitarian Mind

Heard Deepak Chopra say yesterday in a You Tube video that he meditates for 2 hrs every day. I tried that today. It was a different feeling, probably because of the long duration.

I could see that the mind very clearly. Grabbing on to one thing after another ... very utilitarian. May be a sound I heard, a thought from the past, a task I had to do ... it didn't matter, the mind wanted to grab it and put it to use in some way ... create a theory or a plan.

Then, there were moments of pure awareness in which I could immediately feel an energy rising in me. At these times, many sounds would be heard simultaneously and in all their depth and fullness. As far I could tell, no interpretation or analysis was going on. The mind was off. Just awareness was on.

My thoughts: We are seeking something we can identify with or use all the time. Meditation helps us have at least a few moments of pure awareness. This can expand our consciousness throughout the day and uncover more possibilities. Even daily exercise may be dispensable, meditation may not be (because body may just follow the mind ... Anthony Robbins gives an example of a person with multiple personality disorder who would become diabetic when he was assuming the personality that "had diabetes" and lose that condition when he switched to a different personality)