How to Train a Wild Elephant_ And Other Adventures in Mindfulness - Jan Chozen Bays [25]
The simple practice of just three breaths can come as a relief. It can interrupt this kind of downward spiral and renew our practice. We ask the mind to rest a bit, to be completely still, just for three breaths. Because we don’t have to count three breaths, we can enjoy them. When the three breaths are done, let the mind loose for a bit, then turn its full attention again to just three breaths. As the mind rests more and more in the present moment, it will naturally settle. Then, without effort, we can be present for a few more, and then just a few more breaths, until we are able to sit in relaxed, open awareness.
DEEPER LESSONS
Even at night our mind does not rest. It creates dreams and processes the undigested material from our days. All this mental activity, all these choices and possibilities, is confusing and even exhausting. Just as the body needs regular rest, so too does the mind.
To rest the mind in complete stillness, in pure awareness, is to return it to its original nature, its natural state. This task helps us break the habit of compulsive thinking. We don’t need the mind to narrate all the events of our life. We don’t need the mind to comment internally on everything and everyone we encounter. This narration, these comments, separates us from just experiencing life as it is.
The mind has two functions, thinking and awareness. When we are newborn babies, we have no words in our mind. We live in pure awareness. When we learn to speak, words begin to fill our mind and mouth. My two-year-old granddaughter chatters all day long, just to practice her new skill of talking, and she basks in the smiles and praise it brings from adults around her. Learning to talk is a necessary developmental step, but it is also the beginning of a mind that is always speaking inside our heads. This internal talking takes energy. The mind truly rests only when we are able to turn off its thinking function and turn on its awareness function. Usually we wait to do this until we have at least thirty minutes to meditate or center ourselves in prayer. However, we can also sprinkle short moments of mind-rest throughout the day. When our mind does rest, even for a period as short as three breaths, it can become refreshed and clear.
The Buddha talked about the unrestrained mind as a feral elephant. Its strength is dissipated as it runs around wildly. To harness its power, we must first tie it to a stake. This is what we do when we tie the mind to the breath. Then we teach the elephant to stand still. We teach the mind to empty itself and stand ready, alert but relaxed, waiting for whatever will appear next.
When the mind switches from productive to receptive mode, we return to the pure awareness of infancy. We are able to plug back in to the unlimited Source. Afterward the rejuvenated mind asks, “Why don’t we do this more often?”
Final Words: Prescription for health: Quiet the mind for just three breaths. Repeat as needed.
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Entering New Spaces
The Exercise: Our shorthand for this mindfulness practice is “mindfulness of doors,” but it actually involves bringing awareness to any transitions between spaces, when you leave one kind of space and enter another. Before you walk through a door, pause, even for a second, and take one breath. Be aware of the differences you might feel in each new space you enter.
Part of this practice is to pay careful attention to how you close the door when entering a new space. We often move immediately into a new space without finishing up with the old one, forgetting to close the door or letting it slam shut.
REMINDING YOURSELF
Put an obvious sticker, such as a big star, on the doors you commonly encounter at home. Also remember doors to closets, garages, sheds, basements, and offices. Or you can put a special mark such as a letter D