How to Deal with Your Unruly Mind: Meditation

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[tenged]

My husband had a stroke and the aneurysm affected his hypothalamus. His impulses are erratic and he dislikes himself. His mind goes straight to negativity. We are being realistic regarding healing. It's difficult and frustrating because he's used to being independent and that's been taken away. He's angry and justifiably so. This meditation will be invaluable and I'm so very grateful for you as I've been the brunt of this.

[AskBobnFran]

Excellent video!  We are both in our 80's and are all about healthy aging.  Getting older does have to mean getting sicker. We still strive for a strong body, calm mind, & positive outlook.  The videos you present are very helpful.

[LenkaSaratoga]

The legend is speaking, and there are less than ten.comments under the video. Something went wrong in our society. Millions of views and thousands of comments under something so not valuable, and so little attention to something that is OURE GOLD.

[ligerleaf]

Exactly what I needed to hear. Thank you. I have people judging me and assume I’m being lazy when I’m non-doing. I’m like a frog. I rest in the awareness before action. Then I jump!

[ptgms]

There are many past and present from UC that have a deeper understanding of all the complication that disturb the thoughts, without my investigating it further than this statement. However, speaking of concentration and removing at least the lack of interest in stuff. Worries and problems with fixed ideas that disturb the concentration and then seem to block the memory from working at its best or at all, mediation is able to help the person's memory work more efficiently by peace and harmony from within.

[ramyth]

शमार्थं सर्वशास्त्राणि विहितानि मनीषिभिः ।
स एव सर्वशास्त्रज्ञः यस्य शान्तं मनः सदा ॥
- महाभारत

Transliteration:
śamārthaṃ sarvaśāstrāṇi vihitāni manīṣibhiḥ ।
sa eva sarvaśāstrajñaḥ yasya śāntaṃ manaḥ sadā ॥
- mahābhārata

Meaning of the subhAShita:
The learned contrived all the śāstras (scriptures, treatises) to quieten the mind. He alone is cognizant of all śāstras, whose mind is calm at all times.

Commentary:
It is said that data is not information, information is not knowledge, knowledge is not understanding, understanding is not wisdom. Gaining wisdom is the very purpose of reading treatises or scriptures.

The very purpose of the contrivers of those treatises is to teach the reader 'how to quieten the mind'. All the śāstras proclaim the same key factor - the quietening of the mind. It is like many rivers flowing, all with the same purpose of pouring into the mighty ocean. If one has already reached the ocean, why would he require to know the flow of the river? Hence, the poet says, he who already knows how to keep the mind calm and placid has true cognizance and the mastery over all the śāstras! He does not have to read any śāstras or work towards achieving a goal in life. He would have already achieved the purpose of any being's reason for existence!


Each one of us is running in search of ONE THING. Tranquility of mind. He who has won that fort has no battle to fight, nothing else to achieve! May each and every one of us find inner peace and find it soon. That will certainly make the noisy world a much quieter and serene place to be in!

pada vigrahaH:
शम-अर्थं सर्व-शास्त्राणि विहितानि मनीषिभिः ।
śama-arthaṃ sarva-śāstrāṇi vihitāni manīṣibhiḥ ।

सः एव सर्व-शास्त्रज्ञः यस्य शान्तं मनः सदा ॥
saḥ eva sarva-śāstrajñaḥ yasya śāntaṃ manaḥ sadā ॥


मर्कटस्य सुरापानं मध्ये वृश्चिकदंशनम् ।
तन्मध्ये भूतसञ्चारो यद्वा तद्वा भविष्यति ॥
- समयोचितपद्यमालिका

Transliteration:
markaṭasya surāpānaṃ madhye vṛścika daṃśanam ।
tanmadhye bhūtasañcāro yadvā tadvā bhaviṣyati ॥
- samayocitapadyamālikā

Meaning of the subhAShita:
A monkey who is drunk, stung by a scorpion in between and invaded by ghosts amidst (all these) - anything can happen!

Commentary:
To begin with, he is a monkey. Then he is given alcohol to make him tipsy. (Like he needs alcohol to get jumpy :). On top of it, he gets stung by a scorpion. As if this wasn't sufficient, there is an invasion of ghosts!! What can be expected but catastrophic chaos?!! No one can predict the outcome of such situations, not to mention that the result will be different each time too!

This is a metaphor of the mind. The mind is already very unstable. What if it is provided with an ambience where it can splurge on all of its whims and fancies? On top of that, it is provided with the means to fulfill them without any hurdles anywhere! Nobody to ask nor to question! What will be the outcome of such an individual? Just as the verse satirically says, 'totally unpredictable' :).

Put a saddle on the mind and direct it in the right direction. Don't let it run wild and then end up repenting when situations get out of hand.

pada vigrahaH:
मर्कटस्य सुरापानं मध्ये वृश्चिक-दंशनम् ।
markaṭasya surāpānaṃ madhye vṛścika daṃśanam ।

तत् मध्ये भूतसञ्चारः यत् वा तत् वा भविष्यति ॥

[luvvcnn]

Meditation originally comes from Hinduism, the most primitive religion, which is the mother of Buddhism.

[spaceghost]

Doesn't this guy have enough money yet?