The mind’s energies and potential. Reclaiming our lost treasure.
Each of us has a fistful of diamonds when we come on to this earth. These diamonds are in the form of the energies, and the potential of the mind can bring us lifelong happiness. Somewhere in our childhood, we misplace those diamonds. We then spend the rest of our lives from that point on looking for happiness. Not just looking but begging the world for our happiness.
Every morning we wake up with a clue about those hidden diamonds. It makes a brief appearance before the first thought enters the mind. They hide in the field of the thoughtless mind.
Usually, the thoughts that enter the mind are not new ones or novel ideas that could change the world. It is the same old information we gathered sometime in the past that comes in a different form. Once we let the dam open, for the rest of the day, the mind has no rest. There is no silence or privacy. It becomes a very public place. We trade one thought for another, thinking we can buy off negative thoughts with a few positive ones. We depend on the mind for handouts of happiness.
Usually, the thoughts that enter the mind are not new ones or novel ideas that could change the world. It is the same old information we gathered sometime in the past that comes in a different form.
It is time that we reclaim the diamonds, the mind’s potential, we were given when we first arrived here. If someone said there is a sackful of diamonds hidden underground in your front yard, we would waste no time digging up the entire yard looking for those diamonds. We may have expensive ornamental plants carefully cultivated for years and nicely manicured grass. Driven by thoughts about the fortune that lies under the ground, we would likely not worry about those plants while turning the yard upside down.
We harbor thoughts we consider precious. These thoughts may be related to our wealth, status, intelligence, beauty, popularity, and so on. These are the ornamental plants of the mind. We carefully water and cultivate these thoughts, as these attributes add luster and value to our personality. The world sees our character and evaluates us based on that. We begin to depend on people heaping praise on us, and that serves as a fertilizer for the growing personality. Soon there is a thick growth, and all we know of ourselves comes from what our ballooning collections of thoughts contain.
Now, if someone comes by and says destroy everything in the mind that you consider as yours. It is natural not to agree. You may even call it a foolish act. It may have taken years to cultivate that personhood. Unless there is a promise of a more fabulous treasure, no one would be willing to give up what they consider as theirs and look for something bigger. Perhaps heaven was invented as a tool to make people give up entrenched thought, with which they deeply identify.
To go within, we cannot carry anything with us, especially the false identity of the I. But there is human greed. Not only do we want to hold onto everything we identify with, including our personhood, but we also want to take them along to heaven, a place we imagine being outside of us.
Everyone needs happiness. The cost of this happiness varies when it comes to the world. However, no matter how much we are willing to pay, the joy the world provides is not lasting. But the price is zero, in monetary terms, when it comes from within our being. Besides, that happiness which wells from within is durable.
Everyone needs happiness. The cost of this happiness varies when it comes to the world.
Just as we freely relinquish our identity as I am so and so when we fall asleep, if we can for a few minutes each morning put aside all our thoughts and worries, we may find our lost treasure.
The mind’s energies, when uncontaminated by thoughts, become a potent force. That force can help us live in the world while also clearing the path for inner discovery.
The first thing in the morning is the best time to put thoughts aside as it happens more naturally. Before the mind fills up, if we step in with attention and awareness, we can prolong that free state of mind. We will immediately know its value as it brings us peace and happiness right then and there.
Once the value of something is recognized, we don’t throw it away. Likewise, when we know the value of the mind’s energies, we will not be waste that precious resource on worries and fears. Instead, we can use that same energy towards making a better future for ourselves and the world.
During challenging times, the last thing we need is to be handicapped by our minds.
We can rise to this challenge if we don’t waste our energies in worry and fear. The old ways of life may not return. Holding onto them in our mind will do us little good. Instead, we can work towards reclaiming our treasure, the mind’s potential with which we can adapt to and remain centered while life changes around us.
