The pursuit of truth. How it enhances our relationship with the world.
All truths are easy to understand once they are discovered; the point is to discover them.
~ Galileo Galilei
Truth comes in two general forms—the objective universal facts and the inner subjective reality. Examples of objective universal truths include natural phenomena such as the earth, sky, water, air, and fire. These are common to everyone, and we enjoy them as a subjective experience through the five senses. We can also study them objectively through scientific approaches.
The subjective reality is much harder to fathom. There is no universal standard we can compare to, and no external means of study exists. But once we gain an experiential understanding that there is something beyond the mind, however rudimentary, it will enhance our relationship with the external world. The mind interfaces between our inner subjective reality and objective universal truths. The first step towards exploring our inner personal reality involves cleaning this interface.
The mind stands in the way of any attempts at inner discovery, just as we cannot see the stars in the sky when the sun is shining in the middle of the day. But once the sun sets, the stars which were always present reveal themselves. Similarly, once the mind is silent and quiet, it becomes easy to take the next step in the inner journey towards the truth of our subjective reality.
One of the reasons for the mind’s stubborn presence is our thirst for happiness. We use the mind to squeeze the juice of happiness from every sensory experience. When one experience stops providing us joy, we move to the next, and the cycle never stops. Much of this happens unconsciously through dwelling on thoughts related to past experiences. Mental activity that focuses on the past or the future through worry or desiring generates a lot of ‘grime.’ This ‘grime’ is stagnant mental energy. We can pretend to wash away such stagnant mental energy by harboring hopes and aspirations.
But there is a practical ‘window washing’ solution for the mind. The combination of wisdom and virtue acts like soap and water. It cleans the tangled mess of thoughts that becomes the lens through which we view the world.
If I were to look at a tree, I could not truthfully say that 100% of my attention would be on that tree. Most of it may be for a short period, but extraneous thoughts would likely capture some of my attention.
You may ask, how do wisdom and virtue improve one’s power of attention, which is essential for exploring our inner subjectivity and success in everyday tasks?
Waking up to the present is a virtue we can practice. A simple method is to bring our attention to the body, which has a finite boundary. As we scan the body—it does not have to be in a specific order—if we are careful not to let our attention escape the body's boundaries, we can assure ourselves that we are in the present. The easiest way to scan the body is to look at the visible portions of the body with our eyes open and not let our eyes wander elsewhere. For example, we can move our gaze from the elbow crease to the tips of the fingers and back several times.
While we do this, wisdom comes into play by recognizing thoughts related to the past or the future that may seek to distract us. Acknowledging those thoughts without interfering with their play creates a thought-free zone where we can keep our attention under conscious control.
As we clear our mind space, we don’t have to wait for a thoroughly ‘thought-free’ mind to derive benefits. Let’s say a glass window is completely covered with dust accumulated over the years, making it impossible to see out of the window. We don’t need to clean it thoroughly to view the outside. Cleaning a small corner will allow us to see the outside. Similarly, clearing a small amount of space in the mind free of thoughts will allow us to pay more attention to our tasks.
As the field of the mind becomes open and transparent, the inevitable question of the truth about our subjective reality will come up as a burning question. Human beings are intuitive explorers. The thirst for inner exploration grows organically from a relatively thought-free mind. As we discover the truth about ourselves, it becomes easier to understand the world and the people around us.
