The mind is volatile. Thoughts come and go, moving here and
there, going this way and that. We follow those thoughts and are tormented by
the emotions they produce. So life is like a roller coaster. We are either
elated, happy, or down and sad. Constant peace, joy and contentment seem
impossible.
Misinterpretation of the world, of the messages received
from the senses produces fiction in our minds, which in turn produces pain. We
do not see the world as it is, and as a consequence we live lives of delusion.
If we watch our thoughts, if we witness the Play unfold in
our minds, we can learn how to see through the film of delusion which normally
obscures our vision, stops us from seeing reality as it really is. We can learn
how to identify the source of the thought, the mind processes and the
consequent emotions.
Once we start to see which emotions are valid and which are
not, we can be relieved of pain. Once no longer deluded we live in freedom and
joy.
For example, you see your friend in the street and wave at
him. He looks right at you, then looks the other way, and carries on without
acknowledging you at all. There are many ways to interpret this, most of which
would be your mind playing tricks on you, and stimulating extremes of emotions
as a result:
- He is cross with me and is ignoring me
- He has heard nasty rumours about me and doesn’t want to be my friend anymore
- He is really ill, and has total amnesia
- He is worried about something else and simply has not seen me
Typical responses to the thoughts above might be:
- He has ignored me so I’m going to ignore him
- If he believes all those rumours I don’t want him as a friend
- OMG… he is really ill. I must call him an ambulance now!
- He seems very worried. I hope he is ok. I’ll call him to make sure he is ok when I get home. Maybe I can help him.
To be at the mercy of volatile thoughts makes for a
turbulent life of pain. To see reality as it is, means acceptance without a
sense of defeat, peace and a life of happiness.
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