Monkey Mind

We had a wonderful morning with a Buddhist monk in a session called Monk Chat. Among many intersting things he told us, which I may blog about later - after we're back in Canada - he noted how we pay attention to our bodies but not our minds. As we cleanse our bodies, so should we cleanse our minds and the way to do that is through meditation.

Many of us suffer from Monkey Mind. This is exactly what you might think. Your mind jumps all over the place. this is especially true if you try to empty your mind and meditate and aren't used to it. As you sit quietly trying to empty your head of all thoughts, you find your mind flitting from topic to topic and into obscure thoughts that you haven't had in years. You are experiencing Monkey Mind.

The way the monks teach young children to meditate - which involves focusing your mind on one thing - is through walking meditation. They are given a full glass of water. They have to walk around and around a circuit and not spill a drop. You can be sure that the child's mind is focused totally on the glass of water. Not a bad exercise to sharpen your focus, is it?

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