In considering the age-old question, “who am I?” and “what is it to be human?,” one must have an idea of how the human mind works, of how it relates to the body and to everything that surrounds it.
As we watch the mind, we begin to see the automatic attachments and labels that the reasoning-mind forms. It labels things good and bad, safe and dangerous, useful or not useful. If every moment of each day is saturated with this analytical pigment, how are we to see reality clearly, as it is? In relation to the self, the reasoning mind wants to label and attach, declaring: “I am this” or “I am that—I have this type of personality and should appear this or that particular way.”
As human beings, are we bound to this selfish, reasoning-mind? Perhaps there is a strategy we can use to loosen ourselves from the reasoning-mind — a technique that would help us find contentment, focus, and connection.
First consider that we are bound to reason because it helps us make sense of ourselves and our surroundings. Why, though, is this so important? Take a baby upon entering life. When they are born, they are whole — their mental and physical properties are balanced. When we enter life, we have not yet developed a ”being of reasoning” that overtakes the body or the self. Though, as one gets older and is thrown into the ebb and flow of life, the mind takes over. We are taught to label everything, to rank things, and to associate emotion with certain thoughts.
The journey of loosening off reason can be inspired by our birth state as we practice bringing back that balance between the mind and body. We recognize that reasoning holds us in a state of some-thing: an immobile state of fear and attachment, where excess energy struggles to be freed.
How can we practice removing ourselves from the trapped state? We understand the origins, but how exactly does reasoning affect us? In moments of thinking, we literally become the energy of that thought. Likewise, if we are involved entirely in the now, without reason, we become the energy of that rich, present moment. We literally become that which surrounds us. In a more conscious state where we deeply experience everything that surrounds us, one fits in with the beat of life. In a state without the distraction of reason, we have the ability to recognize our surroundings as they are, to feel connected to a whole. To arrive here, we must contemplate fears and emotions that are keeping us attached to reasoning, and then let them go.
In a book I read recently, Paul Harding’s Tinkers, he discusses the self as a small piece in a shifting mosaic. Because of the nature of a piece—always being a part of the whole—it can let go and surrender to the support of something bigger. Instead of being caught up in reasoning, instead of trying to solve the massive puzzle of life, let go! Let go of constant shuffling in an attempt to perfectly fit into the frame. Just be, trusting that your mosaic piece is already exactly where it should be. As Harding so beautifully puts it, “be comforted by the fact that the ache in your heart and the confusion in your soul means that you are still alive, still human, and still open to the beauty of this world, even though you have done nothing to deserve it.”
Loosening Off Reason: An Exploration Of The Human Mind
Courtesy Photo
In considering the age-old question, “who am I?” and “what is it to be human?,” one must have an idea of how the human mind works, of how it relates to the body and to everything that surrounds it.
As we watch the mind, we begin to see the automatic attachments and labels that the reasoning-mind forms. It labels things good and bad, safe and dangerous, useful or not useful. If every moment of each day is saturated with this analytical pigment, how are we to see reality clearly, as it is? In relation to the self, the reasoning mind wants to label and attach, declaring: “I am this” or “I am that—I have this type of personality and should appear this or that particular way.”
As human beings, are we bound to this selfish, reasoning-mind? Perhaps there is a strategy we can use to loosen ourselves from the reasoning-mind — a technique that would help us find contentment, focus, and connection.
First consider that we are bound to reason because it helps us make sense of ourselves and our surroundings. Why, though, is this so important? Take a baby upon entering life. When they are born, they are whole — their mental and physical properties are balanced. When we enter life, we have not yet developed a ”being of reasoning” that overtakes the body or the self. Though, as one gets older and is thrown into the ebb and flow of life, the mind takes over. We are taught to label everything, to rank things, and to associate emotion with certain thoughts.
The journey of loosening off reason can be inspired by our birth state as we practice bringing back that balance between the mind and body. We recognize that reasoning holds us in a state of some-thing: an immobile state of fear and attachment, where excess energy struggles to be freed.
How can we practice removing ourselves from the trapped state? We understand the origins, but how exactly does reasoning affect us? In moments of thinking, we literally become the energy of that thought. Likewise, if we are involved entirely in the now, without reason, we become the energy of that rich, present moment. We literally become that which surrounds us. In a more conscious state where we deeply experience everything that surrounds us, one fits in with the beat of life. In a state without the distraction of reason, we have the ability to recognize our surroundings as they are, to feel connected to a whole. To arrive here, we must contemplate fears and emotions that are keeping us attached to reasoning, and then let them go.
In a book I read recently, Paul Harding’s Tinkers, he discusses the self as a small piece in a shifting mosaic. Because of the nature of a piece—always being a part of the whole—it can let go and surrender to the support of something bigger. Instead of being caught up in reasoning, instead of trying to solve the massive puzzle of life, let go! Let go of constant shuffling in an attempt to perfectly fit into the frame. Just be, trusting that your mosaic piece is already exactly where it should be. As Harding so beautifully puts it, “be comforted by the fact that the ache in your heart and the confusion in your soul means that you are still alive, still human, and still open to the beauty of this world, even though you have done nothing to deserve it.”