One Thing At A Time…
Have you ever tried to think of a song while another was playing? It’s almost impossible to remember the melody of the song you’re trying to think of and you’re likely to be left completely frazzled. If we look more deeply at what’s happening in a situation like this, we can get an idea of how the logical portion of our mind works.
The natural conclusion that arises is that the logical mind can only process one “stream” of information at a time. If we follow this understanding a bit further we realize that, as we’re thinking, we cannot be totally aware of anything else. Since we’re in the information age, the logical mind can be thought of as a computer that is serial in nature, meaning it can only be aware of one thing at a time. Though it may appear as if we are able to multi-task, what is really occurring is that our logical mind is moving very quickly between tasks. For practical purposes, each switch is wasted mental energy.
The implications of coming to this understanding may not be apparent at first. But, if we take this understanding and apply it to our life as a whole, we can start to see the value. When we have a thought, we are less able to see other details of our experience, and often the thought hijacks our attention. Our view of our situation in life is basically a series of thoughts. If these thoughts are negative or don’t assist us, they are just wasted energy, or worse — they lead us away from our true desires.
“The soul becomes dyed with the colour of its thoughts.” — Marcus Aurelius
Life Is Like A Series Of Trails
Life can be confusing. It’s like being lost in a forest that has lots of trails. As we are on one trail we cannot be aware of another, just like we cannot think two thoughts at once. Sometimes, we can feel stuck on a trail and we’re not able to see another trail or even what trails we’ve already taken. So if we found ourselves lost in a forest, instead of just walking aimlessly, the best thing to do would be to find an elevated place to view the terrain. In essence, if life is the forest we’re lost in, meditation is the act of climbing a mountain and getting a glimpse of the possibilities.
Just one of the many things meditation does for us is that it allows us to “climb” above our thoughts and situation in life. But just like climbing a mountain–it takes time and effort. we’re probably not going to make it to the top on the first time. Over time, meditation allows us to view our current situation more completely by strengthening our intuitive mind. In contrast to the serial or “one thing at a time” nature of the logical mind, the intuitive mind is able to grasp situations as a whole. This opens us up to seeing new possibilities for our life — that we wouldn’t have seen otherwise.
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