Three Minds in a Kettle
from 
JoeUser Forums
JoeUser Forums
With palms together,
Good Morning Everyone,
This morning as I lit my alter candle and incense, I felt an odd sort of peace. Sometimes when we take on a ritual and do the thing over and over and over again, we begin to either do it without thought, do it with thought, or do it with meaning. If I do it without thought, I am not present; if I do it with thought, there is me and there is "I'm doing" and there is the candle and incense. But when I do it with meaning I mean I do it with my whole self. Candle, Incense, Me. Just this.
It is difficult to really communicate these differences. Sometimes they are so subtle.
I think it is when we do something and there is no self-awareness involved. Sort of like that old saw about riding a bike. Its only afterwards that we become aware of what we did as individuated actors in the scene. Its not that we aren't aware of riding the bike, its rather, we are not exactly aware of each step in the process as separate steps apart from the whole.
We have this Reptilian Mind; we have this Mediating Mind; and then we have the Mind of Presence. Our reptilian mind is the mind of Id impulses. Eat. Take. Fight. Fart. you know, the more base elemental aspects of our animal lives. Our mediating mind turns these into dine, borrow or buy, reason, and please excuse myself to the bathroom. Our Mind of Presence though, well that's a whole other thing. No self. No duality. Just this. As we live in the Mind of Presence we are completely whole.
These three co-exist and are not ever extinguished. What we can do, through our practice, is learn to identify them and let each go. We should live without a tight hold on any one Mind. Each serves its purpose. Each has value. Yet none should be ascendant. This is to live in peace and harmony with ourselves.
Be well.
Good Morning Everyone,
This morning as I lit my alter candle and incense, I felt an odd sort of peace. Sometimes when we take on a ritual and do the thing over and over and over again, we begin to either do it without thought, do it with thought, or do it with meaning. If I do it without thought, I am not present; if I do it with thought, there is me and there is "I'm doing" and there is the candle and incense. But when I do it with meaning I mean I do it with my whole self. Candle, Incense, Me. Just this.
It is difficult to really communicate these differences. Sometimes they are so subtle.
I think it is when we do something and there is no self-awareness involved. Sort of like that old saw about riding a bike. Its only afterwards that we become aware of what we did as individuated actors in the scene. Its not that we aren't aware of riding the bike, its rather, we are not exactly aware of each step in the process as separate steps apart from the whole.
We have this Reptilian Mind; we have this Mediating Mind; and then we have the Mind of Presence. Our reptilian mind is the mind of Id impulses. Eat. Take. Fight. Fart. you know, the more base elemental aspects of our animal lives. Our mediating mind turns these into dine, borrow or buy, reason, and please excuse myself to the bathroom. Our Mind of Presence though, well that's a whole other thing. No self. No duality. Just this. As we live in the Mind of Presence we are completely whole.
These three co-exist and are not ever extinguished. What we can do, through our practice, is learn to identify them and let each go. We should live without a tight hold on any one Mind. Each serves its purpose. Each has value. Yet none should be ascendant. This is to live in peace and harmony with ourselves.
Be well.