Uncontrolled thoughts lead to the asylum, but controlled internal dialogue leads to an understanding of the nature of the mind and helps in the path of meditation and contemplation. In a monastery novices do not begin with meditation. First students are taught to purify their minds. Modern man is too impatient and wants to master the art of meditation immediately. Learn to have a dialogue between the observer and that which is being observed. Follow the imagination in this dialogue, analyze and observe the train of mental objects, and slowly control will be gained over these things. We rise above them, and they disappear from the domain of mind.
One‘s conscience already knows what is right and wrong, good and bad, helpful and unhelpful. One simply has to tune into his inner conscience, which guides him all the time. The first and foremost duty of a true and selfless teacher is to introduce his student to that inner guide which leads one during the waking, dreaming, and sleeping states. When one takes time from his busy life and learns to sit calmly in a quiet place, the inner counselor begins counseling. It would be helpful if therapists and psychologists, as well as priests and spiritual teachers, would learn to listen to the inner counselor and then introduce that inner guide to their clients and students.
If you do not want to meditate, then do not meditate. You should not have a fight with your mind; you should have a gentle dialogue with your mind. You will learn many things when you enter into self-dialogue. You do not begin with meditation itself. First you learn to set a regular meditation time, and then to have a dialogue with yourself.
If you have a dialogue with yourself for a few minutes or a few hours before you do meditation, then your meditation will be good. If you do not do that, then you use your meditation time for self-dialogue, and then the 'meditation' is not really meditation. Be a close friend to your mind, a very close friend. Let the mind whisper those inner secrets to you, and put all things in front of you. You need to make the mind your friend because it is either a great friend or a great foe. That which is an enemy can be converted into a great friend. Today you cannot face yourself; you don‘t want to know yourself because you are afraid. Once you know how to have this kind of dialogue with yourself, it will help you enormously.
First, you need to understand what you are doing wrong. Next, you need to create new grooves, so that your mind does not automatically flow in its old grooves, but instead begins to flow in the new grooves. Learn to counsel yourself and have a self-dialogue. Learn to mentally talk to yourself. Ask yourself why you are doing an action. Many times you will say to yourself, "I don‘t want to do this, but I have been doing it, so now it‘s a routine," and then you‘ll understand the process of habit formation. With all your idealization of sadhana and gurus and teachers, you have neglected one thing: you need to know something practical. You need to know a practical method of gaining freedom from those weaknesses that you have formed in your child-hood, which have become part of your life, and are difficult for you to resolve. In this kind of training, books can‘t help you; nothing external will help you. You need to consider why you often do not do what you really want to do. Put these questions to yourself and you‘ll find the answers.
Swami Rama
(Excerpt from Teachings of Swami Rama)
One‘s conscience already knows what is right and wrong, good and bad, helpful and unhelpful. One simply has to tune into his inner conscience, which guides him all the time. The first and foremost duty of a true and selfless teacher is to introduce his student to that inner guide which leads one during the waking, dreaming, and sleeping states. When one takes time from his busy life and learns to sit calmly in a quiet place, the inner counselor begins counseling. It would be helpful if therapists and psychologists, as well as priests and spiritual teachers, would learn to listen to the inner counselor and then introduce that inner guide to their clients and students.
If you do not want to meditate, then do not meditate. You should not have a fight with your mind; you should have a gentle dialogue with your mind. You will learn many things when you enter into self-dialogue. You do not begin with meditation itself. First you learn to set a regular meditation time, and then to have a dialogue with yourself.
If you have a dialogue with yourself for a few minutes or a few hours before you do meditation, then your meditation will be good. If you do not do that, then you use your meditation time for self-dialogue, and then the 'meditation' is not really meditation. Be a close friend to your mind, a very close friend. Let the mind whisper those inner secrets to you, and put all things in front of you. You need to make the mind your friend because it is either a great friend or a great foe. That which is an enemy can be converted into a great friend. Today you cannot face yourself; you don‘t want to know yourself because you are afraid. Once you know how to have this kind of dialogue with yourself, it will help you enormously.
First, you need to understand what you are doing wrong. Next, you need to create new grooves, so that your mind does not automatically flow in its old grooves, but instead begins to flow in the new grooves. Learn to counsel yourself and have a self-dialogue. Learn to mentally talk to yourself. Ask yourself why you are doing an action. Many times you will say to yourself, "I don‘t want to do this, but I have been doing it, so now it‘s a routine," and then you‘ll understand the process of habit formation. With all your idealization of sadhana and gurus and teachers, you have neglected one thing: you need to know something practical. You need to know a practical method of gaining freedom from those weaknesses that you have formed in your child-hood, which have become part of your life, and are difficult for you to resolve. In this kind of training, books can‘t help you; nothing external will help you. You need to consider why you often do not do what you really want to do. Put these questions to yourself and you‘ll find the answers.
Swami Rama
(Excerpt from Teachings of Swami Rama)
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