My mind is like my pet dog, it has a life of its own. If you pay attention and engage it, it reciprocates. But if I turn my attention away, it assumes its own nature. I learn to pay attention habitually with ease. and to practice a healthy balance of allowing and positive reinforcement. Wait what? Positively reinforce my mind like you train a dog?
What do we allow? Ask ourselves – What is the most innate nature of a dog? What is the most innate nature of our mind?
Would you train the dog to stop sniffing? One of their most innate instincts. What if I tell you that is the same as trying to train our mind to stop thinking.
When do we show more patience? Ask ourselves – Has this behaviour or tendency been reinforced over a long period of time, is it an ingrained habit?
When we see clearly the nature of a habit and that it takes time to change, we can give ourselves a little more kindness and compassion.
How do we positively reinforce?
We use treats, rewards etc to train our dog to live in harmony with us, at the same we also shower it with love and cuddles. And we understand keenly that our dog is not us.
Do we do the same to our mind?
Can we learn to live with greater ease with our thinking mind, give it a little bit of observer distance, and show love and kindness. That, which we are only able to do if we stop trying to control its most innate instincts nor believe that it’s completely controlling our life.
Practice a little everyday.
Master your mind with a balance of attention and letting be.
