As I sat down to write this, it occurred to me that my mind was blank. Totally blank. A deafening absence of thought greeted me.
At first I panicked. As regular readers know, this missive comes out every Tuesday unless technical glitches intervene. Not only do I always, or so I thought, have something on my mind that fits into this space, but the regularity of it is good for me. Most of my life is an ever changing series of activities taking place in random places around the world with an often changing collection of people. As you read this, assuming you read it within a day or two after it arrives, I am in Dubai for a few days surrounded by people I have never met before.
On second thought, I realized that without any effort on my part I had arrived at that state reached for by practitioners of mediation: an empty mind. Once I got past the panic, it was quite pleasurable. Vaguely comfortable, somehow relaxing, and very calming. A state completely divergent from the racket normally filling my head.
I savored the experience for a few minutes.
As I got myself moving again several things occurred to me. First, I found Clearing The Mind Meditation since I would like a better way than total randomness to find this place again. It’s some simple directions with a bit of philosophy thrown in.
It starts with a quote from Shunryu Suzuki,
It is mind that deludes Mind,
For there is no other mind.
O Mind, do not let yourself
Be misled by mind.
When I started to write this after my mind got moving again, I was going to mention the clarity of thought I experienced as I began to address issues around me. I was going to mention the value of clarity of thought for executive decision making. Clarity of thought combined with a calm ability to focus on one and only one thing. Clarity of thought and calmness enabling a total focus on the most important thing at hand. Clarity of thought created with a few minutes of ending the clutter of thought distracting your thinking.
Then I read the Suzuki quote and changed my Mind. I decided not to mention clarity of thought and instead to offer you an even more interesting idea for improving your thinking. Think about the meaning of the first line, it is mind that deludes Mind. Your mind is your own worst enemy, leading you astray. Your mind gets stuck, gets caught with old knowledge and plans, blocks new ideas. You have too watch out that your mind doesn’t get set in its ways and lead you astray as it keeps your Mind from creating anew.
Beware the clutter in your head. Beware the ossification of your ideas. Be it mediation or long walks or some time by yourself in the midst of the havoc of a full Starbucks…however you do it take a clarity break and clear your mind so your Mind can roam free.