If we want to change something in our lives, or address a situation differently – in a new way, the mind will strongly resist and create catastrophic scenarios. It will scare us! This is because it doesn't have new solutions in its database. Western civilization has been raised from a young age to develop the mind. Everything must be thought through, figured out, considered... "Use your head! What else is it for!" And so we gradually lose our ability to perceive and feel, and only think. That's why we need to learn so much, that is, to fill the database as fully as possible, so that the mind has enough data.
The mind is an integral part of our being, and we would probably find an endless list of situations where it is very necessary. Yes, that's how it is. However, there are also situations where it greatly complicates life. It is purely analytical and works ONLY with what is known. In essence, we could compare the mind to a computer that generates answers based on stored past experiences.
THE MIND JUDGES AND EVALUATES
You go for a walk with a small child, and they see a sparrow. They exclaim joyfully: "Pipi." Their eyes light up as they observe this fluffy little creature. They absorb every movement it makes. They laugh out loud when the sparrow hops. That small child doesn't have the relevant data in their mind's database. They are simply observing with their heart and experiencing the present moment. And this presence fills them with happiness and joy.
We, as "smart" adults, immediately explain to the child that it is a sparrow. An ordinary, and even useless, bird. We fill the database with the necessary data. And what does this cause in the child's life?
We go for another walk. The child sees a sparrow. They announce: "Sparrow." They receive praise for doing a good job with the database. Unfortunately, that is where the encounter with the sparrow ends. The mind has taken control of the situation. The heart is silent.
Answer for yourself how our "smart" data enriched the child's life...
"Thinking means judging. You see something and you judge it. Either you appreciate it, or you reject it." (OSHO)
You see a flower, either you say that it is beautiful, or that it is not beautiful. You begin to assess its qualities and characteristics. Your mind immediately sends a query to the database and returns values that are suitable for that particular flower. Analysis begins. Data from the past is brought into the present, and the present moment is shaped by them. As soon as the past enters the present, you have missed the present. If you say, "this flower is beautiful," it is based on a past experience. You knew, you judged. You expressed its qualities in words. Words are judgments. Now you no longer see the flower. Standing between you and the flower is your judgment of its beauty. Your past experience.
OBSERVE. LOVE.
You fall in love. A beautiful feeling. A feeling when a being entered your life for whom you were willing to fully open your heart. And that powerful flow of Love through your heart caused that euphoric state, the state of falling in love. Your loved one is standing in front of you. And then it starts: "They are wonderful! They are attentive! They are considerate! They are..." And that's it! You have a "poster boy/girl"! What stands between you and your loved one is your judgment – "The poster person." And what will happen next? Your loved one will start to peek out from behind the poster. They will begin to tear it down. They will shout: "Hello! I'm here!" Until they finally succeed. And what will they hear now? "You have completely changed! I don't know you like that!" And for good measure, we close our hearts. Meanwhile, your loved one was only pointing out the veil that your mind placed between you.
And what to do about it? Exactly what Eastern methodologies teach. Observe! Not analyze.
"If you analyze, you are always going around in circles. When you observe, you have stepped out of the circle." (OSHO)
When I tell you, "look at the flower, but don't think," then speaking is not allowed. So what can you do? You can only be an observer. If you are present without thinking, if you simply look at something, that is observation. Observation therefore means passive awareness. Thinking is active; you are doing something. Whatever you see, you are doing something with it. You are not just passive; you are not just a mirror – you are doing something. And as soon as you do something, you have already changed that thing. That thing no longer exists in your life as it was. It only exists as a projection of your mind. Observation is experiencing pure being. You are you, and there is the flower. Through observation, you have the opportunity to experience presence, to experience an encounter with the flower, to become one with it.
The same applies to our loved ones. There's not much more to explain here.
We experience the most beautiful moments when we are silent in each other's embrace or when we hold hands silently.
Just be. Just observe. Just perceive. Be one. Ah!
If you want to experience, to observe, to be present... leave the words out. When you eat – eat in silence. When you walk – walk in silence; don't talk. Just walk, even for a few seconds, and you will glimpse another world – a world without words, the real world, not the world of the mind that humans create within themselves. Enjoy the moments "here and now!"
I wish you loving days.