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SHIFT May 2009: Mind Weeds – Taming the Garden of the Mind
When planting a garden, we take great care in choosing seeds that will produce the fruits and vegetables that will nourish our bodies. Similarly, we take great care with our choices about those things we wish to grow in our daily lives. Carefully planting intentions, dreams and ideas for our future. Doesn’t it sometimes happen though that foreign seeds find their way into our gardens? When this happens, we tend to discover that distractions and toxic thoughts slowly begin overgrowing our good intentions.
What do these weeds mean? Are the dreams, intentions and ideas not strong enough, do we not have the perseverance to clear out the mental clutter? Zen practices explain that those weeds can be used as an asset. By working through the weeds and eventually taming them, this practice helps us to strengthen our focus on what is truly important. But, how often do we kindly release the struggle and allow the weeds to overpower our minds while we distract ourselves with another corner of the garden?
From the book, Zen Mind, Beginner’s Mind, Shunryu Suzuki writes, “Nothing comes from outside your mind. Usually we think of our mind as receiving impressions and experiences from outside, but that is not a true understanding of our mind. The true understanding is that the mind includes everything; when you think something comes from outside it means only that something appears in your mind. Nothing outside yourself can cause any trouble. If you leave your mind as it is, it will become calm.”
Hmmm, so if nothing outside of you can cause any trouble – then we must find ourselves in this predicament because we take such toxic thoughts and fuel them with our own unfounded belief (which usually stems from fear, right?). So, if you leave your mind as it is, it will become calm. Practice this for a moment with one of the toxic thoughts/fears you have been encountering. Do not give this thought power or belief, just acknowledge it as a thought and let your mind become quiet.
Isn’t it interesting how calming this can be? To simply acknowledge thoughts as, well, thoughts – without giving them emphasis or meaning! As you practice this, you are actively pulling weeds and giving the seeds you’ve planted room and permission to grow. Slowly, over time, begin to pick and choose carefully which seeds you would like to see grow. Anytime you feel doubt creep in, or fear or anxiety, acknowledge it for what it is – a thought, an emotion – and remove the weight and the belief in it. Even just for a few moments. Imagine how different your life would be without that thought.
Your belief in those thoughts is what gives them power. Take responsibility for creating that belief and explore why you might be hanging on to that self-sabotaging thought. Nothing happens overnight, so as you work on managing one toxic weed, you’ll find that occasionally it starts to reemerge. Don’t panic! Just keep pushing through. Actively practice moving through that thought and you begin managing the weeds. There will always be mind weeds, but when you are prepared to work with them, your ideas and goals will flourish. Very few weeds will effectively infiltrate and destroy what you have planted because you are choosing to deny them power. Doing this provides power and strength for the flowers that are trying to grow.
Nurture your seeds – make a conscious choice about what you would like to grow. Treat those goals and dreams with love. They need constant attention and care. Tend to them and as the growth gains momentum, you will feel ease. During this time you can reward yourself by relaxing and enjoy the fruits of your labor, the production of your seeds, the growth of your efforts. As with any garden, prepare for your seasons, keep a gentle eye on the weeds and revel in the journey of what you are learning about yourself. Happy planting!
