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The mind's ability to be seduced by chaos
and disharmony should never be underestimated. This chapter discusses Harmony. We have discussed aspects of consciousness, awareness, and energy. Harmony requires us to balance the negativity
and chaos that we associate in our life with the positive signals and impulses that we receive.
Harmony is essential to have a fulfilled and successful life.
Meditation does this for us. Meditation takes us from the
socially conditioned state of the mind to the true natural balanced state that
we strive for.
Fortunately we are aware of this.
That is why we meditate. Often we are told that life has ups and downs or there
are two sides to a coin. That is true, even for the enlightened. However we
still have
the ability to balance the final outcome of
these ups and downs. We are aware, we meditate and just as
a portable phone picks up the signals it requires and discards the rest, our mind can carefully
absorb the positive and beneficial signals it receives and discard the rest. An awareness of
the opposite values allows us to balance our exposure to negativity and bring about this
harmony. We need to be able to detect negativity and hostility and consciously absorb it
without it scarring our unconscious. We live in the real world, which makes
it impossible to escape negative impulses around us We don't have to change our
life, our job, or our relationships to have harmony but we do have to meditate
consistently and be aware of the signals we receive.
Our
life is the coexistence of opposite values. We have to entertain happiness with
sadness, pleasure with pain. All our experiences are expressed through these
contrasts. We must accept this phenomenon and be aware of it if we wish to
meditate successfully and achieve harmony. Our mind perpetually oscillates
between a state of chaos and a state of control. In our daily events we either
want to control all our affairs or allow them to spiral out of control.
This can become reflected in our personality turning us into control freaks or
carefree and rebellious. Under these conditions what may seem a simple
endeavour can become unmanageable. Consistent meditation provides us with the
insight and inner strength and allows us to see our strengths and
weaknesses.
We rejoice in the comforts experienced by the external self such as jobs, friends and family. The outlet of all relationship and materialist passions gives us momentary satisfaction and provides us with energy and vigour Yet this creates a tendency for more and we can become so engrossed in our successes and failures that we can neglect the mind's true comfort and harmony. We can be materially comfortable but having an unbalanced mind keeps us dissatisfied and unfulfilled. It leaves us chasing goal after goal but never understanding the true attributes that caused us to be dissatisfied in our life.
In this struggle the satisfaction of the mind is overlooked while we pursue true materialist bliss.The mind
needs to be acknowledged and nurtured to be satisfied. The
true delight of the mind lies in love and harmony. We achieve this through silence. Our
regular and consistent meditation sessions provides the mind with an escape from the constant clatter of information that it
processes. The outcome of our efforts provides us with the wisdom, energy, and serenity that will keep our mind
and body in complete harmony. The more constant and balanced these attributes, the greater is the harmony between our mind
and our body.
An aspect of individual harmony is
practiced every day in our contacts with others. We all have an individual ego
produced from our own illusion. This limits our view and makes us extremely
self-conscious. It leads us to behave in the direction of our own
interests, and judge good and bad, high or low, right or wrong in relation to
ourself and others. This is often a very limited view, which is generally
partial and imaginary rather than true. Anger comes from nothing more than clever
words and half truths. Actions that result from a chaotic mind end in anger
and tears. A harmonious mind is less susceptible to be affected by the negativity
generated through egoistical self-centered actions of others. By not deviating from awareness and silence of meditation
we can ensure that the mind stays clear and free, protecting us
from the negativity of the ego.
Actions involve a risk of gain or
loss. If we examine every action which made us feel negative in our daily life
or upset us we are aware that the negativity of these actions caused darkness
and dissatisfaction. If on the other hand we consciously are aware of our inner
strengths and do not get distracted from the positive insights thought, speech,
and action can be adjusted, so that harmony may be established.
(c)Copyright 2001 Pleasuredrome