Gardeners of the Mind

It's been a while since I blogged from a cafe but here I am today, hogging a table at the Komugi cafe at a mall nearby. Feeling a lot better today after struggling a bit with the effects of the booster vaccine shot I had on Tuesday.  

My first dose of Sinovac knocked my body off-balance a little bit. And then my second dose felt like nothing as my body had acclimatized to it, I think. But the booster shot I had was Pfizer, something my body had never experienced before. It's no surprise that I felt its side-effects, which was thankfully mild--some headaches and tiredness--but uncomfortable, nonetheless.

Meditation always helps to stabilize the body and mind. Stripped of any spiritual or religious connotations, meditation is simply a good exercise for the mind.  Sometimes I conduct rather morbid thought experiments like: what would happen if I am jailed and put into solitary confinement? Will I be able to cope? This is when I think my meditation habit will come in handy. I'll just look at it as a meditation retreat! No more time pressures. No more trying to squeeze in 10 or 15 minutes during lunchtime. 

When time stretches ahead infinitely, it does something to the mind. It is like transplanting a tree sapling from a pot to the ground, it will start growing to its full potential. Which is why I always feel that I do my best work on weekends and when I am not rushing too much.

Thoughts grow creatively in an optimal fashion when given the time and space to do so. Ideas take time to germinate in the subconscious mind. It's important to plant the seeds first and put in the right soil and fertilizers. Allow them to grow on their own with the right amount of water and sunshine.

Mindfulness is simply the cultivation the mind soil so that it is healthy for the germination of good ideas and solutions. Cultivating a soil means eliminating all contaminants and weeds that hamper the growth of your plants.

Thoughts that are creative grow naturally, driven by its creative impulse. We just need to put them in the right soil. Thoughts intermingle, combine and synthesize into bigger ones on their own.

Pride, ego, fear and irrational obsessions are like weeds that inhibit the organic growth of the mind. They drain away the soil of its nutrients. When these thoughts and feelings arise, acknowledge them for what they are. The way to eliminate them is to allow them to disintegrate under the glare of awareness.

When we tend the garden of the mind carefully and lovingly, beautiful flowers bloom. Life become rich in possibilities. Remember, we are just gardeners. We can only plant seeds, cultivate the soil and water the saplings into maturity. The rest is up to the creative forces of the universe.