“With your feet on the air and your head on the ground… you’ll ask yourself… Where is my mind? … Way out in the water, See it swimmin’.”
- The Pixies
In the 90s American indie band The Pixies produced a song about the wandering, unbridled mind and the possibility of observing it, or at the very least, locating it.
If only the mind were just ‘swimming’ when we get that sense that it’s out of our control, causing us sleepless nights, sending us on impossible missions or keeping us hankering for the next high on the roller coaster of our emotional existence.
There are ways, in modern psychology and also the eastern philosophies, to get a better handle on the mind, starting with simple observation. Part of the yoga process is to take a step back and observe the mind (instead of just ‘going along with’ our thoughts and feelings, possibly becoming flooded with or bogged down in them).
So, let’s take some time out for a few minutes to try this observer practice, a practice that can bring more peace and clarity, less chaos and disturbance into life. It may be difficult at first, but with a bit of practice it becomes easier for most people.
We will be noticing the body… the senses… and the mind. You can try to do this on your own or have someone read it slowly to you, as you lie down or sit with closed eyes. If you take about 30 seconds for each step, it will take 5 minutes. A bit slower through the last steps might be good too.
Sitting or lying comfortably, close your eyes and be aware of your breath.
Become aware of how your body is breathing automatically. Simply observe it in a detached way. Say to yourself “I am watching my body breathe.”
Bring your attention to different areas of your body in this way, as an observer, distinct from your body.
Then notice the senses - notice the temperature on your skin, the light coming in through your closed eyes, or whatever you can see through your open eyes. Any sounds nearby or in the distance?
Now, notice the flow of thoughts that come and go. Some fleet by, others stick around. Some are distinct ideas, some are simply an awareness of the senses.
Imagine yourself floating just above a stream looking down at the stream. Then, Imagine yourself floating just above the stream of thoughts.
Instead of resisting the thoughts or trying to stop them, just let it all flow by and when you notice yourself falling down into the stream, without judging. Just come back to your centre, as observer.
Become aware of how you, the self, are distinct from the thinking process. You can watch the mind, simply noticing the passing flow of thoughts, feelings, images. You don’t react, you are separate and detached from the mind.
Say to yourself, “ I make no effort to think but thoughts come automatically. I am watching the thoughts flow through my mind but I am aloof from them. I am the observer or silent witness of my mind’s activities.”
Stay a little longer with this awareness of the breath, the body, the senses and the mind stream.
In this way, we are practising being the observer. The observer, ourselves, is situated beyond thinking, beyond the stream. We are attempting to move or loosen the strong identification that we have with our habitual thoughts that are creating our experience of reality, creating the meaning around it - and as you get deeper into that practice you can choose the thoughts that you’re going to participate in. You can also begin to see your thoughts through a clearer lens. Our intelligence, which is also beyond the mind, and observable, helps us to discern which thoughts are helpful and which are not.
The ancient yoga texts compare the mind to mercury in the way it can be unstable and easily agitated. The mind is also described as having the potential to be a great ally, or a formidable enemy. When the mind is our enemy (when we have been unable to conquer or control and subdue the mind) we easily get led away by ‘anarthas’ or unwanted or uncomfortable emotions, like anger, greed, envy and illusion. If we’ve been frustrated in our attempt to control our environment and those around us who cause us trouble (those who make us angry or envious), it may be time to turn inward and have a go at handling something which is within our control - and that is the mind and our responses.
The practice of mindfulness brings us into an awareness of ‘ourselves’ as separate from the mind, separate from the chaos. The self is naturally calm and content… even blissful, so there is huge benefit in stepping back from the mind and observing rather than going with it. There is another natural flow of life we can tap into that is more ‘whole’ and less chaotic, where our tendency is to take care of ourselves (and others) rather than cause trouble for ourselves (and others).
I love the way this practice makes me feel - calmer, less reactive, and more content under a range of circumstances; feeling more present and more flow.
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