The inspiration behind this blog comes from the great Meditation teacher, Joseph Goldstein. I was
listening to one of his talks, where he explained a very interesting concept -
“Movement masks Dukkha”. (‘Dukkha’ in the Pali means suffering).
According to him, every ‘movement’ that we
do, is to get rid of a suffering of some kind. For example, if we decide to sit
all day, within a few minutes we would get uncomfortable. To push away this
discomfort (mask this suffering), we would feel the need to stand. Eventually,
even standing for a while would make us uncomfortable and we might get an urge
to lie down. Movement masks Dukkha. Movement distracts us from our suffering.
It is easier to indulge in a movement, than facing the discomfort. Please note
that in the context of this blog, the word “movement” will stand for “a
distraction that is created to avert suffering”.
Now, this would have been good news, only
if this distraction could dissolve our discomfort from its roots. It does not.
Distraction just gives us a temporary relief by taking our mind off what we
feel in that particular moment. If we decide to pamper the mind with one
distraction after another, eventually the mind gets addicted to these
distractions. This amplifies our stress and thus our suffering. We get into
that rut of finding a new distraction all the time. Being with yourself becomes
more and more difficult. Although the intensity may differ from person to
person, we are all trying to mask our “dukkha” in one way or the other. Even
while writing this blog, I have had the urge of checking my mails, adding new
songs in my playlist and watching the next episode of The Walking Dead.
These movements can be simple movements
that we do without awareness. This includes actions like continuously tapping
the feet, checking the cell phone too frequently, opening and closing the pen
cap, smoking, etc. Most of the time, our awareness is so low, that we don't
even realise that we are indulging in such movements. How many times has it
happened, that you are tapping your feet involuntarily and your friend brings
it to your notice?
Now sometimes, we resort to a more complex
and a more dangerous distraction plan. These movements can also originate out
of a deeply formed habit pattern. A lot of times we come across “workaholics”
who have chosen to bury themselves deep in their work, as a way to distract
themselves. If your workaholic habits have originated from intense passion,
then that’s good news. But one can’t deny that many a times, lot of us drown
ourselves with work to run away from ourselves. People suffering from substance
abuse also fall into this category. A few of us are constantly drawn to the
habit of multitasking. Basically, any habit pattern that keeps you away from
yourself, falls into this category.
Awareness!
That is what we need. Awareness. As a simple exercise, one could snap out of the thinking mind at different times in the day, just to analyse how one feels. Stress? Worry? What is the pre-dominant emotion being experienced? For long term distractions, we need to dig deep and ask ourselves a simple question - “Is my passion just a distraction? Or is it something that I really want to do?”
We need to spend more time with ourselves.
That is what we need. Awareness. As a simple exercise, one could snap out of the thinking mind at different times in the day, just to analyse how one feels. Stress? Worry? What is the pre-dominant emotion being experienced? For long term distractions, we need to dig deep and ask ourselves a simple question - “Is my passion just a distraction? Or is it something that I really want to do?”
We need to spend more time with ourselves.
Believe me, creativity is not born out of
these distractions. These distractions are far from fulfilling. This is a mere
activity to keep us away from our present awareness. Distractions are not
wholesome. How can we expect to create something beautiful from a habit pattern
which is stress driven? To create something meaningful, the source needs to be
something pure, natural and unadulterated.
We are not enlightened beings and it is
natural to resort to these distractions. However, the extent to which we depend
on these has to be steadily reduced. This can only happen through awareness.
Awareness, like always, is the key here. :)
