Quick! Don’t think of a pink elephant in a tutu!
So. What are you thinking about?
We’ve had our minds all of our lives, you’d think we’d have a little more control of them, wouldn’t you?
Now here’s a more serious request.
When I say “now”, try closing your eyes and emptying your mind of all thoughts for about 10 seconds……… Now!
How did you do? (You! In the back, I know you didn’t even try!!!)
But for most of us, this is one of the most difficult things we could be asked to do.
To think of nothing. To take control of our minds and stop the constant mental chatter.
Why Bother? One of my favorite teen questions.
Imagine you could not see the stars or the sky and your only way to ever get a glimpse of them was through their reflection in the water. Now imagine that the water was constantly moving. Filled with waves making the water choppy. You couldn’t see very much of the sky and what you could see wouldn’t mean all that much (as to what was above you).
Now, think what would happen if you could stop those waves to the point that the waters became calm, still and revealed a perfect reflection of the sky. You would then see what had been hidden for all that time. One more allegory:
Plato’s cave. Imagine every one you know being chained alongside you to a wall in a cave and that this was how it had been for your entire lives. You watch the shadows projected on the wall every day from a fire behind you that you cannot see. Eventually you all begin to see those shadows as the only meaningful way to understand the form of life. Then, bam! You break free! You get out of the cave (but cannot free the others) and you go out and see the true forms of reality instead of the shadows they cast on the walls.
That is where most of us are right now. Unable to see the stars, stuck in the cave, staring at shadows.
The only way to break free is … calming the mind.
So right now maybe you imagine that I’m in a lotus position, playing the sitar and wearing garlands of flowers around my neck. Nope. I’m at my computer writing all of this down and yet ….. I am at another place at the same time; (while vacuuming is going on down the hall and my dog is barking at the local cat strolling across our fence), I am in a state of calmness, open to my intuition and inspiration.
Getting there simply requires some simple techniques and the patience to do a little bit of it each day.
When I teach these basics techniques to young adults to help them find the calm beyond their chaos, three things happen to them:
1) They become less reactionary to whatever the world throws at them.
2) They start to see beyond the moment they are living in and tend to get a bigger picture of their lives.
3) They are open to taking control of and owning their own lives.
No matter how much you are convinced that your mind is incapable of slowing down and incapable of eliminating that inner chatter, I promise you that I have seen people with zero attention, 100% energy and zero belief in this process take control of their conscious minds and begin a path to self-enlightenment that comes from quieting the mind.
Now for that moment at the end of the movie/TV program that drives us all nuts….
I will show you how to do it…. next Friday. Stay tuned!
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Stay tuned for more upcoming articles from Ken
Friday, Nov 25 Meditation and Visualization for Teens
Friday, Dec 2 The 12 Steps to Success for Yound Adults – Step Five – Hobbies and Volunteering
Friday, Dec 9th My Teenager’s Hobbies Scare Me!!
All of these weekly articles combine to create a complete system.
To see a list of previous Ken Rabow articles, go to: http://www.reallifecoaching.ca/rlc/Published_Articles.html
To see a video of Ken and one of his clients go to: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zO_xi1yt8Q4
Ken's masterful writing makes profound change seem easy. As always, thanks!
I truly believe profound change is easy once you have direction, intention and certitude in day-to-day action. As for my my writing abilities, I will chalk it up to my grade 5 teacher Mrs. Moss.
Thank you for your kind words. It is much appreciated.