A quiet Mind is Life’s Workshop 

I  remembered an old saying “An idle mind is a devils workshop”. its quiet a common idiom and used often as a way of teaching children to be more mentally active. Yet could it be that this saying has conditioned us to be obsessed with thinking all the time . Just because our mind should not be idle we could be filling it up with thoughts. The thoughts could all be, so called “positive” thoughts say, about the future. About planning for the future or they could be thoughts about the past good times. In an effort not to keep our mind idle fearing that it will be overtaken by the devils plans we might have played right into the hands of the very purpose we were trying to avoid.  
 Here is how we might have ventured  right into the devils workshop.

 Here is how we might have ventured  right into the devils workshop.
(a) In thinking about the future:- if it leads to  playing out a constant, repetitive movie of what I  want. Making the movie juicy  by constantly playing out the thoughts. In doing this I could be missing out on the most vital action of Being- to be present in the present moment.   

(b) Thinking incessantly  about “What if” scenarios– this is a recipe for anxiety. Imagining a battle plan for every possible combination of my mental battle that i create. This leads to anxiety in the present moment prompting the body to feel the emotions of anxiety in the present moment rather then being relaxed and fully alive to what is  

(c) In an attempt not to keep my mind idle I indulge in the glorious past. How good the moments were, reliving the memories of a gone by era not realising that they are just memories. In doing this I have missed the most relevant space to enjoy freedom and peace – my present eternal moment   

(d) I have imagined how I could have done things better in all that I have failed. Mind is not idle but working to remedy past failures. What a trap this is in an effort to keep the mind active. This leads to miss out the opportunity to put things right here and now  
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(e) Through all this we are keeping an active running mental commentary of self talk about how to control life. It gives a false belief that just because i can think all the time I am in charge.  

​So what happens if you dont think. I have  experienced an absolute bliss when my mind is quiet. There was No devil, no workshop, no-thing. How can you have any of these when there are no thoughts at all. Most of the grief and suffering was definitely  caused by effort to keep up the active thinking switch”on” all the times lest I have an idle mind …. The more I thought the more trouble I invited. So yes I have been one of the many who used to be unaware of the fact that life goes on even without thoughts too. I had a wonderful moment when one day I realised I can be fully alive even without thinking. The intelligence to sustain the body and its functions is so present and active I need not “do” anything. It’s not through my thoughts that I am alive. Even if I just “be” life is  

When the mind is quiet life begins to manifest the divine purpose ..It is in decreasing the mind’s frenzy that the true path appears. Lao Tzu puts it very nicely in his 48th verse of the Tao Te Ching  
 “Learning consists of daily accumulating.   

The practice of the Tao consists of daily diminishing, decreasing and decreasing, until doing nothing. When nothing is done, nothing is left undone. 
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True mastery can be gained by letting things go their own way. It cannot be gained by interfering” 

​Therefore a quiet mind is the answer in the hectic lifestyle that we lead. So here are five things that help in reducing the chatter considerably   

1. Find time to Spend time doing nothing- that is To Be  idle. Observe what is coming into focus, going out of focus, what you see or hear, or touch, or feel. Now observe your thoughts as they come and go within your mind.  
2. Deliberately pencil in time to meditate each day atleast once . Use any technique. I personally use the Vipassana method   
3. If you like to read – do read “Buddha in Blue Jeans” It’s a short, simple and straight forward book available for free on amazon by Tai  Sheridan   
4. Find a beautiful spot full of natures beauty and go for a walk at least once a week  
5. Become mindfully aware of your breathing atleast 5 times during the day for a few minutes. When you direct your attention from Doing to just observing your breathing it has a powerful effect of reducing the minds activity.   

 Wish you all a quiet mind !!!!