Yoga citta vrtti nirodhah ~ Yoga is the cessation of the modifications of the mind
I have been having thoughts about deconstructing thoughts. This has lead me to think up an innumerable sum of thoughts really since we can have so many millions of thoughts. Lest we permit ourselves to think them.
Small thoughts, long thoughts, deep thoughts, shallow thoughts, connected thoughts, uplifting thoughts and sad ones. Thoughts that inspire, move, awaken, create, master, analyse, impose, infuse, vacillate, juxtapose, surrender and let go and the list can continue till infinity. Makes me think of an endless ladder leading to the sky and the rungs you can climb on it have no ending.
A single thought has the ability to lift our spirits up or to drag us down. This makes me question (again another thought - since we are in the process of deciphering) — What really is a thought? Can you contextualise how an individual thought is formed?
A basic deconstruction would imply that a thought is a mere fluctuation of the mind. They make me think of waves on an otherwise calm ocean. Or of fluffy multi shaped clouds in the sky.
Can you separate the mind from the body or do they work as one? Can you distinguish the differences here? I often pose this question to myself and others.
What William Blake or Aldous Huxley called the doors of perception (otherwise referred to as the mind or Sanskrit manas) happens to be an abstract concept. There is no doubt of its existence however we cannot touch or see the mind, we can only think or perceive of its existence.
As such dharana or concentration or dhyana meditative absorbtion are among the limbs of yoga.
The body on the other hand is a physical entity, replete with form, weight and colour. The relationship between the mind and body is a symbiotic one, neither one can survive without the other.
Both the mind and body are capable of experiencing joy and sorrow. The mind interprets emotions and labels them and the body interprets signals sent from the brain (mind) to a particular portion of the anatomy.
Would this lead you to think that there parallels here? Would you want to think incessantly or just have life experiences happen to you without attempting to decode each and every mystery? Would you suppose there can ever be an end of thinking and if so what would that state be like?
Time for you to ruminate on my thoughts and perhaps leave me some of yours.
