Heal the Mind
“To enjoy good health, to bring true happiness to one’s family, to bring peace to all, one must first discipline and control one’s own mind. If a man can control his mind he can find the way to Enlightenment, and all wisdom and virtue will naturally come to him.”-Gautama Siddharta, the Buddha
Within the mind is the formation of our reality. Through the perception of the mind we see the world. Our collective reality is shaped by 7 billion minds perceiving as one. If the collective mind is sick, then it is safe to say the world we shape together will become sick. If we balance the collective mind of the human race then we would have a world thriving in a happy and healthy reality. This is not fantasy. It is one of many infinite possibilities of how we can shape our future together.
There was a study done back in 2004 in which scientists used MRI machines to scan the brains of Buddhist monks. Those monks who meditated the most showed more brain activity in the part of the left prefrontal cortex associated with positive thinking than novice mediators. Also, interesting was that the activity in the left prefrontal cortex far out weighed the activity in the right prefrontal cortex associated with negative emotions. The study also said, “A sprawling circuit that switches on at the sight of suffering also showed greater activity in the monks. So did regions responsible for planned movement, as if the monks’ brains were itching to go to the aid of those in distress.”
This study has been offered as proof that we can in deed change the way we think! Also, it shows that true happiness and compassion work hand and hand. When we are happy whole people, we gravitate toward helping others. Having compassion for others is a crucial aspect not only to our mental health, but to our over all well being.
From a Buddhist perspective the true nature of the mind is pure, limitless, and omnipresent. They see the mind as expansive. Like the sun, the arms of the mind stretch out over the horizon. This is the mind in a Zen state. Often times what happens to the human mind is that clouds roll in from time to time. These cloud trick the mind into thinking it is a prisoner. No longer able to see beyond the clouds blocking its view, the mind forgets its true nature. It forgets that it is still expanding, still reaching. It now sees itself stuck behind the clouds. The more it believes this about itself, the more the mind becomes unbalanced and sick. When the mind becomes sick within our consciousness, we begin to perceive a reality within this the illness of the mind.
When we grow in awareness beyond the consciousness of the mind, we can begin to heal the mind. We can become the soul beyond the mind to help the mind recall its true nature. Once this is established within the mind, we can begin to heal with the mind by seeing past the clouds that block our perception of reality.
Every single one of us develops these mental clouds within our lives. Whether it is physical illness or a loss of a loved one, we all experience suffering. Suffering causes the clouds to rise up in our lives. It causes the down pouring of emotion and the feelings of instability deep within, but it’s not permanent. We aren’t meant to live in this state. We are meant to heal the mind and sooth the storm, so the clouds dissipate and we can begin to see clearly again. It’s from this vantage point that we can begin to deliberately create a collective reality to shines the true nature of the mind.
One person, one mind at a time is all it takes to heal our common wounds. Please research below some spiritual practices that allow for healing of the mind. For a full list of spiritual practices that heal the whole self, go to our Healing Resource page.
Discover Healing for the Mind
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