Mindfulness and the Monkey Mind

Sometimes prayerfulness is hard work - and that's a good thing. I had an interesting situation last week where upon receiving an email from someone my monkey mind started jumping up and down and screaming. Thoughts about what had been written, what it would mean, what was going wrong, and what could go wrong started to climb around my brain like a monkey through a forest roof. Most interestingly that little monkey would insist on my spending time on working out how to best prepare, all the while alternating between screeching and chattering as it munched on a banana.

"Prepare for what?" I asked the monkey.

Fortunately, I did not spend too long with the monkey, at first. I thanked the monkey for its insight and gave it another banana. What can I say, I was feeling magnanimous.

However, like many monkeys this one wouldn't shut up or go away. As I trekked on through the forest it started following me. Clearly it wasn't done, and it would appear neither was I.

After about an hour of shooing the monkey away (I was out of bananas by now) I decided to meditate. Imagine if you will the tranquil forest, leaves gently rustling in the wind, and atmosphere threaded with sunbeams. I was just getting my mind cleared when that beautiful moment of clarity was shattered by chatter.

"EEEEE...OOOOOHHHH....BUT WHAT AB..."

"Shhhh..."

There is value in listening to the chatter of the mind. However, there is little value in dwelling on it. The question then becomes; how much energy are you going to invest in feeding your monkey mind bananas? Personally, I was done by the third banana, and besides I was hungry for some peace.

After some effort I did complete my meditation in peace. A couple of times during the next day the monkey mind returned offering concerns around the email once more, holding out a hand for banana with a toothy and expectant grin. Each time it became easier to focus on being mindful. By the third day the monkey was done with the topic, and so it would seem was I.

By the fifth day I was able to smile at the outcome. The situation the monkey mind had sought to so prepare me for turned out to be nothing but a good thing. I had seen the God in both the event and the person, and in turn had been proven right. But more importantly, I took a moment to thank the monkey. It had provided an opportunity for me to be mindful, to see the divinity in the moments it had scurried about my mental forest, and I had come through the journey wiser and stronger for the experience. Thank God for mindfulness and the little monkey!

Blessings, joy and peace my friends!