“He’s not human; he’s an empty space disguised as a human”.
John Fowles
The Collector (1963)
Author: minimalist mind
Let there be space in your mind ONLY if you choose. It does not belong on your ‘to do’ list.
Letting there be space in your mind, is not another thing to add to your ever expanding ‘to do’ list. It is quite the opposite. It is wholly your choice, anytime you choose, for as long as you choose, if you so choose. The space in your mind is who you are, forever present. Re-connect at your will.
When my mind was noisy, all I had was a list of things to do, to improve myself and my life:
Spend 10 minutes meditating each day.
Spend 30 minutes exercising everyday.
Read 1 book each month.
Eat my 5 a-day
I am not knocking these as great ways to improve yourself, but by being on my ‘to do’ list, they silently let me know that if I didn’t do them, then I didn’t quite get there that day and would feel a pang of guilt, even if only slightly.
Creating space in your mind is not about feeling guilty, or obliged to do something; the space in your mind is already there, it is already you. If it occurs to you to create space in your mind or you need it or want to do it, make space, if not then don’t.
This is not about the mantra’s of the outside world, to ‘be the best’, ‘just do it’ and ‘get improving’. It’s simply about silent space, if ever, whenever you choose it. If you make it a must and put it on your ‘to do’ list, it just becomes something you should do, which carries with it guilt, if you don’t do it and sometimes even anxiety, before you do it. The choice to create space in your mind must come from you and no one else, anytime, anywhere, anyhow you choose.
I fall, I stand, I am
When I fall, I am already standing, I just don’t think I am.
I am magnificent.
I am the space in which all experience happens,
But I am not the experience.
I am the unchanged and through it I change my world
The more regularly I make space in my mind, the less I think about making my life better, it just gets better. Breath by breath, step by step, I live my most optimum life.
On this journey, even when I fall, I am standing. I haven’t really fallen, I have simply experienced the duality of the world. Who I am remains unchanged because the unchanged is who I am. It is through the unchanged, that I change my world.
My world gets better with so little thought, that sometimes I am taken aback at how much can be achieved by having so few thoughts.
Let there be space in your mind.
There is so very little for you to worry about
“He suffers more than necessary, who suffers before it is necessary.”
Lucius Annaeus Seneca
Stoic Philosopher
We spend a lot of our time worrying about the future, the place that does not even exist. By doing so we miss the space in our minds and the present moment. We think the more we worry, the more prepared we will be. Of course, it is sensible to plan and prepare for the future, but when we live the future in the present and are consumed for hours and days by a future that does not exist, then we are not living at all, in fact we are missing life. When we do this we are not planning and preparing ourselves for a future event, we are worrying about something that has not happened. To do so, is to suffer, when there is no suffering.
The future will always be unknown. It is only in the present moment that it will become known. There will always be uncertainty and that’s okay. In the words of John Allen Paulos, Professor of Mathematics, “Uncertainty is the only certainty there is”. So let us embrace it because no matter how much you think about the future, you will never know it, for the simple reason it does not exist!
When all your mind wants to do is worry about the future, let there be space in your mind instead and come to know how very little there is for you to worry about. It will guide you and give you reprieve, so that you don’t have to spend so much of your time and energy worrying. The space in your mind does not know how to let you down. It only knows the most optimum path for you at any single moment. Fall into its’ embrace. It is warm, peaceful, protective and free from worry.
Make a little space in your mind.
When there is space in your mind, you see things as they are, not as you think they are
When there is space in your mind, you see things clearly, as they are, without thought, without language, without imagery. You are clear, focused and guided by intuition. Here there is no thought, there is only space and it knows only the most optimum path for you, in any single moment. Your mind may disagree and that’s okay, let it, that’s what it does. Trust that which is greater than thought. Trust the space in your mind where all thought happens, so that the empty space can deliver the thought that serves you best. You will know this thought as having arisen from the space in your mind because you will be at peace with it. A thought about yourself or your life that you’re at peace with, is a thought that originates from the space in your mind. It originates from YOU. Know it. Trust it. Act on it.
Let there be space in your mind. After all it is who you are.
In the digital age of social media, we need space in our minds more than ever
In the digital age of social media, we are bombarded by constant communications. We are gorging on the thoughts of others’, injected into our minds, every few minutes or hours a day. This isn’t just information overload, but a communications overload of other peoples’ thoughts, opinions, images, videos, ideas, philosophies, beliefs, values etc. Some of these communications may be good for you, some bad, but for the purpose of this post, it doesn’t really matter. What does matter, is that now more than ever we need to regularly create some space in our minds, so that our minds get a chance to breath throughout the day.
Yet time is of the essence in an age where everything is moving at the speed of light and we are left with less and less time. Meditation and mindfulness take time and discipline. It may only be 10 or 15 minutes a day, but when you’re time poor, committing to it everyday isn’t always easy. Yet the space in your mind is yours anytime, anywhere, anyhow you choose it. It takes nothing from your day at all. It’s meditation on the go. Simple, easy, effortless and at your fingertips. Perfect for our Digital Age.
As you go through your day, create space in your mind, as and when you choose, even if it’s just for a few seconds at a time. It will feel refreshing, like a mental mini-break!
Make a little space in your mind and take a mental breather.
