Friday, November 02, 2007

Balance-The Mental Pillar Revisited


When I spoke of the mental pillar before, I touched on the need to put as much "programming" into our mental computer "wet ware" as we can. In order to even speak about our experiences, we need to make a concentrated effort to expand our knowledge and our vocabulary. We need to experience new things, and understand them.

It is easy to settle into the same old rut, assuming that nothing changes and nothing is new. This kind of thinking once almost got me killed. Many years ago, where I lived in rural Ontario, there was a railroad that passed along beside the highway between our tiny hamlet and the nearest town big enough to shop in, which also had the highschool for the whole area.

Before I finished school and moved away to pursue my own destiny, the railroad fell into disuse and was used only once or twice a year. I became used to never seeing a train or hearing its lonesome whistle announcing it's presence and it's intention to cross the road. Returning home for a visit, I was driving to that town to do some shopping, on automatic you could say, I had passed that way so many times before. My mind did not register either the whistle or the presence of the train passing across the highway until it was almost too late. I stopped within inches of the moving train! Nothing in my mind had prepared me for seeing the train....so I did not.

If we do not prepare our minds for the wondrous journey ahead, we will miss many great truths, experiences, and growth itself. Just as a child learns gradually, we must allow our minds to build on each layer of learning we complete. We need to learn to really see, hear, touch and experience the world around us, and that takes time to learn the language to express what we experience and understand the experiences of others who share with us. Trying to push too far or too fast will only lead to discouragement. Learning comes in all shapes and sizes. We learn from books, from TV, movies, radio, computer, other people and from life itself. When we indicate our desire to learn, many more occasions and events will be presented to us. In order to benefit from the lessons that are presented, we must be alert and aware, alive in the present moment, looking carefully at all we experience. You can bet that I learned a lesson from my train experience, and now keep my senses open and my mind alert for the unexpected. It is surprising how much more I am aware of because of that.

An active, healthy mind is also protection against Alzheimer's, Senile Dementia and other mental afflictions. As we must keep our bodies strong and healthy, we need to do the same for our minds.We must never stop learning. Life will bring so many more delights if we are open to the. Meditation helps us to prepare for learning and keeps us both alert and relaxed.

10 comments:

KeKe said...

That would have been scary~I can imagine how your life must have suddenly flashed before your eyes when you realized what could have happened, had you not stopped. Someone was looking out for you.

Learning is a journey all of its own, which lasts a lifetime hopefully. We must never stop learning. If we stop learning, we stop growing and if we stop growing, we eventually wither away.

Ther are so many people out there that need to realize this. Hopefully your post will help.

Zareba said...

Thank you, Kelly. It is so true that there are so many people who can not find their way. It is also very hard to reach them as they do not often read blogs such as ours or purchase books from Lulu in our area of interest. I keep trying and hoping that if someone is destined to be helped by my writing that they will be steered to them.

These posts on meditation and balance are the same as I am posting in "news.annexcafe.meditation" in the hope that it will help.

If someone starts meditating regularly, their inner self becomes able to to be heard by the outer, mundane self and growth will follow, whether expected or not.

Part of the problem for most people is that they have forgotten how to be children, to play, and to see life through the eyes of innocence. Meditation will help there too.

...Z

Alexys Fairfield said...

Zareba,
You are absolutely right my friend. We have to keep feeding our minds with nutritious food, otherwise they may die of starvation.

That train experience is incredible. I am so glad you survived. :D

Zareba said...

Thank you Alexys:

I am also glad I survived. ☺
If we can continue learning and growing, we can make living a process and death simply an event in our busy lives. A simple passing from one place to another, continuing our learning and growing on the other side.

...Z

Don Iannone, D.Div., Ph.D. said...

Z: Indeed it is balance that helps us stand, smile, reach and grasp, and connect with other human beings. And in balance, we find God most. Well said. Blessings of joy, peace and healing to you. Don

Zareba said...

Thank you, Don. Although balance is as fleeting as the exact mid-point of a pendulum swing, the striving for it is in itself growth. They say that the joy must Be in the Journey, not only in arriving at the objective. I believe this to be most true about the Journeys span lifetimes.

Peace be with you too my friend.

Jim said...

Not to stereotype, but alzheimer, could be, an indication that laxness or laziness in awareness, mentally/emotionally, over many years, can cause physical brain phenomena to 'build' themselves in as ruts or paths which then become dominant in our future outlook.

Regardless, awareness is not easy for us Americans in the US who are so used to having our reality spoon-fed to us by government/religion/commercial propaganda and their voices shouting in our faces, speaking their versions of awareness and its 'important' objectives DIRECTLY into our WAITING faces.

Time for us to stop WAITING and being receptive to the rote-life, time for us to wake up and see the train coming, hear its' reality, and understand its' meanings.

Excellent work, this article, Zareba, I bet that train episode did give you a jolt, high voltage no doubt! I had a similar experience in Europe with a train, a sobering experience.

Thanks for such subjects from you, and for your terrific power of communicating them, great writing, I am appreciative. Thanks Zareba.

Meadow said...

Amen, sister! I believe in learning throughout our entire lives.

Zareba said...

Hi Jim:

The scientific community seems to agree that the mind is a muscle and must also be exercised. As the saying goes "Use it or lose it". It has also been proven that we have the ability to learn throughout our whole lives, we only need the desire.

I agree that as a society, we expect our reality to be spoon fed to us by the government and (dare I say) our religions! Unfortunately, the fault is not with the governments or the religions but with us ourselves. We give more and more power and authority to these institutions, as well as handing over our responsibilities to them. As only a small example it seems that every time a child is harmed by misuse of some item or device, there is a public outcry to have the law step in and legislate safer objects. In some cases this is the proper way to do things, but most often I see parents abdicating their responsibilities to and for their children in favor of having the government take the heat. I am sure this will be ill received in some circles, and be that as it may, I do believe it.

May Peace be with you

...Z

Zareba said...

Hi Meadow: Thank you sister!

...Z