Many times we get instructed to 'get out of our heads'. While this advice often has value, it is important to recognise the power and value of a Fresh Mind.
Hating On The Mind
There seems to be a general dislike towards the mind in today’s world.
We can look at the mind as being in the way of our optimal flow state.
Mind can lead us to analysis-paralysis situation.
It can put us into a state of rumination, where we get stuck in endless thinking.
It can create a downwards spiral of negative emotions and suffering.
Our mind can suffer from not being able to work things out.
Or it might feel like it is not strong enough to cope with the situation.
Things may become too complex for it to deal with.
The conscious mind can only handle so much until it 'fills out' and starts overflowing.
Overflow.
Not the state we want to be in.
We want to be in the state of flow.
Shutting Off The Mind
Many try to use meditation to shut off the mind and quiet it down so that it moves out of the way.
Once the mind is out of the way, we can achieve a state of flow.
Or so the theory goes.
So we can spend years of our lives learning how to quiet the mind and embrace meditation as a way of life.
At this point, we can become addicted to meditation as the only means to quiet the mind.
Meditation becomes addiction and we depend on it for flow state to happen.
This is not optimal.
Not optimal at all.
Mind Is A Beautiful And Powerful Tool
You are not your mind.
You are much more than that.
Mind is a powerful, useful and a beautiful tool we can use to work things out with.
In fact, we can train it to such an extent that it can become a key enabler of enlightenment.
We can contemplate with the mind on many topics and work things out by deduction.
There is (almost) such a thing as 'common sense' once our minds get tuned well enough.
Training Your Mind
We are familiar with the idea of training our bodies.
To stretch, to play a sport, to handle pressure, to strengthen muscles and so on.
We can do a similar thing with out minds.
Use it for the right purpose.
Use it when it matters.
Use it for rational, logical, well informed, knowledgeable working out of complex problems.
Solving riddles of life and creating rational solutions that make sense.
Thinking is an amazing skill to have.
Being able to manipulate future outcomes and work out likelihoods of them happening.
We have so many frameworks for thinking in meaningful ways.
Systems Thinking, Design Thinking, First Principles Thinking, Integral Thinking and others.
They are all wonderful.
More we can work with them, more we can becomes masters of creating reality we want to create.
##Appreciate Your Mind
As it is often the case in English language the word appreciate has many meanings.
In this case by 'appreciate' I mean to 'rise in value or price'.
Your mind is a gift from God.
It's the means by which us humans can recognise, value and connect with God.
The same is the case with heart, soul and our bodies.
We can use them all to connect with God.
Because they already are so.
So raise the value of your mind.
Train it to serve you, rather than you serving it.
Use it for positive, creative, useful, meaningful things.
Put it away (like any other tool) when it is not going to serve its purpose.
The more powerful a mind you develop, the more it will help you lead a happy life.
The most successful people in the history of humankind had powerful minds.
You can do have one too.
Appreciate it.