Finding peace amid the waves of thought

When does a human being not think? It is in deep sleep that the mind is at rest and there are no thoughts. If there are any thoughts, then there is an entity that exists, which is called ‘the mind’. Thoughts, even when we are asleep — say, in the dream state — have an existence in our mind, and their bearing is on how this mind has been conditioned.The conditioning of our mind is often referred to as vasanas or samskaaras. These vasanas are impressions from various experiences from childhood in this mortal journey and are also attributed to experiences from previous births.Building bridges of faith and peaceEven though it is believed that the sensory organs feed the mind, the mind is at rest when we go to sleep and enter the dream state, devoid of any dependency on our sensory organs. Instead, the many impressions are the cause of the dream content, believed to be real at the time, and which many remember only upon waking up.As I have started to write this piece, my mind has become active and is thinking of words to express my thoughts.The choice of words and their coherence in what forms a sentence must be understood in almost the same manner by readers as I understand it and would like to express it.An active mind in the waking state chooses to see what it wants to see and experience, based once again on our impressions. An illustration — two people are looking at a beautiful tree, where one is an artist and paints the picture in his mind for later recall, while the other, a woodcutter, envisages the commercial gains from cutting it down to logs.When the mind experiences a sea of thoughts like the waves in an ocean, we become aware of our mind to the fullest. There is a tendency to go where the thoughts take us, attaching emotions and travelling along by creating a series of activities.Recently, when I was at the ocean side, watching intently the rising waves and their crashing sound, it had a calming effect on my mind. My mind in the waking state was consumed by the vastness of the ocean and the distant horizon, was essentially at sea but at peace.A state that we want to achieve in all our daily moments.

Source: Deccan Herald