The roller coaster ride to peace of mind – centering attention
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George Clark, November 2000
Joy, sorrow and emotional flatness are created by your attitude towards things. ‘Things’ appear in your mind either as inputs from your sense organs (eyes and ear etc) or as ‘imaginations’ from memory or in dreams. First the thing, then the reaction to the thing: and you choose how to react. But you have developed a lifetime of bad mental habits; can these be broken?

Some external events can be influenced, others not. Attempts to influence may succeed or fail. Those are the stark realities. To ‘worry’ about them does not add value or increase efficiency; neither do feelings of desire, indifference or aversion. 

Is it possible to be free of such useless and debilitating habits of mind?
When there are no thoughts of an ‘I’ and when attention thus rests securely in the here and now there is peace of mind. You may have known fleeting moments of such peace*: you may have been ‘lost’ in a book or a movie or ‘stunned’ by the beauty of a sunset. Precious moments when you didn’t know who or where you were but you were ‘inspired’. * In the western tradition these moments of peace have been variously called cosmic consciousness (Richard Bucke), oceanic feelings (Sigmund Freud) or peak experiences (Abraham Maslow)
Peaceful minds are free from illusions such as I exist, time exists, or indeed that any ‘thing’ exists in any permanent and unchanging way. A deep appreciation that the only constant thing is change frees the mind from its ordinary pattern of thinking. Then the life force, from which natural and spontaneous action springs*, is free to make a difference in the world. The self-less forces of nature will be unleashed. Can the minds of ‘ordinary’ people become like this? *this involves what from ancient times the Chinese call Wu-wei (non contrived action). St Augustine was referring to it when he said, "If you only love God enough you may do as you please."
Good news - you already have peace of mind and it cannot be taken from you. Your task is simply to remove the impediments to your knowing it - like blowing dust from a mirror. You must stop your mind from wandering; you must learn to centre your attention.

The diagram illustrates three phases in the process of bringing attention to the still centre.
  1.  The flat line is the ever-present and unwavering equanimity which is the bedrock of mind. 
  2. The curved line represents the hobo mind riding thought trains loaded with emotional baggage.
  3.  The fleeting moments of peace are glimpsed when the lines cross.

Phase 1 – Riding the Roller Coaster

Phase 1 illustrates the ego-besotted and uncontrolled mind in which attention is easily led to the imagined past or future on thought trains as endless as waves upon the shore.

The diagram is a deliberate oversimplification. Reality is the jagged zig zag of attention hopping from one thought train to another; and resting on each for varying times and degrees of joy or sorrow. The briefest thought moment is but a fraction of a second. Thoughts and moods transform instantly in a mind swayed by externalities.

Reality is the jagged zig zag of attention hopping from one thought train to another

Media and advertising engineers are expert at flicking the conditioned switches of desire/aversion in we capitalist consumers. So with politicians, false prophets and the psyche police. Without rigorous mind training we are as brain dead puppets on their tinselled cords of steel.

Phase 2 – Observing the Roller Coaster

In Phase 2 attention is split and the mood swings are less severe. If Phase 1 involved ‘noticing’ then Phase 2 involves ‘noticing what you notice’. There is a Hindu image of two birds sitting on a branch. The first eats fruit and the second watches. In Phase 1 the thought was "I am happy" in Phase 2 the thought is ‘I seem to be happy because …’ This process of splitting gradually removes the sorrows and joys of living.

A rider on the roller coaster might see this as a puritanical and spoilsport technique leading to a flat and soulless existence. However, those who no longer ride the roller coaster know that ‘mindfulness’ and ‘self watching’ are the only way to control your mind and thus manage more than a fleeting glimpse of its ‘true nature’.

Again the diagram is oversimple. In the early stages of Phase 2 it is difficult to remember to split attention and you drop back to Phase 1. To encourage mindfulness you may sprinkle your dwelling with objects which, when you see them, remind you to notice what you are thinking and feeling at that moment.

The human mind slips easily into ruts and routines and it needs patience and determination to re-programme it. Good news -

  • the process is self perpetuating – having tasted a little you will want more and
  • the further you go the easier it gets – the closer to home (your true nature) the more familiar the territory.

Phase 3 – being off the Roller Coaster

Phase 3 is ‘ineffable’ – there is nothing that can be meaningfully said about it. There is a Zen concept of the gateless gate. Only when through the gate is it obvious that the gate does not exist. Words deal with ‘things’ like the gate of Phases 1 and 2. In Phase 3 there is only the interpenetrating oneness which is everything – all in one. In the diagram the gateless gate is/is not* at the point where the roller coaster ends and the smooth ride begins.

people and things come and go in much the same way as thoughts

In Phase 3 there is a kind of ‘knowing’ that involves more than a mere rational understanding of the ‘hard facts’. There is an awareness that people and things come and go in much the same way as thoughts; and that everything connects to everything and is constantly changing. There is an ongoing steady state of bliss rather than the wild excesses of joy and sorrow. There is the fearless freedom and compassion of a prodigal son home again to his true nature. There is the peace that passes all understanding.

* delete as appropriate to your present level of understanding

Centre your attention
and unleash the self-less force of nature

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