Jean-Yves Leloup

Mental Virus

/ Tunnel Vision 8
May each day bring you a little less under the sway of the fears, inhibitions, and lies that are certainly the heritage of your individual and collective past, yet in which (consciously or unconsciously) you still indulge in the present. And may each day bring you more and more surrender to freedom and love. – Jean-Yves Leloup

I am working more intensely with my mind and thoughts. About a month ago, I thought my mind had a mental virus. My mind created jealously, insecurity, and negative thoughts. I told myself, “If I don’t control my thoughts, I’m in big trouble.”

Thankfully, I have restored my peaceful mind. I think turbulence in my marriage sparked the “mental virus.” The crisis in our marriage led us to build a stronger marriage. My husband and I reconnected with the help of a book called, The 5 Love Languages: The Secret to Love That Lasts by Gary Chapman. I highly recommend this book.

My imagination is what got me in trouble. I played scenarios, in my mind, that were not true. Jean-Yves Leloup says, “It is our imagination that needs to be healed.”

I tried many things to control my mind. I tried to push away images, but they would return. The best way, I have found, to let go of negative thoughts is to say to myself, “Please forgive my thoughts.”

Another way to redirect my mind is to ask myself, “What do I want to focus on?” Sometimes it’s best to put on blinders like blinkers on a horse. Sometimes I need tunnel vision!

Meditation can help me control my mind. If I have too many thoughts, I use a mantra during my meditation. I like using “Sat Nam” (true identity) or “Om So Hum” (I am that). I noticed that I need to meditate every morning – it prepares my mind for the rest of the day.

To settle my anxious mind, I need to remind myself that I will be okay no matter what. I need to trust God and the Universe. There are some things I can’t control – it’s a wake up call to bring nonattachment, equanimity, and peace within myself.

To go forward with my peaceful mind, I am using the concept of “out of sight, out of mind.” I can do this by staying in the present moment and being careful about what I allow into my senses (what I watch, listen to, and participate in). Also, I must remember information on the Internet can bring me down the “rabbit hole” – places I may not want to go.

To keep a pure mind and heart, I must learn to create a sense of peace inside and outside of myself. If I want to evolve into higher consciousness, I need to connect with the higher vibration of love and gratitude. I am thankful for so many things!

And lastly, I must forgive myself. I need to give myself compassion and love. I learned a lot about my mind. It’s a gift to have this self-realization.

Namaste.

The New Human

/ Tunnel Vision 8

Humans are awakening up to their divinity. A new awakening is arising – just like the sun.

The new humanity will follow in the footsteps of Buddha and Jesus. “The vocation of servant leadership is a call to become as he was in the world – the new humanity, hetero pacificus – the peacemakers whom Jesus called ‘blessed’ in his catalogue of the truly happy people,” Bennett J. Sims said in his book, Servanthood: Leadership in the Third Millennium.

We must strive to become peacemakers with an enlightened mind. “This is meditation. Not taking anything for granted. I mean, we should be grateful and think how fortunate we are that we have this fascinating experience. I call it the laboratory of mind and body. But it seems that though this mind and body are so close to us, they are in many ways so very far away,” Godwin Samararatne said in his book, Discovering Meditation.

Lately, I’ve felt a touch of emptiness in my life. At first, I felt afraid of it. But then, during my meditation, I realized that when something is empty, there’s an opportunity to fill it with something new. I want to fill that space with love, peace, mindfulness, and equanimity.

“So this place of meeting our edge, of accepting the present moment and the unknown, is a very powerful place for those who wish to awaken and open their heart and mind,” a quote by Pema Chodron.

The new human understands impermanence and attachment. I am working on having less attachment in my life. In the last month or so, I’ve had a few challenges in my marriage, and I can see how much attachment I have to my husband.

Every day I remind myself to let love guide me, not fear. I am afraid of losing my husband. But, in reality, everything is impermeant – even my marriage. However, I want to learn more about my relationship with my husband, and I’m grateful that we both want to work on our marriage.

“Buddha’s doctrine: Man suffers because of his craving to possess and keep forever things which are essentially impermanent. This frustration of the desire to possess is the immediate cause of suffering,” a quote by Alan Watts.

The new human has a lot of work to do! But we can transform ourselves into hetero pacificus. To transcend into peacemakers, we need a peaceful and enlightened mind, live in the present moment, understand impermanence, and live every day with love in our hearts.

Namaste.