Let Buddha Monkey™ Help Tame the Monkey in Your Mind!

Check out our new Cute Friend: Buddha Monkey™, the Happy Healer. Buddha Monkey™ is a Buddhist Monk who surpassed his monkey nature and became enlightened. He is the master of the Cute and Happy Philosophy and he seeks to teach others about the healing power of happiness and finding inner peace. Here is his message to you:

What is the one of the biggest obstacles that you can face in achieving personal mastery?
Your mind, your thoughts. Master them, and you master yourself. Then there is little you cannot do over time. Happiness, character, external success – they all begin in the mind. As the famous saying goes – “As within, so without.”

The moment we begin paying attention to our thoughts we discover how unruly they are. We don’t really beat our heart, it beats itself. Neither do we control our thinking – we are being thought. Estimates place the number of thoughts we have each day at 40 to 60 thousand, and we don’t have more than the most basic control over them. Increasing this control – mental labour – is often said to be the hardest work of all. The good news is; even the slightest increase is well worth it.

Monkey mind refers to the incessant chatter that goes on in our heads from thought to thought while you daydream, analyze your relationships, or worry over the future. Like a monkey jumping from branch to branch, the mind is always on the move. It is estimated that our brains are bombarded with seven times as much stimuli as our grandparents experienced. Add to this the longer working hours, the traffic jams and the rising stress levels and it is amazing we cope at all.

Have you ever wondered why children experience so much joy? Being free of mental chatter, they are absolutely present in the Here and Now. Monkey mind hasn't developed yet. There is a chinese saying that says "When the eye is unblocked, sight occurs." The nature of the eye is to see. In the same way, in the absence of thinking, joy is there because it is who we really are. Happiness never goes anywhere. We are simply unaware of the happiness which is always there because we are constantly distracted by our monkey mind. We can only notice the wonder and the beauty that surrounds us when we are present.

So how do we tame the monkey mind?
The good news is that, no matter how busy the mind is and how distant the prospect of finding inner peace seems, it is always there, right under your nose. Finding happiness and peace is an uncovering process. When we strip away that which is covering it up, we discover it has been there all along. As long as we fight against the monkey mind we give it more energy and make it stronger. As long as we try to beat our thoughts away with sticks we make them bigger. By putting all of our attention on our thoughts and trying to fix them or change them, we achieve the opposite.

One way to tame this wild creature in your head is through meditation – although the paradox is that when you clear your mind for meditation you actually invite the monkey in your mind to play. This is when you are given the opportunity to tame this mental beast by moving beyond thought – to become aware of a thought rather than thinking a thought. The difference is subtle, but significant. When you are aware of your thoughts, you can let your thoughts rise and float away without letting them pull you in different directions. Being able to concentrate is one of the tools that allows you to slow down your thought process and focus on observing your thoughts.

To develop your concentration, you may want to start by focusing on the breath while you meditate. Whenever your monkey mind starts acting up, observe your thoughts and then return your focus to your breath. Some breathing meditations call on you to focus on the rise and fall of the breath through the abdomen, while others have you concentrate on the sound of the breath. Fire can also be mesmerizing, and focusing on a candle flame is another useful tool for harnessing the mind. Keep the gaze soft and unfocused while observing the color, shape, and movement of the flame, and try not to blink. Close your eyes when you feel the need and continue watching the flame in your head. However you choose to tame the monkey mind, do so with firm kindness. The next time the chattering arises, notice it and then allow it to go away. With practice and meditation, your monkey mind will become quiet and so will you!