What are You Afraid of?

Someone asked me what I do for a living. I told him I work with people’s mind.

He puzzled. I then explained that I align different parts of mind, to have different aspects of mind on board to have success, happiness and satisfaction towards life.

“What do you mean different aspects of mind?” He asked.

“Subconscious mind, in its common term.”

He looked away, mumbling, “I’m not sure… if I want to know what’s in my subconscious mind.”

“Are you telling me you don’t want to know what you already know? What are you afraid of?”

“Emmm…” He found an excuse and walked away.

And of course his subconscious mind walked away with him.

It never ceases to amaze me how people are afraid of their own mind. The mind creates monsters to scare the mind itself. And the way to get away is to suppress, to not talk about it, without realizing the scary monster is still with them, 24/7, no matter how illusory it is. It’s like closing your eyes and telling me nothing is there because you can’t see; or blocking your ears and telling me the bell is not ringing.

Why are we afraid of our own mind? The mind is so powerful that it knows how to create monsters. We can, if we choose, make peace with it and create solutions to all our problems.

I do not have a TV set, and I do not read newspaper. When a friend’s friend heard it, she showed her surprise, and asked, “how do you know what’s going on in the world?”

“I actually don’t know what’s going on in the world.”

“How can you not know?”

“By not reading and watching news.” I laughed.

“I mean, ” She paused, “for me, the first thing I get up in the morning is to drink my coffee and read newspaper. If you don’t read newspaper, what can you do? Drink your coffee? Sit there? Just like that?” She looked dazzled, almost horrified, in the image she created.

Yes. I get up in the morning; drink my coffee. Sit there. Just like that.

Puzzled by this disturbing image of “doing nothing in the morning”, she explained news is such an important part of her life. She can’t imagine living without it.

“Then tell me,” I looked at her, “what is it about your mind that is so horrible to sit with?”

She looked at me, eyes flat.

And why do we always need things like news to feed the mind, the what’s-next activities to occupy the mind, so that we can get away with the mind?

There is no dark secret in your subconscious mind. There is no dirty disgusting thought in your deep mind. There is no shame there. There is no boredom there.

Your secrets might be common human wounds. Your darkest thoughts might be common human misunderstandings. Your boredom might be common human need for love. Fragmented mind is not who you are. The wholeness is what we want, and what we already are. To be it, it helps that we have all aspects of the mind on board, and love can be easily expressed.

The first step is always the willingness to look at it as it is, honestly.