In
my last blog post, I tried to comfort those struggling with the coronavirus pandemic with a helpful tip on soothing your worry, anxiety, and fear. In this post, I'd like to take you one step further.
Looking back at this year in August 2020, the world has changed very rapidly. It's
hard to predict how much more upheaval we’ll face in the future. That's because experts warn that even if a coronavirus vaccine is developed, it may not be very effective, and a second and third pandemic may occur.
How can we deal with all these changes?
The first step, as I mentioned in this blog last May, is accepting that life is impermanent.
Everything that exists changes. Change is inevitable because this is a living, moving universe. Transience is the most universal law of all phenomena; it’s essential to existence.
While everything changes—our bodies, our possessions, our environment—there is an essence behind life that does not shake even in the midst of changing. Finding this center through
our own reflection can help us thrive in continual change.
Doing this depends on where you have your mind centered. What is your mind’s center? It’s whatever you are especially focused on. Perhaps your mind constantly thinks about work or personal relationships, material success, fame, or negative thoughts and emotions. Focusing on those types of things continuously eats up your attention, time, and energy. They trouble your mind because these
transient things are secondary.
What should we seek as our mind’s center?
If secondary concerns trouble our mind, then what is the primary thing that will bring our mind peace? We actually have what I call a true self inside—the pure, unaltered character of our nature that is not material, external, or artificial. Our true self is the only part of us that does not change from moment to moment, nor is it affected by anyone or anything.
When the life of our body ends, so does everything else, except our true nature. Because it continues, because it’s what we truly are, we can feel genuine satisfaction when we develop it by
making its energy brighter and stronger.
Those who have discovered their true selves and have made it their firm center are undisturbed by changes in their external environment or by the effects of information. They are able to maintain peace of mind because of the powerful action of the mental immunity that
focusing on their true nature provides.
Why should you keep your center?
When people say they suffer because of something or someone, it’s generally because they've switched their focus to a secondary priority. With the mind taken over by secondary things, the true self is inevitably veiled and loses its power.
Of course, I'm not saying you that secondary things are unnecessary or that you shouldn’t concern yourself with them at all. But it's enough to treat secondary things as, well, secondary. After first centering yourself solidly in your true nature, just treat everything else as something to be used—tools for your journey through life.
To develop the power of your mind, first make sure it’s
firmly centered on your true self. Then, you can sufficiently control the effects of secondary things by using the mind’s powerful centripetal force. A firmly centered mind will pull toward it the things it’s focused on. If secondary things have a stronger hold on you, though, your center will be overwhelmed and your
life will be off-balance.
Reflection questions for maintaining your true center:
1. Where and what am I focusing on now?
2. If I'm struggling, am I not focused my true center?
3. How much do I feel and realize my true center, my true self?
4. How do I recover and restore my center?
5. Which things in my life are secondary and which are primary?
If you put your true essence that doesn't change at your mind’s center, you will remain unshakable in any change or difficulty. Find and establish that center firmly. It’s in your heart.