Practice and Non-Attachment – Dealing with Undesirable Habits

Stability and peace of mind are not contingent upon any external environment but upon our response to life.

Mind is not easy to master. Mind is restless and bringing it under the restraint of the Intellect and Spirit is not an easy thing to do!

There are two powerful tools to discipline the wandering and reckless mind. They are:

Practice

We are well aware that whatever we repeatedly do turns into a habit by getting stored in the subconscious mind. The best example of this is ‘driving’. Through regular practice, we can become seasoned drivers and driving starts to happen in ‘automatic pilot’ mode.

In a similar fashion, our mind also becomes a slave to undesirable habits which can turn into addictions. Restlessness and staying distracted is also nothing but a habit that the mind has acquired.

It is possible to wean the mind from its old habits of restlessness and fickle tendencies through earnest and persistent practice. Practice of what, we may ask:

The practice of abiding in the Self.

We may refer to the ‘Self’ by different names— as God, Supreme Consciousness, Divine, Higher Self, but all the names signify the One Truth.

The mind is habituated to running towards sense objects and an equally strong pull is needed to bring it back and center it. That pull is found in the ‘Self’ — the True Peace which forever abides in every human being.

However, just this practice would not suffice. We also need one more tool. That is:

Non-attachment

The invisible strings that chain us to the material world and hence keep our mind in a continued state of unease and anguish are ‘attachment’.

We can constantly feel a powerful pull towards sense-enjoyments. Someone is ‘too attached’ in a relationship, someone to food or alcohol, and another to gizmos or clothes! The list is simply endless!

The thing with engaging in sensory pleasures is that no matter how much of it we get, we are still left craving for more. Detachment is much needed. We must think if material acquisitions have really given us lasting happiness. Did not our addictions and cravings often leave us feeling empty or disillusioned?

Understand that real happiness does not come from material and transient things, but rather, it is achieved through a loving relationship with God or our Inner Higher Self, however, we choose to name it.

A video on non-attachment:

Questions for you to ponder and share!

What practices help you abide in the Self?

(In other words, what activities help you feel centred/sorted?)

What steps can you take to practise non-attachment from unhealthy engagements?