bluesy mood

There has been something of a bluesy mood recently. “I am a hopeless chancer” with an expanding inability to handle simple technical things like changing a lightbulb.

Aha – it is a ‘waste of time’ to write about the negative nitty gritties – the petty stuff. However, in some schools of thought there is need (a) to take heed of what TFMs (thoughts, feelings, moods) are capturing attention, (b) to name them, and (c) to hold them or let them go. “Accentuate the positive.”

Peace of mind is easier said than done. One secret is to practice ‘just sitting’(ref Dogen Zenji) and to become familiar with the egoic v non-egoic mental states.

There are egoic mental states that cloud the mind and manifest in unwholesome actions. In Buddhism these are called Kleshas and they include such states of mind as anxiety, fear, anger, jealousy, desire, depression, etc. Contemporary translators use a variety of English words to translate the term kleshas, such as: afflictions, defilements, destructive emotions, disturbing emotions, negative emotions, mind poisons.

There are non-egoic mental states that clear the mind of the kleshas and enable sustainable focus. These mental states are gradually being recognised as ‘flow’ and are associated with the wholesome action of creative people such as poets when inspired by their ‘muse’, athletes when in their ‘zone’, improvising musicians when in the ‘groove’, and housekeepers when washing the dishes

These days I am in non-egoic flow most of the time; but the kleshas are continuously churning incoming sensory signals (sights, sounds, tastes, smells) with similar stuff in memory. The linkages serve to keep my understanding of ‘reality’ up to date in the present moment.

The angst and ennui (blues) that are associated with the kleshas are the price that most people must endure. My mindbrain was shaped by nature, nurture and by serendipity. I have put a lot of time and effort into training my mindbrain.

Activities include:

Reading (non-fiction), attending to media, writing (blog), doodling, making music, shopping, cooking, meditating, being mindful, dropping off body and mind, “just sitting” (Dogen Zenji).