For whatever reason

For whatever reason I seem to react emotionally to xxx. There seem to be habit energies that ‘I’ tend to think of as being ‘me’ – it is how I am - all ways and forever. In fact the habit energies change through time but ‘I’ am so involved with them that ‘I’ do not notice that past memories are continually being revised so that they accord with the latest version of the story of me.

I feel that I have reasons for viewing stuff as desirable, neutral or undesirable. There are ever changing fads and fashions in my culture and subculture. The process of enculturation (aka, education, indoctrination, brainwashing etc) is driven by mainly unconscious conditioning forces; and these are continuously reshaped by my nature, nurture and serendipity as it is written into the unconscious and conscious modules in the mindbrain.

Because of the ongoing unconscious churn no story with its thoughts and feelings stays the same for long. There is ongoing neural plasticity which ensures that change continues and that the individual, or perhaps the group, stays open to ongoing changes in the physical and social environments. It is no wonder that the Buddha noted “the impermanence of all created things”.

It is also no wonder that the first three of the fourteen mindfulness trainings should be about openness, non-attachment to views, and freedom of thought. The main insights are that:

• “Aware of the suffering created by fanaticism and intolerance, we are determined not to be idolatrous about or bound to any doctrine, theory, or ideology, even Buddhist ones.”
• “Aware of the suffering created by attachment to views and wrong perceptions, we are determined to avoid being narrow-minded and bound to present views.”
• “Aware of the suffering brought about when we impose our views on others, we are determined not to force others, even our children, by any means whatsoever – such as authority, threat, money, propaganda, or indoctrination – to adopt our views.”

SO … for whatever reason … most of ‘my’ present reasons are not normally apparent in consciousness. They can, however, set moods and they can very quickly generate intuitions and make fast reactions to stimuli.

The various practices associated with mindfulness help to still the mindbrain (shamantha). This allows for greater awareness of, and insight into (vipassana), how we calmly, carefully and slowly consider how best to respond to stimuli.

• The mind has a mind of its own.
• The heart has its reasons that reason knows nothing about.