Please note that, I am talking about ‘worldly things’ and not necessarily things that you do on a daily basis, like brushing teeth or walking and so on. We already have ways to bring mindfulness into things like this. What I am talking about is spending time in worldly mindless activities like watching TV, soap operas or reading junk in newspapers.
When you stay away from sources of negative energy like these, you will soon realise that, you are slowly loosing touch with what most people around you are concerned or talking about. Although initially this may feel good – not being affected by things around you; in the long run, people may start ostracising your or wouldn’t like you company and this may not help you, especially if you are beginner in spiritual journey ( All of us are beginners 🙂 ).
But by reading things like these ( sensationalised news and half truths ), you will find your mind filling with stuff which requires more cleansing that you can ever imagine. So we are in a dilemma – one of the several dilemmas every spiritual seeker will face, in the course of his/her spiritual journey.
This is when I realised that, people of this world, do not pay importance to what they read or see. And surprise, surprise – they forget things very fast ! The hottest topic, which seems to shake their lives and opinion polls, do not seem to have shelf life of more than a week, even if it is ‘breaking news’ and the news anchor may scream at the top of his/her lungs at the news studio. People of this world come across so much waste, so many things requiring them to form an opinion, so fast, that they find it so difficult to form a deep understanding about anything around them. They are led by what the ‘talk of the town’ is.
Consider this, in the past one week, most of Americans were bothered by US elections, Indians are too caught up in the beef ban and it’s repercussions. People in Afghanistan and Pakistan are worried about the earthquake, that hit parts of their country. Being a mindful person, your only job is to find out what is ‘trending’ and go through these headlines. And since you would be using mindful techniques, you can learn all these news and more by spending no less than a few minutes each week. The one thing to keep in mind is, making sure, you don’t form opinions and get too much involved in the news itself.
Once you do this, you are never left alone. Because, 90 % people you meet would never assume, you do only skim reading, due to the fact that their knowledge about the so called ‘burning issues’ is also at a very superficial level.
Moreover as an added advantage, you get to know the pulse of the society. The suggestions you give or the work you do in the field of your spiritual endeavour, will become more effective, because you know exactly what the perceived ‘problems’ of the people are and you can help them in finding solutions or console them, when needed. It helps you in identifying sources of negative energy and work with people in overcoming that.
Very well written and helpful. I really liked this part “The suggestions you give or the work you do in the field of your spiritual endeavor, will become more effective, because you know exactly what the perceived ‘problems’ of the people are and you can help them in finding solutions or console them, when needed.”