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To Solve Problems...Make an "Undo List"
Written by Ace RemasAll of us have a lot to do. We make lists so we don’t forget to do them. Some of us carry a yellow highlighter to experience the satisfaction of crossing out what has been done. At the end of the day, we review our lists to see how much was accomplished and, woefully, how much has been added to the list or did not get done. Rather than shrinking over time our to-do lists seem to grow larger.
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Finding mental peace and contentment is an exceptional accomplishment.The secret of contentmentis to “undo.” |
We make our lists to find happiness and contentment. We believe if everything on our to-do lists were completed we would find a moment’s respite, some satisfaction, some sense of security. Yet, rarely do we experience such states of mind.
The truth is – and we all know this deep down – we’ll never finish our work. The more we accomplish, the more we need to get done. Going on in this way we’ll die with an overloaded to-do list, even though we might have emptied dozens of highlighters recording our accomplishments. We won’t find contentment in doing more. The secret of contentment is to “undo.”
Make an undo list. Your life has issues: wishes, relationships, money. That’s okay. It’s your life! And, it’s your mind. Your successes and failures don’t happen separately from the mind. There is nothing outside your mind that has the power to harm you or to make you happy. There are plenty of examples of people who have everything – beauty, wealth, power; and they remain unhappy people. There are others who suffer great tragedies such as disease and misfortune and still find contentment and serenity. These examples prove that it is the mind itself, not the things outside the mind, that will give us what we want. We need to undo the expectation that material accomplishments will result in mental happiness.
The best way to undo these material expectations that are sure to cause us discontent is to meditate on the mind itself. Because we’re so focused on external accomplishment we remain ignorant of the potential for internal accomplishment. Finding mental peace and contentment is an exceptional accomplishment. The great teachers of the ages demonstrate this. Follow their example and look inward.
Looking inward is easy, and does not take much preparation or effort to get started. We simply sit down in a comfortable position; make sure our back is erect and body relaxed, place our hands in our lap, and focus on the breath for a while. You breathe in and you exhale; you breath in and you exhale. No thinking, no planning. (Don’t put meditation on your to do list!) After a few minutes you’ll find your mind relaxed. Then focus your mental energies at your heart, believing it to be the location of your mind.
Imagine your mind like empty space. Thoughts and feelings come and go. Bodily sensations – the tactile sensation of the body itself like the temperature of the air on your skin, the movement of your chest as you breathe, perceptions, sounds – come and go. Let them go without giving them any attention, as clouds passing by in an empty sky. Realize that this spacious feeling at the heart, where your world appears, is your mind. It is always like this, calm, clear, with perceptions, thoughts and feelings coming and going. Appreciate your own pure mind and be happy. When you feel this slight joy, direct all your attention onto it and meditate single-pointedly on this joy as long as you can.
Then get up. You’ve started the process of undoing. And you’ll be amazed how much you can get done with such a calm mind.
Ace Remas is Resident Teacher of the Mahakaruna Buddhist Meditation Center headquartered in Petaluma, California. (775) 746-8681 or at aremas@aol.com.
