Leave your Mind Alone

"You have to learn to leave your mind alone" - Alan Watts

He is speaking here about how we cannot quiet the mind. But, honestly, this is something that escapes me... how do I leave my mind alone?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=emHAoQGoQic

Ever held a garden hose vertically facing up and turn the water flow down. It sort of gets to a point where its just a spherical shape which flows over. That would be what I'd consider to be equivalent to equipoising the mind. Normally the water is squirting up everywhere and the hose itself can even squirrel around. Single pointeded and other concentration methods are designed to not so much quieten the mind but exercise mental focus.

So to equipoise the mind, it is the cessation of contemplation. Do not entertain any threads of thought beyond awareness of their existence and from that extend your awareness outwards. Use the energy that would have been used in driving contemplation to instead spread awareness. If will take a while to get used to not being 'setoff' by distractions, but that is what I call calm abiding.

After time and practise, all that will remain of 'awareness' will be a blend of bodily awareness (feeling) and the awareness of the passage of time (being in existence), only. Then of course you can exercise detachment from your body but that might be risky if taken too far, so instead non-duality is better - a merging of observer (being aware) and self (source of feeling).

It's not switching off the mind though, it's switching off the thinking. Instead its opening the mind and letting it be free and open to feel instead of think.

I've sprinkled some Tibetan terms in there, not to confuse but its how I see them and hopefully that helps a bit. Anyway, that's a fast and dirty explanation of how I see it in practical terms.

Don't be afraid to use Tibetan terms with me. I've studied Shambhala.

So, Watts is just describing calm abiding?

Connor L. wrote: Don't be afraid to use Tibetan terms with me. I've studied Shambhala.

So, Watts is just describing calm abiding?

I think Watt's is describing the reasons Westerners might need (to consider enjoying) the result of calm abiding, yes. Calm abiding is just the beginning (or foundation) of working with those other methods. Watt's IMO spends a lot of energy sort of yelling at 'modern' folk to slow down and smell the roses for which something like calm abiding practises would be the entry point I guess.
:lol:
Just my opinion though.

*nods* Thank you. That helps greatly!