Contrary to popular belief, the mind is not the enemy.
When you say “pushing” your mind aside during spiritual work, it’s like saying pushing your body aside during spiritual work. How can you do that?
Have you tried pushing your mind aside? You may force yourself to do so, and at first, it may feel like you succeeded, but the more you do it, the duller the mind gets.
The mind, and the body cannot be pushed aside by an act of will. We don’t push our mind aside. This mind, and this body, are perceptive tools we use to experience life in the physical domain. Tools we have identified with, and therefore, tools that are running us basically.
Is it wrong? No. It’s part of the Earthly journey. It’s part of our curriculum. It happens to the best. And with enough work and determination, you can overcome those challenges.
Now, the only way we put our tools aside (instead of pushing) is by understanding the cause behind their over-activity.
As souls, we came on Earth to experience life. We, you and me, are currently in the “3D.” This dimension is characterized by the themes you see in movies, in songs, by what you see happening around yourself. And so on. Revenge, greed, competition, brutality, etc.
If you want to learn important life lessons, and progress on your evolutionary journey, you would want to test your determination, your ability to love, your ability to remain grateful and optimistic, your ability to speak up for yourself regardless of your fears about what others may think of you, and so on — in the dimension where most souls incarnate with heavy burdens and are harassed by them for most of their lives. In the dimension where most people blame each other because they can’t handle their own stuff. In the dimension, where you have to understand this and approach everyone with an unwavering love!
That’s why we are here.
Now coming back to your question…
Ultimately, you are only experiencing the present moment. What you have accumulated in your subconscious mind however creates unnecessary noise, which makes you think you can experience other things besides this moment.
In order to “push” aside your mind effectively, whether during spiritual work or normal daily life, you want to examine the causes behind the noise it creates. For the most part, this noise comes from unprocessed past experiences; events you have been through, and that stored different feelings such as pain, anger, fears, etc.
These subconscious feelings are what distract us.
We may be feeling ecstatic out of a fantastic meditation when all of the sudden, our parents tell us that we have become old, and that we should marry. Because we have unrealistic expectations from ourselves (limiting beliefs coming from childhood, mainly by having parents constantly comparing us to other kids), our ecstasy is replaced by anxiety and frustration…
By paying attention to these trends in our thinking, we may discover the underlying emotion, and by facing it — we process it. Once the feeling is released, the corresponding thoughts are too. And the next time our parents come at us for whatever reason, we may listen to what they have to say out of respect, but internally, we remain calm.
Working on our beliefs, releasing burdensome emotions, discarding distorted thoughts — that’s what decreases the noise in our mind, allowing us to realize that this moment is the only one we have always been experiencing. During spiritual work, or not.
Being more technical now. Yes, your efficiency with spiritual practices is largely enhanced by being “out of your mind”; how do you achieve that?
Long-term solution: Do the above.
Short-term solution: do some physical exercises to spend excess energy, practice body and surrounding awareness, learn about your heart, and how to access it. The heart has a brain too…
Let me know if I can be of further assistance in the comments.
Lastly…
Spirituality doesn’t need to be complicated. Dealing with emotional and mental wounds requires already enough attention and energy. If you need practical ways to heal, but also practical teachings to make sense of all the confusing spiritual information the world throws at you; I wrote a book called Spiritual Transition to help you progress on your path. You can give the book a look here.
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