Aaban Babu - The Art of Mindfulness: Learn to quiet the mind, become stress-free, and develop an unchanging sense of Inner Peace

The Art of Mindfulness: Learn to quiet the mind,become stress-free, and develop an unchanging sense of Inner Peace

Copyright 20167 WE CANT BE BEAT LLC

copyright 2017 WE CANT BE BEAT LLC

Contents

We live in a time that is unprecedented in human history. Our standard of living today would be considered science fiction or fantasy fifty years ago. We have 24-hour media cycles, high-speed internet, quantum physics, GPS, and other technologies that offer us greater opportunity for enhancing our lives as never before. Despite all these advances, the level of our collective happiness, fulfillment, and wisdom has not kept pace. For all our advances, we have not invested the same kind of determination to understand the nature of who we are. We have forgotten who we are at an essential level of our being and that amnesia is preventing our innate wisdom from shining through. This wisdom is being eclipsed by our undisciplined mind. We live out our lives with an endless parade of thoughts passing through our consciousness, many of which preoccupy our attention. The purpose of mindfulness is to transcend our thoughts by disciplining our mind.

Think about your life. What is happening in your life that is preventing you from experiencing inner peace or equanimity? What is preventing you from experiencing true happiness, a happiness that is independent of other people, situations, or events? We so often believe that happiness or inner peace is contingent upon us getting some result in our lives. That result we are looking for may be a healed relationship or freedom from an existing relationship. The result that we are looking for may be overcoming our thoughts of the past or the forgiveness of ourselves or others. Perhaps what we are looking for is overcoming financial hardship or physical illness.

Regardless of what we are looking for, it will not lead to true happiness. If we fail to achieve the result that we are looking for, we will either become disenchanted, disappointed, or continue to strive for that which we are looking for. If we achieve the result that we worked for, we may enjoy the feeling of happiness and success, but it will only be temporary. With time, our sense of victory will diminish, and we will start the cycle anew. In this way, we are like hamsters on a wheel. No matter how much energy we put into our effort, we often find ourselves back where we started.

Take a moment and think about your life. On a scale of 0-10, how fulfilled are you? Do you have a sense that something is missing? Do you feel as though your life is somehow incomplete? If you were honest with yourself when answering these questions, most likely you did not rate your sense of fulfillment as a ten. Also, you most likely admitted that there is something missing from your life, which is preventing you from experiencing complete fulfillment. If you are among the few who rated your fulfillment as a 10, and you experience a sense of wholeness in your life, how stable is this feeling? Do you feel this way some of the time, or most of the time? If you can sincerely say that you feel a sense of wholeness and fulfillment most of the time, this book may provide you with additional insights and nuggets of wisdom to enhance your life even more. If you are like the majority of the human race, this book offers you an opportunity to experience your life at a level which is beyond your minds ability to comprehend.

To live a life where we experience a sense of wholeness within our being and to experience a sense of inner peace and oneness with life, is to experience our individual life, merged with life itself. Let me rephrase this, as my last statement is incorrect. To live a life where we experience a sense of wholeness within our being, to experience a sense of inner peace and oneness with life, is to break the spell that has led us to believe that our individual life is separate from the rest of the world and the return to the realization that our individual life is inseparable from life itself. In other words, You are Life! What you have just read may seem abstract rather than relevant. It may seem more like prose or lofty thinking rather than being realistic. If this is true, I cannot blame you, as I have had the same reaction 20 years ago.

There is a story about a man who was walking along the side of a road. Out from a distance, he sees a horse and rider approaching him. As the rider approaches the man, the man can see that the rider is unable to control his horse. The rider is desperately trying to hold on as the horse gallops full speed. When the rider is close enough, the man recognizes the rider; it was his friend. The man shouts out to the rider: "Where are you going?" The rider replies: "I do not know. Ask the horse." This story is a metaphor for our lives. The rider is the metaphor for you and me. The horse is a metaphor for our minds. Most of us are like the rider as we have lost control of our lives. We have lost control of our lives because we have delegated our experience of life to the whims of our minds. Just as the rider, we have allowed our minds to determine where we are going. Because we allow our minds to dictate our experiences of life, we do not feel whole; this is why we feel like something is missing. As long as we turn to our minds for directions, we will not gain clarity and realize the truth of who we are. To experience profound happiness, peace, and freedom requires that we regain control of our horse. Instead of following the dictates of our minds, we need to take charge of our minds.

To practice mindfulness is to be awakened from an ancient dream and come to know that we can experience absolute freedom, happiness, and well-being. More importantly, we can make a difference in the lives of others. If enough of us learn mindfulness, we can change the future of this planet.

Mindfulness is not a form of spiritual thought, nor does it involve adopting a belief system. In fact, practicing mindfulness is inaccurate as to practice mindfulness implies that there is something to practice. Rather, mindfulness means taking the time to notice what exist already. My hope is that you will approach this book with an open mind, an open heart, and the courage to challenge the beliefs that you hold for yourself and others. If you persist in exploring mindfulness, you will experience your life in a whole new fulfilling and amazing way.

There was a servant who had worked for years serving his master at his beckon call. The master lived in a large mansion but would never leave his room. Whenever he wanted his servant, he would call the servant, who would come to the door of the master's room. The door was always locked so the servant would listen to his master's orders through the closed door. One day, the servant was performing his duties when he saw a maid who also worked at the mansion. The servant shared with the maid how he was becoming more and more displeased with his master. "I have worked for my master for many years, and I do everything he asks me to do, yet he is never pleased. Nothing is ever good enough for him; he always wants more and more." The maid told the servant that he should talk to the master about this and let him know how he felt. The servant thought about what the maid said. He had realized that he had always listened to the master without ever questioning him. He was so frustrated at this point that he decided that he would talk to the master.

The servant went to the master's door and called his name, but there was no response. He then knocked on the door, still no response. The servant then turned the doorknob, and the door opened slightly. The servant could not believe it; the door was unlocked. Never before had the door not been locked! The servant gathered his courage and entered his master's room; what he saw left him stunned. His master's room was empty; there was no furniture, no master! The servant stood in the empty room in despair, realizing that he had spent all these years serving someone who did not exist.