Christopher Rivera (Austin, TX)
Happy New Years!!!! The kazoos blow like trumpets while confetti and streamers fly down around you all while being carelessly splashed by someone else’s champagne. There is joy in those first moments of the new year. That first kiss, the uninhibited movements of your body as you dance for the first time that year. Afterwards, the jovial celebration gives way to the quieter moments of contemplation; the self promises and hope that ‘this is going to be my year.’
Human beings have always enjoyed a good celebration. Combine that with the comfort of being part of a community and supported by others and you have the perfect opportunity for those who are wishing to make powerful changes in their life. The most popular way to make changes being in the form of new year’s resolutions. While we may set lofty goals, some achieved and others not, are we in fact curing the root cause that has led to the desire to make a resolution in the first place?
If you asked anyone what the most common new year’s resolutions are they would probably tell you they are; to lose weight, eat better, or workout. Other close seconds would be; spend time with the family, be a better person, put more effort into work, etc. There is no end to the many different resolutions that people come up with and resolutions could stem from a selfless desire to a more selfish one. For example, the people who want to lose weight may want to do so to feel more attractive and confident or they may want to ensure that they are extending their lives and being as energetic as possible for their spouse or family. Either way, the need to change comes from a desire or an uneasiness that is felt inside the mind.
” I don’t feel pretty.”
” What if I get sick? Who will take care of my family.”
” I don’t feel accomplished. I need to work harder.”
These thoughts and feelings shape the motivation and desires for change. People often ask themselves what they want, but don’t often ask themselves why they want what they want. Many assume that happiness is a result of the conditions that you create for yourself by satisfying your needs and desires. If someone wanted to exercise to boost their self confidence and succeeded, would that happiness last forever? Would they in fact feel more confident and simply be free of that particular burden?
After achieving a goal of some sort and after celebrating a joyous victory the following thought is very sobering-“What now?”
Since human being’s uneasiness and unhappiness is felt in the mind doesn’t it make sense that the mind truly needs to change. If not, those with tendencies to have low confidence would simple have those thoughts and feelings in another aspect of their lives. They would continue wanting to change things about themselves and even if they succeeded would feel relief for a temporary moment before that same negative mind soured some other aspect of their life. What torture! Who wants to repeat the same patterns and habits seeking that elusive everlasting happiness only to be let down? The answer is clearly no one.
Fortunately for us, there is now a way to target the root of that negative mind which leads us on endless endeavors to cure ourselves of our burden. We have to cure the root cause of our dissatisfaction which always stems from our mind. Once we realize that our frame of mind and the data that we have stored inside it is what continues to shape our thoughts and day to day needs and wants, we can begin to realize that we only really truly change when we change our mind.
For centuries human beings have tried to become better people by devoting themselves to their religion, family, community, or craft. The concept of new year’s resolutions and self actualization is not a recent one. Many through history have embarked on journeys of the mind and spirit to become better citizens and to find the secret to happiness. However, most people were not able to fundamentally change because there had not been a method to be free from the mind. As a result, individual suffering persisted and when the individuals in the world suffer- the entire world suffers. Now there is a method to be rid of the human mind that causes this suffering and burden. We can subtract the mind with all its various roots. Don’t let those roots take hold and grow into deeper sadness, lets rip them out and be free from them. Lets make a resolution to be rid of the causes and not just endlessly manipulate the effects of those causes.
The best new year’s resolution is to embark on the journey to change the mind through subtraction. Then, all the positive changes from working out, being healthy, to working harder would stem from a positive mind that is already satisfied and grateful but realizes that it can do better. That positive mind can do the best job possible and enjoy life without being fixated on perceived faults and lack.
Make the ultimate new year’s resolution and start subtracting at this meditation center today!
