I’ve been moving house. It’s amazing how much stuff I’ve accumulated in a short space of time. When I’ve found something I like, I’ve acquired it and put it aside for later. But, the “later’, the time I would use it, has not eventuated.
Why? I had totally forgotten about these things. And why was that? I had put them away in a safe place or an out-of-the-way place. However, when I can’t see something, I forget about it. Then I don’t use it. And, if I didn’t use it, maybe it wasn’t necessary.
We do this within our minds. We experience things. Then we tuck these memories away at the back of our minds for later use. Or we have good ideas, ways to improve our lives. But we tuck these away as well, instead of acting on them. So these too are put away at the back of our minds under “later’, or “when things are better” or “for when I have time.”
It’s funny though that we don’t even take them out of that storage place. They just remain there for “later”. We don’t put them to good use. The memories, however, will emerge from time to time.
So I thought: Wow! What a lot of stuff I’ve accumulated! I acquired this “stuff” to use it. But I haven’t used it! That’s wasteful. Now, when I need to move, I have to pack it all up, carry it to the new house, find a place for it, unpack it and put it away again! What a lot of work! It would have been a lot easier, if I had not accumulated this “stuff” in the first place.
Likewise we do this in our minds. We see many things. We understand them. We do learn. But we put away for later the thoughts and ideas that emerge from those thoughts, instead of acting on them in the present moment. Then we carry these thoughts and ideas around with us as unfulfilled desires.
“Wouldn’t it be nice, if I had done that?” or “If only I had done that.”
Then these desires become regrets – and regrets feel bad. I don’t like regrets. I would rather have done at the time what I wanted to do. However, like most of us, I didn’t do what I thought about at that time. I doubted whether I could or should do it. I wondered what others might have thought about it. I didn’t know if others would have supported my actions. And so I didn’t do what I really wanted to do, when I had that great idea. Now, I have regrets. The time has passed and I am left with regrets. So I’ll put this away with the other thoughts and ideas I had stored for later some time ago.
Wow! How I accumulate stuff in my mind! Do you do this? I expect you do.
Now, if I could de-clutter my mind, just as I have been de-cluttering all the stuff I’ve brought with me from my old house, that would be good. That would be a big job! Yes indeed. I will have to think deeply to discover just what I have put in the “for later” section of my mind. What have I put aside that I really wanted to do, but didn’t?
Oh dear! I’ll have to go right back through my whole life to discover them all. OK, there is an easier way. I’ll start from right now instead.
What is in my mind now? Positive thoughts, negative thoughts, necessary thoughts and waste thoughts. Of course there are many feelings that go with them. But let me just list the thoughts I am having and see what I have there in my mind. Here’s what I have:
Positive: – I like this new place.
Negative: – I’m not good enough.
Necessary: – Make breakfast! And what’s for lunch?
Waste: – Maybe I can’t make things good here. – I’m worried about the bills. – What if others don’t like my new place?
– Why did they say that?
I had to stop myself there, as the waste thoughts just kept coming.
I thought: Well, that’s where the clutter is! All the waste thoughts are just making me feel bad. And I’m not getting anywhere with them. They are weighing me down. I’m also carrying them around with me. Why don’t I just get rid of them? Give them away like old used clothing and bric-a-brac. Put them in the recycling bin! But definitely don’t keep them with me anymore. They are not helpful for me. They are not productive. They are just a weight to carry.
So, the next job, just like with the extra stuff I have moved to the new house, is to get rid of my waste thoughts. I’ll tell you next time how I plan to do that. For now it’s just good to realise what I have been doing. I don’t want to carry so much unnecessary stuff around with me. Travel light. Then I can enjoy my journey. That’s the plan from now on.
Brahma Kumaris in Australia
The Brahma Kumaris have had a presence in Australia since 1975. There are centres and class locations in the major cities, as well as three Centres for Spiritual Learning, where courses, classes and retreats are held.
Brahma Kumaris Australia is a registered charity in the area of education (spiritual). All programs are offered free of charge as a service to the community. The ongoing operations are funded through donations from students and the public in the spirit of maintaining its educational services for the benefit of all in the community.
Meditation online: http://learnmeditationonline.org,
www.brahmakumaris.org.au,
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