How can we make our wandering consciousness more connected to the body?
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Transcript
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Hare Krishna. So, when the consciousness is just going here and there and not really connected with the body, so how can we make it more connected with the body? Yeah.
It’s not so much a matter of getting the soul to be connected with the body. It’s more of getting the consciousness to be focused where we want it to be. Sometimes, the consciousness is very connected with the body.
Say, I’m meeting someone and I’m talking with someone. But then, I’m thinking, do I look good enough? Am I like this? I’m too tall. I’m too short.
I’m too fat. I’m too thin. You know, my dress is like this.
My dress is like that. So, at that time, we are, our consciousness is connected to the body but it is not just connected with the body. It is restricted to the body.
It is constricted by the body and we are obsessed with the body. That also is not desirable. Generally, what is desirable is okay, whatever I need to be conscious of, whatever I want to be conscious of, I should be conscious of that.
So, if I’m talking with someone, I should be conscious of what is the conversation going on. Now, if I’m dressing, at that time, I want to be conscious of what kind of dress I’m wearing. So, now for that purpose, what is required is discipline.
So, when we do meditation, when we try to, say, we chant the mantras, there is musical meditation and there is personal meditation where we recite the mantra. At that time, we are simply exercising our capacity to focus. Just like our muscles grow by exercising.
Similarly, our concentration also grows by exercising. So, when we try to concentrate and we are unable to, it goes here, it goes there. But we bring it back.
It goes, we bring it back. It goes off, we bring it back. By this, we are exercising and strengthening our concentration muscles.
And that way, our capacity to focus increases more and more. And, along with this, along with meditation, in general, if we can make a habit of having periodic breaks for self-awareness. Say, after every hour, what am I doing? Ask me, what am I doing? Why am I doing this? How am I doing this? Just these three simple questions.
What am I doing? Okay, I am studying right now. Why am I studying? This is important for me. This is my career.
An important exam is there to determine how my future will be. Okay, how am I studying? I am spaced out right now. Let me concentrate.
Let me sit more elect. Sit more properly. Let me turn off my social media.
Focus. So, whatever it is, just making a habit of self-awareness, that means periodic breaks for introspection. That helps a lot in getting the consciousness back where we want to be.
Where we want it to be. And sometimes, withdrawing the consciousness from the body may also help. Because when the consciousness is caught in the body, it feels I am feeling cold, I am feeling hot, warm, whatever it is.
So, meditation actually withdraws our consciousness out of the body. And it focuses on spiritual reality. And then, when we do like this, our consciousness becomes like a malleable object.
That means, where we want it to focus, it gets focused over there. So, it requires practice. Practice of firstly, focusing on one particular thing, which is what we do in meditation.
And secondly, becoming aware of where it is, which is what we do through introspection. And through meditation and introspection, gradually we will be able to become more capable of directing our consciousness the way we need it to be. Does it answer your question? Thank you.