Can slowing down help in developing clarity of thought?
Question that sometimes there is, if we are very busy, there is a lack of clarity in thinking, and that leads to some dissatisfaction. So, is it that we need to slow down our life so that we can have clarity of thought? Yeah, that is possible. See.
So, dealing with our mind is a battle. And in a battle, we cannot go with a redefined strategy, which we make as inalterable. We should have a strategy whenever we are going to battle.
But sometimes when the enemy attacks in an unexpected way, we may have to respond in an appropriate way that we cannot stick to the strategy. For example, if I go to fight with a sword, if the enemy is attacking me with a bow and arrow, I am not even able to reach the enemy before the enemy kills me. So, then I also have to shift to bow and arrow.
So, basically dealing with the mind is like fighting a war. And we should have some plan, but also there has to be some adjustment according to the entire circumstance. That means, in general, the principle is that being busy is good.
It doesn't give us, give our mind too much space to agitate us and to put us into mind. So, in principle, being busy is good for devotees. But there is also the possibility, the danger that in being busy, we become passionate.
And sattva-guna brings clarity of thought. That is, sarva-dvareshu dehesu prakasha-upajaya yana-nidata-davidya devyam sattva-upajaya. So, sattva-guna means that the senses are illuminated with knowledge.
They understand what I should take into the senses, what I should not take in, what I should not take in. So, now, rather than thinking in terms of that I should decrease my pace to bring clarity of thought, we can think of how we can think of what activities give us clarity of thought and make time for that. So, the focus is not on flowing around.
The focus is on something that brings clarity. Because it is not necessary that slowing down alone will bring clarity. Slowing down can also leave us idle for being attacked by mind.
So, I find that journaling helps me a lot in bringing clarity of thought. So, when I have to make decisions, you know, should I do this, should I write on this topic, should I travel here or there, there are many decisions we all have to make and they all depend on our own individual discretion. We can't just have written a priority decision, we can't ask things.
So, where to invest our time, what to do. So, at that time we need clarity of thought. So, I find that journaling means write down the pros, write down the cons.
As long as the thoughts are in the head, often they cause congestion in the head. Get them out and that creates a distance between us and the thoughts and then we can evaluate them with greater objectivity. That is not important.
This is not on the report. This is a reason which I need to take into consideration. This is not so important.
Like that we can evaluate them better. So, rather than focusing on slowing down, we can focus on making time for activities that bring clarity of thought. So, that will in a sense require us to slow down and cut down on some other activities.
But our primary focus is not on cutting down. Our primary focus is on doing something positive that brings about clarity of thought. And it may also be just something that induces us certain peacefulness.
We have our standard process of sadhana. But we may find within the standard process of sadhana also there are some things which are specially nourishing for us. So, maybe sometimes just sitting down and listening to the Naloka, just singing a Vaishnava bhajan.
That might calm us down. Just reciting a favorite section from scripture. So, this really calms me down.
This brings this calm in the mind. Now, it is not that sometimes it is chanting. Chanting is the best way to do it.
But we need to see whether that method works for me or not. I may just say, oh, kadasha, I'll chant extra rounds. But is that extra round nourishing me? If not, if I am trying to do something else, which is also devotional activity, that may nourish me.
So, we have to see what method works for us. And clarity of thought is definitely required. In general, it is especially required in decisions.
So, investing time in the activity that brings clarity of thought is important. So, by observing ourselves, we can also learn. At this time, I was thinking clearly.
Here, I was just a little pressured. So, what happened? Why was I thinking clearly at this time? Sometimes the clear thinking just comes as a, you could say, a gift from Krishna. But sometimes there are activities which we can do, which can bring about clarity.
So, find out those activities and make time for them. In general, those who are thoughtful, they may find writing helpful. So, it is not necessary that you have to write daily.
Although writing daily creates a culture of reflectiveness, which can help. Now, again, it is a different thing. For somebody who is writing daily, they take it as an assignment, become the borrower, I have to write every day.
Maybe what you could do is, say for a month, I will write down 10-15 minutes a month. And see whether it helps. Then you may find that, okay, I don't need to write every day.
I can write maybe once a week or twice a week. And maybe I can also write in between. At that time, I will write for one hour.
And I will really think about it. So, you see what works for you. And do that.
And sometimes, you know, the mind creates fuzziness based on the same issues. So, oh, why did you go to, why are devotees so insensitive? Why do devotees help? Why do I, I am left alone, nobody is helping me. So, if there are some standard problems that the mind creates for us, it is good to invest time in creating standard context for it.
That means, we have heard some classes, we know some philosophical points, we ourselves we have got some realizations. Put it all together as one unit, at one place. So, whenever I start feeling lonely, or I start feeling isolated, or uncared for, you know, I need that.
And then that becomes like a custom-made weapon for dealing with that custom-made problem. So, that means, here we are talking about the opposite thing. One is, you know, what breeds clarity.
And we deal with that and we create time for that. But the other is, if we find, there are specific issues that obscure the clarity of the mind. There are specific things which the mind troubles us with.
Then create custom weapons to counter that. And keep those ready. Whenever I start feeling irritated with something, whenever I start feeling, say, afflicted by anger, or afflicted by lust, or whatever.
Now, there are, there is a standard process of mind. In the standard process, I mean, you just read scripture when you feel irritated or whatever. When I feel anger, or lust, or greed, the scripture is so vast that at that particular time, I am, what I am reading the scripture may not be relevant for that particular anartha that I am battling.
So, if a particular anartha regularly troubles us, then putting our time and energy, it is a part of our sadhana, I would say, to put things together. Okay, this verse is very nice. And not just the verse, but if some verse illumines us, some part illumines us, don't just write down the point, write down about that point what illumines us.
Because in the mind, often, sabotages are minimal. That is, at one particular point, when I hear a stotra, it is so illuminating. So, after that, I go back and, no, no, no, no, it is so illuminating.
Because at that time, the connection of thoughts isn't happening. Okay, what is this stotra meaning? And how that connection to stotra, and how that took it forward? So, if we don't just write the point that inspires us, but write also a little bit about what in that point inspires us, then that will make the, as I said, the thing more customized. It's like, not just having a sword, but sharpening the sword, so that it's available for us.
So, that way, if you have this two-pronged strategy, investing time for things which bring about clarity, and investing time for countering the standard ways in which the mind takes away clarity.