Careful What You Seek

Well, then, why train the brain?

I am tempted to be a smart-alec and say that

a wild brain is something to be feared. Train it.

The truth is that a wild (untrained) brain IS dangerous. It keeps us potentially unhealthy. It keeps us from seeing what is around us. It keeps us from focus and awareness, stuck in what was, what never will be, or what we wish would be.

“Few of us ever live in the present. We are forever anticipating what is to come or remembering what has gone.”
― Louis L'Amour

The obvious result is we lose out on what is NOW.

Of course training a brain is not the same as "taming" it like a wild beast. In fact it is not even any kind of attempt to make it docile and dull. To the contrary, a "trained" brain works better, is more creative and interested in the world. It helps us see more things and, I firmly believe, it helps us become more adventurous because the world becomes more and more interesting each day.

I also have a hunch that training the brain makes it more open, more willing to live with paradox and uncertainty. You see when we begin to look at- and increase our awareness of- the present moment we can begin to see the small nuances and differences that help make up the overall pattern. Nothing is as complex as it seems, it is much simpler. Neither is anything as simple as it seems, it is much more complex. Simple and complex can become judgment words. Training the brain helps us move toward an open and non-judgmental approach.

Which leads to one more thing, I think, a deeper and broader understanding of truth and the ultimate awareness that it is always just beyond our grasp.

“Walk with those seeking truth…
RUN FROM THOSE WHO THINK THEY’VE FOUND IT."
--Deepak Chopra

We are always seekers of truth. But truth is always bigger than our minds can embrace.

Keep seeking.

Keep questioning.

Keep meditating.