The stilling of the mind is quite a chore. The trick of letting it roam and grab briefly onto whatever it comes upon does work, but only just. Even when aimless, the mind is insatiable. It would roam forever. And the World Wide Web offers so much to grab onto no matter how briefly. The stream of news is nothing if not endless, too. After a while, the stilling becomes quite exhausting, for the silly mind is very like an adolescent monkey. Curious and playful, it pokes its nose into every distraction it strays upon. One keeps reining it in, pulling it away from danger, and castigating it for its inexhaustible prying, but to no avail. Every once in a while, the only remedy is sitting and staring into the distance. Even better, sitting and staring into darkness. The stilling for true. The trick of abandoning all thought offers a respite from it all. After some rest, one can let one’s mind roam and grab briefly onto whatever it comes upon once again. Having gotten used to the repeating cycle, one can choose the most fitting of the two tricks at will.

Addendum (April 24, 2016)

Although I have hinted at abandoning all thought as the only way forward in many of my pieces written over quite a few years, this piece is rather direct on this topic. And so is its peppy title. Indeed, abandoning all thought at will and for as long as one wishes is the only way to liberation worth pursuing. It takes time and considerable skill to rein in the monkey, but it can be mastered in the end. As far as tricks go, thoughtlessness is the mother of them all. Most important, it comes without a hint of metaphysics, let alone religious rigmarole of any description. Liberation is an eminently practical task, after all.