The Vajra Parrot Squawks!

I was thinking earlier about how conditioned we've been to always be doing *something*. It's insidious. Maybe we've been nagged by parents, other relatives, irate bosses or teachers, but the message is the same: idleness = bad, activity = good.

But is it?

In many ways this conditioning is at the heart of how we're disconnected from ourselves and our mental processes. Why? Because sitting around 'idly' watching our minds is commonly perceived as being on the Spectrum of Negativity: anywhere from wasteful and non-productive to just plain silly. Yet in reality, watching how the mind works, and how our bodies and minds are so intimately connected, is an incredibly productive thing to do. And you have to be doing nothing in order to derive anything benefit from this process.

One has only to look at the blooming Mindfulness industry to see the health benefits of kicking back and watching what's going on. It's not all about hippies lounging around, waxing mystical about some mental trip; it's about adults taking responsibility for their thoughts and uncovering a lot of new information about who they are, how they react and - more importantly - why they react to things the way they do. This idling about, simple as it is, can liberate people from negative habitual patterns very effectively, or help people to deal with them productively.

Let's go back to the beginning. It is because we're so conditioned to be doing all manner of things, and not used to really relaxing (idling), that when the world suddenly 'stops' - and unsightly terrain sharply comes into focus - in a traumatic mental event (boyfriend dumps you, cat dies, best friend doesn't reply to texts, etc. etc.) we're left in a bit of a pickle.

What to do? What are these feelings? Why is this happening to ME? Got to stop this! Got to get out of here! Got to.... blah blah blah... And in no time we're crawling up the walls. All too familiar?

Really, the mind is just playing true to form, doing what it's been conditioned to do for many years: hence the activity, the maelstrom that's gaining momentum inside your cranium. This is what the mind does. It doesn't know any other way of dealing with these situations. And this is what you're experiencing. It's like dominoes knocking each other over in one of those Guiness Book of World Records documentaries. We've all heard of the flight or fight response? This chaos is actually a form of 'flight' - paradoxically, the 'fight' response is to stand one's ground... and do nothing.

The more we undo the conditioning to be doing *something* all the time the less the mind whips itself into a frenzy when things come crashing down about our ears. Standing/sitting one's ground and looking into the eye of the storm is what we're about here. This is the path of heroes, not idlers.

So, really, the best thing to do in negative situations is actually to do *nothing*: to be as idle as you can for as long as it takes, watching what's going on without making any effort to judge that the experiences are good or bad.

You can watch your body language too, and use this to help you. Have you noticed, for example, that when you're in a negative spiral your breath is tighter and shallower? Next time you're angry or jealous try and notice your breath. And when you're relaxed or happy, nave you noticed that the breath is long and fine? Try and see it. If you find yourself stressed, regulate your breathing, make it like the breathing you experience when you're calm and happy. It works. But first you have to recognise it for yourself, and this can only be done when you allow yourself a little idle time on a regular basis.

Then you can see how idleness is not wasteful but, in fact, an incredibly potent tool for survival and daily living. You can gain all sorts of insights as to where feelings - positive and negative - come from, what they really mean and, if you're lucky, the direct experience that these are just thoughts: nothing to be so perpelexed about after all, just clouds, floating about in the ether...

In other words, less wall-climbing all round.

Idleness is a virtue in many ways, and one which we all need to cultivate mope and more. We owe it to ourselves.