423. Husband and Wife chat as they walk in a Park!!!!!

http://www.speakingtree.in/public/spiritual-blogs/seekers/self-improvement/husband-and-wife-chat-as-they-walk-in-a-park

It was a lovely park with immaculately kept lawn and a small space with slides made of fiberglass for the kids to play and a walking track for the middle aged to brisk walk and youngsters to jog on and for the old aged to take a stroll. It was evening time and there were a few people in the park some were practicing pranayama sitting on the benches, some young guys were doing stretching exercise and some were walking on the track.

There was this couple who were strolling in the park and the wife asked her husband who was by her side walking, “Humans have become health conscious off late; I wonder if it is more to keep the body healthy or look fit.”

Husband answered, “Does it really matter, to me the two are like sides of the same coin, if you thrive to keep your body healthy you automatically look fit. What worries me is that majority of us go head over heal to keep our body not only healthy but also attractive, but a very few think of the same for the Mind.”

Wife quipped, “Why mind can be calmed by meditation.”

Husband replied, “Yes, meditation can calm the mind but then what happens when you are not meditating? Will it not become agitated? Will it not go back to restlessness?”

Wife thought for a moment and said, “I agree that mind which is calmed in meditation is not the same when it confronts the world, so what is the solution to keep the mind calm forever?”

Husband while manoeuvring the turn said, “Mind is just projection of thoughts and meditation do slow down the flow of thoughts and in some very very rare cases it is aimed at complete cessation of thoughts though it needs immense practice”. 

 “So you say there is a need to slow down the thoughts?”

“Yes, not only at the time of meditation but always”.

Wife was confused, “Always? But how? Why should I? I need thoughts to perform my daily activities”. 

Activities like? Asked the husband.

“Like what I need to do for dinner?”

“What was it you thought to do for dinner tonight?” asked the husband.

“Hmmmm. Upma.”

“What do you need for that?”

“Soji and….”

“Stop stop you need Soji and your hand goes to the container where you have kept Soji. Right? Do you go on opening the container which has rice or wheat or ragi? Likewise just nurture those thoughts which you want, do not encourage unwanted thoughts. This is the basics of meditation….. Lessen the number of thoughts that will help a lot.

Just try this: just recall the thoughts and you can notice the thought pattern from where your thought consciously started as you say to help you perform your daily duty and where it has ended up unconsciously. And observe how many were of use and how many you just did not need at all. Why should one create garbage in the mind with lot and lots of unwanted thoughts?” Asked the husband. 

Wife was already thinking and was in the web of thoughts --if there was enough Soji in the container to make Upma after getting home or should buy some from the grocer shop and had brought her money purse?, that purse was old need to buy a new one, liked the one Ramya has need to ask her where she purchased it, the color was good but quality was just average, need to color the hair Saturday without fail for the evening party, that cream zardosi saree had to be dry-cleaned, the present dry-cleaner is not punctual with the delivery time need to look for some other nearby……………..  And the thoughts were endless…………..