Friday, July 13, 2007

The mind-soul connection

May be during some calamity or under some joyous occasion we feel so connected with our inner self.We feel one with pain/happiness that we live in the moment.But in everyday life this is very difficult to achieve until we put some effort in that direction.One of the easiest ways to achieve it is through silence.To make ourselves still is very difficult.Speaking from my personal experience as a music addict, I felt it very difficult to survive without music.
But after few days of silence,your mind accepts it ...No complaints !!!

One of the reasons for me to ban music for some time was each song with words and meanings gives rise to a emotion deep within me.This emotion got through music changes the emotions which we have without the stimulation.The same goes for movies and people who can destroy your inner stillness.I don't say that we start differentiating and go and live in an island.But when we cultivate silence for some time external factors wont affect you.You become immune.But as long as you are cultivating it sometimes it is of great help to reduce the noise in our lives.

3 comments:

bodhoham said...

Preethi,
Let me try to put this in a different perspective. How do you get to know that your inner stillness is destroyed by something external (like a movie or music) ?
The fact that you are able to see the changes in your mental condition (from a state of stillness to a state of disturbance) proves that you are free from that mental condition. In other words, that mental condition is just an event observed by you. Do you agree ?

Anonymous said...

This is an amazing post.

True that music is energising - it makes us feel more energetic, hence we tap our feet, etc. It may also heal - people often feel a lot better and more inspired by music.

But this statement is really so amazing:

This emotion got through music changes the emotions which we have without the stimulation.

In a way, music is also escapism. It allows us to escape from the thoughts/emotions which we would have got without the stimulation, and we're unable to face that, we feel "bored" and revert to music. It requires a lot of courage and strength to face these, but consequently it also develops the strength as well.

I can relate to what you've said that after a certain amount of such cultivation in silence, one can again listen to music and get energised but stay in touch with the silence. The difference is one is more accepting of situations as they are, one neither wants to go seeking music, nor move away from it if it is there.

bodhoham, that's an interesting point. It does look like an observation, but still for me, this state of observation fluctuates, sometimes I'm truly observing, and sometimes its just an intellectual concept that I think I'm observing, even though I'm actually involved :)

Anonymous said...

Hi preethi
I came to your blog through helpothers.org. Your blog has nice stuff. When I read this blog entry, I remember a quote. I am sharing it with you.

"Live within; be not shaken by outward happenings"
- Sri Aurobindo

Meera