Are you keeping an eye on your mind?

[Aloka]

I enjoyed reading this article by Dzogchen Ponlop Rinpoche:

"Are you keeping an eye on your mind or losing it?"

https://dpr.info/articles/are-you-ke...-on-your-mind/

here's an excerpt:

If there’s no sanity, there is no insanity. How can you have insanity without sanity? So we must recognize the importance of insanity.

The American feminist writer and activist, Rita Mae Brown, said “The statistics on sanity are that one out of every four people are suffering from mental illness. Look at your three best friends. If they’re okay, then it’s you.”

That’s kind of contemplative, isn’t it? And it’s also spiritual. It shows that you’re looking at yourself and your patterns. So maybe you can try that experiment with your three best friends.

Any comments in connection with the full article ?

[Genecanuck]

Hello Aloka,

This is a very interesting article. It made me reflect on how much time I sometimes get stuck in thinking about what others are thinking about and not focusing on what is going on in my own mind. This article is a nice reminder that it is important to pay attention to our own thought patterns: what is going on in our mind.

I also really appreciated the emphasis on paying attention to our own mind and becoming aware that we can't experience sanity without understanding, appreciating and experiencing chaos. Dzogchen Ponlop Rinpoche explains that if we pay attention to our mind and thoughts, we will find a patten of thinking that triggers a consistent pattern in our emotional responses.
I like the analogy of comparing the mind to a car: "[i]f you don’t service your car, it’s going to break down".
Thanks for sharing this article.

Kind Regards,

Gene