"A Cavern of Sorrow I Couldn't Find"

This is crazy to me: 

Blaise Pascal wrote in the mid-1600s that “All of humanity's problems stem from man's inability to sit quietly in a room alone.” He saw that people seek constant distraction to avoid dealing with their own internal vocalizations - of the mind and heart.

What were people possibly distracting themselves with back in the 1600s?! 

We are now in, my friends, the Age of Distraction. A device in our pocket that can access most of human knowledge and a near-infinite supply of entertainment.

Yet with all our information and entertainment, we’re still living our lives seeking distractions to avoid the quiet desperation within our hearts and minds. 

I was chatting with some friends recently, and one of them said this: “How can you drive when your radio is broken?! I’d go crazy!”

Do you need to have something playing? Music, tv, conversations with others?

Try turning it off. Try being with those uncomfortable parts.

This past weekend I supported a client on a spiritual retreat. He said this at one point:

“I went searching for a cavern of sorrow, and much to my surprise, I didn’t find it.”

The cavern that he feared was there in the corners of his being...it wasn’t actually there! For years he feared it was there, he thought it was there, it seemed like it was there. But when he took the time, in a safe space, to explore it and go deeper, it wasn’t actually there.

We create a world of problems and challenges by trying to avoid the simple act of being with ourselves.

The mind thinks it’s got an accurate perception of what’s so, but when we gently, courageously, and skillfully peel back that surface of thought, story, and illusion, we find that reality is often much kinder and more loving than we expect it to be.

The mind is doing its best to help guide us to success. It’s trying to help. It’s worrying and analyzing and judging for us, not to us. 

As my 16-year-old client said at the end of our call the other night: “My mind is wanting to help me.”

It is. It really is. 

Here's a priceless tip to being with the mind: be with it in a gentle, loving, compassionate, and understanding way. 

What I’ve found to be the most powerful way to settle a troubled mind is to begin by turning toward it, gently and kindly, saying:

“Thank you. Thank you for looking out for me. Thank you for trying to help. Thank you for doing everything you can to give us a better life. I’ve got this now. I can handle this. You can relax.”

Much Love. ❤️