There are two fundamental frames we are all caught in. One is the mind, and the other is the body. Beyond these two frames lies the whole world of energy and consciousness of which we are hardly aware. While sitting in meditation, a few of us get some glimpses of that domain.
The entire world of thoughts operates in the domain of the mind. We are busy with thoughts almost 24/7. One after the other, they hardly leave us. Even in dreams, these thoughts do not leave us; the only difference is that they do not command our bodies while we are dreaming. Almost the whole day long, we are filled with thoughts about pending work at the office, fast-approaching examinations, scheduled meetings, tours and travel plans, social functions to attend, health issues, the kids' needs, finances, properties, and office politics. There are hardly any moments in our lives where we are out of the grip of these thoughts. Fear, anxiety, depression, aggression, competition, pleasure, pain, euphoria, surprise, and many more emotions fill our psyche based on our perception of the world.
However, all these thoughts just exist in our minds. With little awareness, we can see that the same events trigger different reactions in people's minds. Some get excited while riding the roller coaster in a fun park, while others become nervous and start screaming. Some become quite tense when they are about to miss a flight, while for some it is an adventure. Some become quite overactive as the exam approaches, while some become dull and lifeless. For some, anything that doesn't go according to their plans is a problem, while for many, it's a challenge. Different people behave quite differently in the same situations. Even the same person behaves quite differently in the same situation at different times. For example, when facing a traffic jam, we sometimes get agitated, while at other times we remain cool and calm.
I feel that our reactions depend upon our fixation on a mental frame. For some, economy class on a plane may be cattle class, while for many, it may be a dream just to travel by plane once. For some kids, even a loud voice from parents may appear to be exploitation, while for many, physical abuse may be quite normal. We get used to the ecosystem, and our minds adjust the parameters accordingly. So many people survived the inhuman conditions of the nazi concentration camp, while before that they would not have imagined the same.
The moment we realise that all mental reactions result from our fixation on a frame of mind, we develop the capacity to navigate changing frames quite easily. We develop the capacity to live in a hut and a palace at the same time, relish the coarse grains and the most expensive delicacies of the world, face the most sophisticated people and the biggest of the bullies, and handle respect and insult with equanimity. We can read people's intentions. We realise that people who donate to the poor are themselves beggars, begging for an image of "being good". We realise that the biggest bullies are so weak inside, and their actions are naked reflections of their insecurities. We realise that ambitions people have formed in their lives are the result of an inner vacuum. We understand that all the mental frames exist only in thin air and disappear very soon. Frustration from a meeting has no ground when we have something more urgent at home to attend to.
However, as we go a little deeper, we realise that the mind is just the first layer of the frame. There is another layer of the frame that operates at an unconscious level. Each and every cell, and probably each and every atom and subatomic particle, is a storehouse of our experiences and memories. They keep directing our minds to react to the experiences in different ways. If we have ever experienced trauma, the memories of trauma get triggered as and when we experience similar sensations. A free fall in the lift will be recalled by the mind when our body faces a jerk in the lift. Weather changes make us recall the old childhood memories associated with the season. The body unconsciously directs the mind, and that's how it subtly navigates our lives.
It's interesting to see the frames of body and mind and how we are trapped in them. With awareness of the breath while sitting in meditation, we have moments when these frames disappear, and what remains is a deep sense of being. That deep sense of being with infinite possibilities, which is not bound in any frame. All the emotions, such as fear, insecurity, and excitement, disappear in those moments, and the entire being is filled with gratitude towards the "unknown". There is love and compassion for everybody around. When we come back to the frames of body and mind, something remains with us. An awareness, though not so clear, of the relativity of the frames of body and mind we operate in, and that little awareness gives us the courage to break free of these frames to explore our lives and not to waste precious life in the narrow frame we have been trapped in. As a famous Bollywood song's lyrics:
मुसाफिर हूँ यारों ना घर है ना ठिकाना
मुझे चलते जाना है बस चलते जाना
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