There are two fundamental frames, we all are caught in. One is the mind and the other is the body. Beyond these two frames lies the whole world of energy and consciousness that we are hardly aware of. 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 while in dreams, these thoughts do not leave us, and the only difference is that they do not command our body while we are dreaming. Almost the whole day long, we are filled with different thoughts such as the pending work at the office, fast-approaching examinations, scheduled meetings, tours and travel plans, social functions to attend, health issues, needs of the kids, 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 tensed 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 does not go as per their plans appears to be 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, while facing a traffic jam, sometimes we get agitated, while sometimes we remain cool and calm.
I feel that our reactions depend upon our fixations to a mental frame. For example, for some economy class on a plane may be cattle class, while for many it may be a dream just to travel once in flight. 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 lower or higher 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 realize that all mental reactions are a result of our fixation on a frame of mind, we develop the capacity to navigate through the changing frames quite easily. We develop the capacity to live in a hut and 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 through the intentions of people. We realize that people donating to the poor are themselves the beggars begging for an image of "being good". We realize that the biggest bullies are so weak inside and their actions are naked reflections of their insecurities. We realize 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 of a meeting does not hold any ground the moment we have something more urgent at home to attend.
However, as we go a little deeper, we realize 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 call, and probably each and every atom and sub-atomic 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 keeps directing the mind unconsciously and that's how it keeps subtly navigating our life.
It's interesting to see the frame of body and mind and how we are trapped in these frames. With awareness of the breath, while sitting in meditation, we get some moments where 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, insecurities, 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 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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