{"id":220,"date":"2018-02-10T19:02:13","date_gmt":"2018-02-10T19:02:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/coachambermcauley.com\/?p=220"},"modified":"2023-11-22T13:43:54","modified_gmt":"2023-11-22T13:43:54","slug":"befriending-the-monkey","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/coachambermcauley.com\/2018\/02\/10\/befriending-the-monkey\/","title":{"rendered":"Befriending the Monkey"},"content":{"rendered":"
Examining the monkey mind and what to do about it.<\/p>\n
Several years ago, I was at a seminar with a monk who said, \u201cThe more mindful I become, the more mindful I become of\u00a0my mindlessness\u201d. He called it his \u2018monkey mind\u2019. It was such a simple statement, but a profound way of describing what I\u2019ve been experiencing for many years. My mindfulness practice brings about a mixed bag of emotions (from peace and equanimity, to frustration and depression) and I can get boggled down with feeling discouraged.<\/p>\n
I recently noticed discouragement arise\u00a0while I was observing my mind behaving like a fidgety little monkey and I wanted my mind to behave more like a peaceful soaring bird. I wondered how I could be practicing meditation for 15 years and still get swept away with incessant ramblings? My mentor always reminds me that a monkey mind is part of common humanity and she smiles warmly while telling me I\u2019m not doing anything wrong\u2026 but, I still have days when I think I\u2019m going bonkers with my monkey mind.<\/p>\n
Whenever I feel like I\u2019m going bonkers, I resort to my life skills toolbox and pull out the tools for processing emotions relating to discouragement. Two of my favourite tools for processing discouragement are; humour and reflection.<\/p>\n