The mind is a two-edge sword: it serves both as a tool for sense-making as well as a source of profound distortion.
A slogan made famous by the United Negro College Fund, “A mind is a terrible thing to waste,” speaks to this duality: our mind’s intellectual potential, transforming chaos to order, and its darker side of the reverse: bending reality into the imaginary. It is this capacity for distortion that intrigues me.
Often, our minds lead us astray through internal fantasy and external illusions. Magicians exploit this vulnerability, turning audiences into willing accomplices through their own deceptions. We follow along because our subconscious craves for the thrill of the “wild side”–no different from our inclination for Frankenstein and vampire.
However, there is a steep price for this imaginative freedom, particularly when the boundary between reality and fantasy becomes too porous. The overactive mind becomes a fog blinding us during the day and a restless shadow haunting us at night–ultimately disrupting our normal daily functions.
Have you tried to control your mind? To what success?
Running with Buddha 