mindfulnessandmedotorg

The mind should be a reliable instrument of observation, but it very often is not, because it is so deeply influenced by the compulsive habits and addictions that characterize so much of modern life. Comparing the mind to a camera, you could say that these habits skew the focus, alter the depth of field, and in general do all they can to make us see not what is really there, but what the mind wants us to see. And what it wants us to see is the profit or momentary gratification it is interested in, whether it is a pastry or a sports car, a promotion or a dividend. When our attention is glued to these things, we see only the fragmented, turbulent surface of life, not the vast interconnected web of relationships supporting that surface.

Through meditation, we unglue the mind from the tantalizing surface and make it turn inwards. Then we begin to see life in a completely new way — not as a struggle to get what we want no matter what the cost, but as a compassionate dance where each creature has a beautiful role.

–Eknath Easwaran from Words to Live By