There seems to be an inherent compulsion to be 'busy.' We feel guilty if we have a simple day where we get just a few things done and yet many of us are just busy for the sake of busy. The cool thing about meditation is that it slows our mind allowing us to think about why we do the things we do and if they are actually helping or hindering us in our quest for happiness. We surround ourselves with people who agree that we should be busy and then when we desire to just 'be' we feel as if there is something wrong with us or something. But many people aspire to just be as if it were an accomplishment in itself. The guilt we feel comes from an early age where we are enrolled in sports, music lessons and language classes. We are trained to think at a million miles an hour and yet seem to not be truly able to make healthy decisions for ourselves as is temptation is stronger than logic.
I realized how this type of pressure can unconsciously affect us because we are judging ourselves based on how we use our time. There is pressure to do a lot of social things or even to achieve certain things. For example, nowadays a yoga teacher often thinks more about their following than about the quality of their teaching or how effective it is. The busy mind is quite contagious and truly taxing. If you can stop thinking that you 'should' be busy and take time to tune into your intuition, you'll actually be able to hear the subtle wisdom of your soul. When we are fluttering around, we just move in circles instead of hearing from our soul why we are here and what job we came to do.
It takes quiet solitude to start to hear your soul. It takes slowing down and feeling the sensations of your body which are a feedback mechanism that is talking to you all the time. But when you sit for ten minutes and get antsy realize that this is your old programming coming up. It can be helpful to declutter your home and just sit in a place with simple peaceful items like an altar, a candle and spiritual items that remind you that there is so much more to reality than most people recognize. The reason I truly believe it's important to remove the guilt around simplifying your life is because then you can start to make decisions for yourself from your higher self. You can find a fulfilling life instead of an empty hustle. You can hear truth instead of the stories society tells us about what our deepest motivations should be. Moreover, if you slow down your mind to notice what you are thinking about, you can start to direct your thoughts to attract what you want.
Notice how many celebrities promote and practice meditation? Well it's no coincidence. They realize that thoughts affect reality and thinking positive attracts blessings into your life. When we reflect and relax the nervous system we move from 'yang' output mode into 'yin' creative and receptive mode. Many successful people (writers especially) know that they need only focus on the task at hand and not add in extraneous events, celebrations, shopping trips, media and conversations. A very wise teacher who I have the deepest respect for said something about this which really stuck out to me. He basically said to just focus on what you're doing and then focus on the next thing you're doing and do it as accurately as possible. What a revolutionary way of thinking. It means that when you're cooking your mind isn't racing back or forward about what happened or what may happen, you're simply breathing and generating a feeling of gratitude and peace while focusing on the task at hand.
The idea of minimalism doesn't just apply to the things we own but it expands to the things we do and the amount of thoughts we have. It's interesting that when you meet happy people, their minds seem more simple than complex. They have cracked the code and see past the veil. They let things come to them because they are at ease with the true nature of the universe and so they know that if they just breathe and keep their mind positive, the right things will continue to gravitate towards them (even people to support and help them). For example, if you are wanting to attract more financial resources just keep your mind on that idea of what it feels like when you have a savings and things are easy. That reality will start to manifest and your stream of consciousness will help you make the decisions that lead you towards it. I'm not advocating inaction, don't get me wrong. I believe that we should all be contributing to society but I'm saying just do that and don't get caught up in the idea that you need to be reading books, going to the gym, watching every new show and movie, attending every birthday party, listening to every new song, trying every new restaurant and talking to all of your friends all the time.
Let's look a little deeper at where this guilt lives. It also rears it's head into our romantic partnerships and our work. We think if we aren't getting promoting or getting bigger, our business side is failing. Yet it should be more about the quality of our relationships, the integrity of our work, our ability to accept feedback as well as be supportive of others. The people who have figured this out don't feel like they are working. The money doesn't provide happiness only temporary satisfaction. Choosing a job because of why and not the pay scale will keep you much happier in the long run. Choosing something less glamorous and more altruistic will also keep you grounded in your intention and not caught up in societies expectations of what your life is supposed to look like. In our relationships, we feel if we aren't having a million date nights or moving along at a certain speed with a wedding, home and kids then we are failing and yet that's a preconceived notion and script that keeps us busy pushing for an ideal that we haven't yet questioned. What if just sharing the peaceful company of another was enough? What if we took time to just have conversation and be in each other's presence raw and unrushed, would our relationships be deeper and more meaningful?
So don't apologize for being simple. You'll find more success, more peace and people will enjoy your company more. It's also a great way to work on your intuition.