Mind body detox is an integrated thing – you can’t fully cleanse your body if your mind holds fears, worries, stress, hatred, jealousy, ego, greed, and so forth. Similarly, you will not have peace of mind and true happiness if your body is being poisoned.
The ancient Taoists, Buddha, Zen Buddhists, Sufis and others were practitioners of Meditation, or what we here call Mind Body Detox. Meditation, “Mind Detox”, is about removing the compulsive thoughts, fears, hates, worries and other attachments from our minds; just as body detox is removing the toxins and accumulated crap from our bodies.
The process involves realizing that the real culprit behind ones problems is ones own mind.
After realizing this fact, you can then take specific steps to fix the root cause of all your problems by cleaning your own mind.
These are a couple of Dohas or Stanzas from the Sufi Kabir in the original Hindi/Urdu language written in English script, and my translation:
Bura Jo Dekhan Main Chala, Bura Naa Milya Koye
Jo Munn Khoja Apnaa, To Mujhse Bura Naa Koye
(I went in search for evil, but the evil I couldn’t find
When I searched my own mind, I saw that no one is as bad as me )
Kabir Man Nirmal Bhaya, Jaise Ganga Neer
Pache Pache Har Phire, Kahat Kabir Kabir(Kabir washed his own mind clean, like the Holy Ganges
Every one follows behind, saying Kabir Kabir)
The Sufi Kabir here says that he went in search for Evil, the real bad person behind the troubles in the world, but he couldn’t find this Evil person no matter where he lookd. Everyone one had a reason for doing what they did, “To know all, is to forgive all”.
Then Kabir searched his oen mind and soon realized that his own mind was the ‘bad guy’, the real criminal, the one who points the finger at others people for all sorts of crimes.
In the second doha Kabir says that he washed clean his own mind, and now people everywhere follow him, calling his name: “Kabir”, “Kabir”.
Kabir’s central message in this verse is to to first realize that our problems are caused not by other people, not by the world, not by the devil, not by anything out there, but by our own minds. And then fix the problem by self cleansing.
Kabir’s Dohas and Songs are sung by Sadhus, Sufi’s, Sikhs and Yogis throughout India. They can serve as a means to achieving peace and sense of connection with the Infinite, with Being
For further explore this, read:
For more on Zen, Zen Koans and Sufi Stories and Parables, read:
Tell me what problem you have?
As a Zen master asked:
Tell me what problem you have, if you don’t think about it?
There is no problem, unless we think about it.
All our problems have the mind at their root.
Silencing the Monkey Mind
You need to first realize that all problems are mind manufactured, then you remove these mind manufactured ‘problems’ by controlling or silencing the monkey mind.
You do this by not identifying with the thoughts, not identifying with the mind, the root cause of all your problems.
Thoughts Just Come and Go
Is your mind really yours?
If it is your mind, then can you switch it off, put it away for a while?
It is crucial to realize that thoughts just come and go. You may disagree, you may believe that you are creating the thoughts that you are thinking by using your mind. But if you carefully observe your thoughts, you may discover that this is not the case.
If you are creating your thoughts, then why don’t you stop creating your thoughts? If you are creating your thoughts, then why don’t you create different, more brilliant thoughts, that would make you a billionaire like Bill Gates or Steve Jobs?
Thoughts just come and go. They just come and go, like waves or ripples on the sea. They have nothing to do with you, unless you ‘think’ that they do, unless you say that’s my thought, that is me, I think this and I think that. By this process of identification you start to give the thought that just come and go more substance, a solidity where none exists and start defending that thought with more thoughts.
This me, me, me is how the Ego is built over the years. The ego gets bigger, gets inflated with more thoughts about me and mine.
Just drop it. Drop the Ego and be happy.
Yoga, Liberation and the Buddha
The entire science and philosophy of Yoga is about achieving Liberation. The Buddha after spending 6 years studying, learning and applying the science he gained from the great Yogis and Sages, decided to look within. He knew exactly what to do as the Yogi Sages had taught him well, and his inner awareness had been awakened.
He sat still under the tree and did nothing, except focus his full attention on his breathing; he withdrew his attention from the mind. It was by this simple process that he achieved enlightenment and liberation.
He then spent his entire life teaching others how to do exactly the same.
That is how to be free, how to be free of ones own mind.
You can do the same thing too, you can do it now.
If you follow the ‘Water and the Tao‘, you’ll see that there is clear cut scientific evidence that proves that ‘the World’ out there is actually a reflection, a mirror, a mind generated holographic projection without any solidity or substance to it.
This ‘reflection’ shows us things about ourselves or our minds that we may not wish to see.
This mind generated reflection, our world, is telling us to face and cure its sickness. We do this by withdrawing our attention and power from the sick mind. The sickness comes or persists from identifying with the mind; you think that you are your thoughts, you think that you are your ego, and that is the cause of all your problems.
Relaxation and Meditation
To assist the meditation process, we need to get out of the mental rat race. We need to relax, which lays the foundation for meditation. We need to change our lifestyle from a fast, mad-dash, stress filled life to a relaxed mind and body, factors that effect such things as our immunity to disease, are very beneficial to our health as well as our emotional, mental and physical well being.
The way to do this is to get into the body. Feel the aliveness of the body, feel the sensations, feel the joy, the pleasure of just being, of being alive.
Relax, have a massage, have a sauna – chill out. Drop your worries and your cares.
Water, fasting,and Relaxation
To relax, change to a simple life style – stop eating, drink water, have a sauna, have a massage. Let the mind and body relax.
Drinking pure ionized water, fasting on pure water, infrared saunas and therapeutic massages are the best ways to relax, calm the mind and for making a shift towards an awareness of Being.
In the city, a portable infrared sauna is a great thing to have at home. It is not necessary, but it does help the process by deeply relaxing the body, and if you have regular saunas, it gets the mind into the routine or habit of relaxing, letting go.
Regular massages are also great ways to relax and be free of the mind, particularly non-clinical massages where the focus is on the sensual aspects of touch, the breath and the energetic levels of ones being. There is a connection between conscious relaxation, breath and Being. Think of relaxation and breath as the royal road to Being.
Think of the mind as a non-being, a computer, a robot that can not feel passion, can not feel pleasure, can not truly enjoy being alive. The mind can not love or experience love.
But you can. That is, Being can.
Compulsive thought and the tyranny of the mind
Relaxing the mind, mind detox, means not taking your self seriously, not taking your thoughts seriously. It’s about letting them go, being free from them or being free from your habitual attachment to thoughts.
Compulsive thoughts are just as toxic as the environmental toxins that we are surrounded with. The mind is a good tool, but if left unchecked, left in charge, it becomes a tyrant.
Look around you, the shocking pollution of the environment, the wars, the killings, the ever more sophisticated, efficient and powerful bombs, the fear, the hatred, the fascist global police state, the multinationals, the pharmaceutical cartels, the drugged and poisoned society, the greed; the divisions amongst people, the worried, unfriendly, unhappy faces, rushing to their graves – what is it that you are seeing?
You are seeing the effects of the tyranny of the mind. The unconscious mind that has been left to run riot is being reflected in the world that you are seeing.
Free yourself from mental tyranny and external pollution. They are one and the same thing; one is a reflection of the other. Without mental pollution there would be no external pollution.
Think of it as detoxifying your mind and your body.
Meditation: sitting still and doing nothing
Start your meditation by focusing attention on your breath, consciously make the breathing deeper.
Observe any thoughts that arise, try not to identify with the thoughts, remember that you are not your thoughts.
You are not the thinker either. You are the awareness, the presence in which thoughts arise.
You are that which is aware of the world of form, the world of thought. When you find yourself occupied by a thought, try to get to the space before that thought arose or the space after the thought goes.
Focus upon the space between thoughts, on the inner stillness.
If you’re using an FIR or other sauna as an aid, as you get uncomfortable, which you quickly will, try not to resist the bodies detox process; just relax and let it happen. Be here and now, even if you’d rather be somewhere else. After the sauna you will feel very relaxed and energized. Take a shower, stay relaxed and alert; avoid focusing on any thoughts.
Continue with the deeper breathing, maintain your attention on the breath and in your body and not on any thoughts. Remember your mind is not YOU; your mind is your only ‘enemy’, your prison, but only because you allow it to be. Free yourself now, only you can do this.
Mental relaxation, the ‘switching off‘ of the mind (a state of no-mind or not identifying with any thought) while remaining very alert and present is the essence of meditation.
You don’t need to do anything else.
The Lotus seed and the path of enlightenment and self-mastery
The beautiful lotus flower is often found floating on muddy, dirty ponds; yet it maintains its beauty and purity, untainted by the pollution around it. The unique journey of the lotus seeds from darkness to perfection symbolises our spiritual journey.
The lotus seeds in the bottom of muddy, dirty ponds, totally surrounded by darkness, with not a glimmer of light. Unlike other seeds, it gently moves up, away from the ground. It is as if an inner knowledge, an inner light that cannot be seen, is guiding it, telling it to drop everything it knows, drop its fears and travel up. Eventually it reaches the surface and the light, where it flowers to its true potential, beauty and perfection.
As it starts to open and unfold to its true, inherent beauty and destiny, the lotus flower improves the water around it. The water in the entire dark pond becomes clearer, transparent and allows light and life to flow into the pond.
The lotus flower is the perfect symbol for mind-body detox, as it has been a symbol of the Chinese culture, Buddhism, and the path of Enlightenment.
The path involves self-examination, self-development, self-purification and eventual self-mastery.
Are we not like the lotus seed; surrounded by darkness, ignorance and pollution, though it may seem as if we are living in advanced, enlightened times? As Gandhi said “Be the change you want to see in the world“, because as you change the world will start to change.
The Tibetan mantra Ohm Mani Padmi Hum refers to the journey of the lotus.
It literally means “God, the Jewel in the Lotus, Us“.
This mantra contains within it the sum total of all that the Buddha taught. As a Tibetan master explained:
There is not a single aspect of the eighty-four thousand sections of the Buddha’s teachings which is not contained in Avalokiteshvara’s six syllable mantra: Om Mani Padme Hum
Eckhart Tolle and The Power of Now
Eckhart Tolle’s simple but profound book The Power of Now is an effective guide to moving from a state of living under the tyranny of the mind to a state of inner peace and bliss.
It can be thought of as the Tao Teh Ching for the modern world.
Eckhart Tolle is a modern exponent of the ancient way, a living Buddha.
Eckhart Tolle became penniless and slept on park benches in the state of absolute bliss for several years. He no longer sleeps on benches, but teaches others how to have the same state.
Eckhart says that his task is to be a nobody, that is to be without an ego.
Amongst Eckhart Tolle’s grateful readers are Gillian Anderson of The X Files; Cher, who says he “has changed my life“; and Meg Ryan, who introduced Oprah Winfrey to Tolle’s. Oprah’s recommendation helped his book The Power of Now become an international best-seller.
Get the book, and read it daily.
Some interviews with Eckhart Tolle:
Writings from Eckhart Tolle’s:
In Being Male and Female are One
The Pain Body (includes excerpt from the tape)