I get in the car with intention. I’m acting OK, but inside I’m like a freight train flying down the track. I can’t stop, there is an urgency to complete, get done, accomplish. This is definitely not the internal space conducive to my current circumstances which include a relaxed day with my husband. I try to slow the momentum, relax into the moment. In an effort to assess and then address the problem of the freight train, I talk it out.
What emerges is a suspicion that I have overdone Doing Mind. I explain to the husband that Doing Mind is the internal experience of getting things done and Being Mind is the converse internal experience of just existing. With evaluation, the act of doing overlaid with more acts and more acts of doing, eventually gain a momentum in my brain that is analogous to the freight train. The brain can’t stop.
I take a step back to compare the two. For me:
Doing Mind is focused, thinking, working.
Being Mind is looking out a window, blank.
Doing Mind is cleaning and cooking.
Being Mind is eating.
Doing Mind is working with clients.
Being Mind is meditating.
Doing Mind is writing.
Being Mind is reading.
Doing Mind is planning a walk.
Being Mind is walking.
Doing Mind is strategy, effort, goal-oriented.
Being Mind is still, restful and directionless.
Most importantly,
Doing Mind takes energy and
Being Mind gives energy back.
It is natural for me to fall into a state of doing, without prioritization of being. Doing happens mostly because I find the Doing Mind activities rewarding. Not only do I truly enjoy doing, it also doesn’t seem surprising that being is easily lost. I mean, what teacher ever tells us to make time to look out the window! Even though, I need to do just that. With more time in Being Mind, I am fundamentally better. Also, I now have a valid excuse to slow down my brain, not just my body. I have an inkling of a way to enjoy my life, long term. I can see a path to fulfillment.
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