Mind Control
Diabolical or Peaceful
The monkeys in my mind have been collaborating. They’d like me to share what they’ve been thinking about.
Monkey #1: So you remember that book we read last year? Brave New World by Aldous Huxley? What a concept — society — scientifically manipulated. Humans created in laboratories and drugged to remove emotions, desires and intimate relationships. Ugh — the outlier who couldn’t stand such a world killed himself in the end. Scary fiction. It won’t really happen — will it?
Monkey #2: Isn’t this a great quote?
The essence of the beautiful is unity in variety. ~W. Somerset Maugham
Monkey #3: Remember a long time ago you read a book by the author who wrote the Davinci Code? Dan Brown? Angels and Demons?
Monkey #4: How can you remember that, but forget to pick up bananas at the grocery store on two separate visits — within the same day?!
Monkey #5: Angels and Demons — look it up! There was that character who could calm her body and breathing. She could stop her own fear in its tracks. What was her name? You liked her. You wanted to be like her!
— — — — — — — — interlude — — — — — — — —
Monkey #6: I didn’t find anything good on Brown’s character Vittoria Vetra, but look at this quote!
“You will continue to suffer if you have an emotional reaction to everything that is said to you. True power is sitting back and observing everything with logic; true power is restraint. If words control you that means everyone else can control you; breathe and allow things to pass.” -Anonymous
STOP! Stop, stop, stop! Stop jumping in my head!
I close my eyes. Breathe in, breathe out. Pause before the inhale, hold the breath for a moment, release. Repeat. Ignore the text ding!
How many sounds can you hear?
Wind chime, helicopter, chipmunk, lawn mower, dog paw moving on tile floor, clock ticking.
Breathe in. Breathe out.
Are the monkeys asleep?
What I want to ask is this:
If we learn to control our individual minds/monkeys, can we all just get along — without rulers or scientific engineering?
If you’re interested in lulling your own monkeys, check out this great series from my friend Puneet Srivastava. He teaches meditation.
