Patience with the Mind/Body Connection

Many times in life we seem to lose track and caught up in the routines of life and the drama associated with social situations. Listening to a podcast by Zencast, Andrea Fella discussed using the virtue of patience in meditation and in everyday mindfulness. Emotions and the mind seem to be heavily influenced by the lives we live, such as impatience in traffic and in the grocery store. Sometimes the mind seems to formulate its behavior around common mindsets and activities that can be unpleasant or destructive.

To actively change some of these mental formations, we must change the conditions we put into place using mindfulness. Being aware of our mindsets and tendencies can allow us to subtlety of changing our behavior. Fella differentiates this insight from that of knowledge, which is like a book we can take off a shelf to remember a lesson learned. When we are aware of our behaviors, such as being stressed in a slow moving line at the grocery store, we can remove the fuel feeding the impatience fire. Being stuck in a pattern or mindset without an escape can be very difficult to break, but mindfulness is the method in which you remove the mind's impetus to sustain the unconscious or conscious mind.

Many times we wait for the cessation of emotion to just occur, and this can happen. But many times it is the awareness of an unwanted or unconsciously formulated mindset that we have created that actually cessates the negative emotion.

We can also carry suffering in our mind with the relation of experience. In picking up an object we can be reminded of a past experience, reopening the floodgates of emotion. The way the mind relates to experience can be a source of suffering. And again, being mindful of the reemergence or reintroduction of the suffering can be abated by being aware of it. Putting ourselves in an active awareness can allow us to patiently letting go of past suffering.

There are also times in relative peace that we become dissatisfied with peace. The lack of action or the relatively low need of mindfulness as a tool to let go of suffering also can lead to boredom and a feeling of a lack of meaning in life with peace. To move out of this rut, we can think about the direction of our life. To let go of suffering, many times we are taught to live in the present, and that is correct. But to actively live in the present, we have to know the direction we are moving. Life does not just stand still. The movement of the present must also be kept mindful. Again, Fella reminds us that letting the process enfold is key; however, we do need mindfulness to have a direction for an active life.

Patience is a virtue; on that can free us from our stress and allow for clear perception of life. Unfortunately, we are only reminded to use it when we feel negatively about a life situation. Patience in mindfulness can enrich our lives and our spiritual health. During this economic downturn and holiday season, having patience and reacting to life with mindfulness is more important than ever.