no more monkey mind

I feel over-booked, over-committed, over-stimulated, over-caffeinated, over-loaded and overwhelmed. No wonder I feel over-tired! In addition to all I want to do, and all I have to do, and all I should do, there are the constant updates on Facebook and people following me on Twitter (how did that happen?) and emails and texts coming in and ... The Hindu Gods had many arms to be able to help infinite beings. We need many arms to keep up with our to-do lists. Yesterday, I came home with the thought of having so many things to do that I couldn't face any of them and watched Sunday night's Desperate Housewives instead. It actually felt relaxing to get lost in the trials and tribulations of the women on Wisteria Lane.

It seems to me that over-extending is the twin of laziness. It is another way of not paying close attention, not pausing, not paying attention to the moments that matter. It's a physical manifestation of the monkey mind, which, when meditating, constantly pulls you off of the object, until you've spent your sitting time mentally flitting from thing to thing, without concentrating on anything. Just as the mind toggles from thing to thing, we jump from task to task, not immersing in, completing, or fully enjoying anything. And at the end of the day, we wonder "where did the time go?" As Ellen DeGeneres says, "Our attention span is shot. We've all got Attention Deficit Disorder or ADD or OCD or one of these disorders with three letters because we don't have the time or patience to pronounce the entire disorder. That should be a disorder right there, TBD - Too Busy Disorder." Listen to this clip, starting at 6.50. Ellen talks about all the things we try to do to save time, and how none of us ever feel like we have enough of it. And she ends with this classic phrase: Procrastination is not the problem. It is the solution. It is the universe's way of saying stop, slow down, you move too fast..."

So here's my pledge - I am going "off grid" for the day. I am going to sit on my cushion RIGHT NOW. And when I am done, I am going to get tough on my "to-do" list so that I have that time right here, right now, not later.