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Taming the Stallion

The monkey mind.

A lot has been written about it. This post and TED talk from Tim Urban are quite popular.

Since the mind keeps jumping around from thought to thought, the monkey analogy makes sense.

But I prefer seeing the untamed mind as a wild stallion instead.

While both the stallion and monkey are untamed, the sight of a stallion invokes a sense of respect and awe in us.

Considering that the human mind is like a mine of diamonds, a feeling of reverence is apt.

We might also feel gratitude for this gift that nature has given us.

In this beautiful story narrated by Swami Nirajanananda, he suggests that we take baby steps toward taming the wild stallion.

Here’s the gist of it :

  • At first, stand away from the horse. Just watching it. Do this for a month.
  • In the second month, walk a bit closer, but not too close. Keep watching the stallion.
  • In the third month, walk close enough to extend your hand to touch the horse, but no closer
  • Keep making the horse increasingly comfortable, until you’re able to place a saddle on the horse and ride it.

While the above method is effective, it isn’t easy.

And while we’re on this long road, some days can just be very difficult. So hard that we may be tempted to give up. Tempted to get back to doing something easier.

In those times, just keep holding the saddle. And watching the horse. Don’t move away. Don’t look away. Keep your eye on the ball…err horse. 🙂

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