Episode 047 - Cane and Able

As I've mentioned earlier, I'm currently working on a project called Higher Mind Training, and some people who listen to the podcasts have written in asking for some information about it, so I thought I would present an overview of some of its basics for you to consider. I'd like to start out by describing something that happened to me about four or five years ago. It was a very brief moment in time. The whole thing probably took only a few seconds, but it flipped a switch within my consciousness that went straight into the core of my being. It couldn't have begun in a more ordinary situation. I was at a train station, waiting to get on a commuter train into downtown Philadelphia. Let me give you a little background. I was doing some consulting work for a group that was trying to establish itself as an online entertainment company. I had put together a few consultants to work on the project - three talented professionals with lots of experience. As the momentum built, we began to have regular meetings at an office space in center city and we were generally meeting there about twice a week. I live on the outskirts of the city, almost in the suburbs, and the closest train to me stops at Overbrook Station, which is almost on the campus of Saint Joseph's University and many of the regular commuters seem to have something to do with Saint Joe's. After several weeks, I fell into a basic routine where I would get there about five minutes early and with about twenty other commuters, would board the train as soon as it arrived. It was only a 15-minute commute. It generally ran on schedule, but one morning, when I got to the station, to my surprise and a little consternation, I found out that for no apparent reason, the train was running ten minutes late. After another five minutes it was announced that it was now running twenty minutes. Everyone on the platform groaned and this changed things at the station because as time went by, there were probably about three or four times more commuters waiting for the train than usual. I, along with everyone else, started worrying about whether or not I would be able to get a seat on the train. Now I had all this time on my hands. I don't know about you, but whenever I'm in that kind of situation, my mind shifts into high gear, churning out thought after thought, just to kill the time. I started thinking about the consulting work I had taken on. Then about how this change in schedule was going to affect the rest of my day. Then the next thing I know I'm agitating about my golf swing and why am I having so much trouble learning this simple move that I was sure would be great for me. Then I started going over my finances and whether the juice would be worth the squeeze on this project, which was now developing a few side issues, and on and on and on, non-stop, never-ending, random mental wonderings. The Tibetan Zen practitioners have a term for this type of mental process – they call it the "Chain of Delusion" because it binds you to mental meanderings that are generally meaningless, or even worse. All the while, I was keeping my eye on the station clock, which was moving so slow, I thought it might have been broken. Anyway, it was finally announced that the train was nearby and everyone started gathering around the boarding area, which became mobbed with many more people than are usually there. Now, there is a basic routine you follow when the train stops. The first thing you have to do is let all the passengers out who are getting off at that stop. You stand as close as you can to the train entrance, while still giving them room, so that once they've all gotten off, you can rush on and try to grab a seat.  It isn't particularly rude; you're just jockeying for position. Finally, the train pulled up and we all moved in as close as we could, but still within acceptable limits. There were only a few cars, so we all knew that a lot of us would be standing up for the whole ride into town.  The train stopped and the door opened. But strangely, no one got off. Suddenly, one the conductors, a tall and sturdy looking man in uniform planted himself in the doorway. The paragon of authority, he just stood there staring at us with a rather solemn look on his face. Something seemed wrong. I was hoping there wasn't a problem with the train that might cause a further delay or even a cancellation.    Then he stepped back a little and a woman came and stood in the doorway. She was fashionably dressed, had light brown hair that was stylishly cut and seemed to be in her mid to late forties. From her professional appearance, I assumed that she was with the University in some manner. Maybe a professor or an administrator. And she was wearing light sunglasses. She just stood there, not moving, looking off into the distance. Then I could see the conductor take hold of her right hand and put something in it. Within another moment, we could all see what it was. It was a long, white walking stick and we all knew instantly that the woman was blind. The entire feeling on the platform was immediately transformed and the moment was incredibly powerful. We had all been taken out of our normal, everyday routines and suddenly placed into an entirely different world. And this world was filled with a quick shock, followed by tremendous humility and gratitude. It might have only lasted for a brief moment, but we all felt the unspoken truth of that moment. We had learned something profound in that split second and we all knew that we all knew.   The woman was as cool as can be. Using her walking cane, she carefully made her way down the train's steps, and walked away, looking like she had done it a million times. We all boarded the train, but it was in a most orderly and polite manner and I doubt if anyone minded that they had to stand up for the fifteen-minute ride into town. I know I didn't, because rather than running through my standard chain of delusion, my consciousness was filled with clarity as I reflected on what I had just been shown.  I don't who that woman was or what she was doing, but she was clearly a professional going about her business. It was nothing special, she was just getting on with another day in the life. And that's exactly what I was doing as well, but what a major difference - I could see and she could not. I had been given the incredible gift of sight, and Oh My God, what can you say about that feeling when you understand the absolute preciousness of the gift you've been given? So, this quick example highlights the very first part of Higher Mind Training – the first step is to simply begin to recognize how miraculous the gift of life is. Now, it's not all that easy to do because we each have a tendency to take all of it for granted, all day, every day. And sources from ancient wisdom all the way through to modern neuroscience tell us that having appreciation and gratitude in our hearts for the simple gift of life is the most powerful thing that we can do to begin to evolve our awareness so we can realize our highest potential as human beings. This evolution of consciousness is critical to our long-term happiness, but in our modern world, most of us don't see it that way. We're mainly hung up on solving our problems, which never seem to end. For me, it's almost a joke. As soon as I get one taken care of, five more pop-up. But what if the trick to achieving real happiness isn't to spend your whole life just trying to solve your problems, but it's to change the way we use our intelligence, which is what's causing 99% of our problems in the first place. In this regard, I'm going to leave you with two of my most favorite quotes about solving problems, and they're from two of the most respected authorities on human intelligence that our species has ever produced. The first on is from Albert Einstein who said, "No problem can be solved from the same level of consciousness that created it." And the second one is from the legendary psychologist, Carl Jung who said, "The greatest and most important problems in life can never be solved. They can only be outgrown." So, two of the greatest thinkers of the twentieth century tell us that it's absolutely critical for us to evolve and grow. Years have gone by since I came across these quotes and I'm still trying to let their wisdom sink into me. And here's one last idea to consider, which comes from Abraham Lincoln. But not Lincoln the great president, but Lincoln the great log splitter who once said, "If I was told I had four hours to cut down a tree, I'd spend the first three hours sharpening the axe." Maybe it's a good idea for us to keep sharpening that old axe of our awareness. But the trick is knowing how to do it. Well, that's the end of this episode. Next, we're going to take a quick look at the two basic parts of our mind – our ordinary mind and the higher mind. As always, keep your eyes mind and hearts open, and let's get together in the next one.