Chaos. It's everywhere around us. Our best days are when we can keep the chaos at bay. Sometimes, this seems to be an absolute impossibility. What do you do when chaos has sunk its teeth in and refuses to let go? What's left when you've lost your job, a loved one, your health? What happens when every insurance policy you've relied upon has not protected you? We find our salvation in the experiences of those who have survived the most chaotic situations; the concentration camp, the frigid wilderness, the terminal diagnosis. There is a discipline of the mind that the survivors and thrivers share.
I first came across the word entropy in my first class on thermodynamics. Entropy is a measure of the disorder of a system. Entropy also describes how much energy is not available to do work. If there is more disorder there is less available energy to do work. The more disorder we have, the less effective we are on two levels in our day-to-day lives.
From a spiritual perspective, chaos presents itself as mental suffering. Tolle refers to this as an entity called the “Pain-Body." He says, "it is an accumulation of painful life experience that was not fully faced and accepted when it arose. It leaves behind an energy form of emotional pain. It comes together with other energy forms from other instances, and so after some years, you have a 'pain-body,' an energy entity consisting of old emotion." Often the pain-body manifests itself as a regret. It becomes a self-perpetuating mental phenomenon. It's mental chaos that prevents us from doing our work. Understanding this is the first step toward the mental discipline required to overpower it. Remember, Rumination leads to Ruination.
From a practical perspective, the mind is the playground of Flow. A Flow State, also known as being in "the zone," is the mental state of operation in which a person performing an activity is fully immersed in a feeling of energized focus, full involvement, and enjoyment in the process of the activity where the outside world disappears. In essence, Flow is characterized by complete absorption in what one does and loses all sense of space and time. Flow states are known as Autotelic Experiences. They are the very definition of Negentropy, the absence of chaos.
We often misunderstand great thinkers. The enjoyment of thinking stokes their motivations. Democritus was one of the most original thinkers of antiquity. However, his fellow citizens thought him odd and perhaps ill in the head due to his extended periods of silent contemplative thought. They were so concerned they asked the renowned doctor Hippocrates to attend to him. After a deep discussion with Democritus about the absurdities of life, Hippocrates was pleased to report that Democritus was lost in the Flow of thought and quite happy and content and sane as a result. The surviving fragments of Democritus' writing illustrated how centering and rewarding the practice of thinking to be: "It is godlike ever to think on something beautiful and on something new." I think we can all agree on that. When there is something new, our contemplation on that subject brings peace of mind, a joy. We go into flow states and relish them. For me, discovering new ways to play music on the guitar often brings those flow states. This week, for example, I found a new way to interpret the pattern of notes on the fretboard. And by contemplating this, over time, I expect I will discover something new, something fascinating. What a thrill that is!
Strive for Negentropy, for the resolution of chaos. Recognize the "PainBody" in your life. Observe it and dis-identify with it. Use your thoughts for positive visualization. These are the roots of effective psychology management reinforced throughout history. Tap into them today.
More to come.
