ThirstyFish

Mindstream is a Buddhist concept similar to the neopsychological concept of mind as a continuum or flux. It is understood as a stream of moments or quanta of consciousness. In Buddhism, the "self" is not viewed a constant, and the things perceived by the senses do not constitute a "self". "Buddha was asked whether or not there was a self, he refused to answer. When later asked why, he said that to hold either that there is a self or that there is no self is to fall into extreme forms of wrong view that make the path of Buddhist practice impossible".

Why is any of this relevant? We tend to think that unless our mind is cycling through thoughts, we will be in a stupid state. We constantly find things to keep our minds busy; we read, surf the net, watch television and solve puzzles. What we fail to understand is that most of our "thinking" is senseless, a continuous cycle of similar thoughts. We do not know how to relax our mind. But when we do relax our mind, senseless thoughts yield to more meaningful ones. Have you ever come up that creative idea while in the bathroom? That's what happens when the mindstream gets a refresher.

Song of the Day: Where Is My Mind? - Pixies (1988)