Above: “I Am the Observer of My Thoughts” (pencil in sketchbook)
The Monkey Mind
Even if you’ve only dabbled in meditation you have most likely experienced the rapid antics of the monkey mind. Seemingly random thoughts and images rushing around your brain, willy nilly, helter skelter, even to the point that you ask, “Where the hell did THAT thought come from?”
The monkey mind. It chatters and goes through acrobatics. It accuses you and questions you. It worries and frets. It chases birds and squirrels through your skull like a lunatic child.
Then, however briefly, you arrive at an awareness that YOU are not those whirling thoughts. Somewhere, separate from the chaos in your own head, YOU are the calm observer. You let the monkey ramble. That’s what the monkey does. That’s what it will always do. YOU are okay with it.